The fire that unites: the migrant perspective on San Antonio

PalmNordin, a 24-year-old Moroccan, arrived in Sa Pobla almost three months before Sant Antoni in 2007. On January 16th, he wasn't yet in school, and his parents told him not to go out too much because he didn't know anyone in town. However, for the Sant Antoni festival, he went to the main square and saw "caparrots, devils, and a huge crowd," he recalls. The following year, he was already playing at stealing the devils' brooms and running off without fear. Since then, he has felt part of the festival and celebrates it year after year.

We often talk about how the residents of the Balearic Islands feel and celebrate this festival of Christian origin, but how do migrants who arrive in the Balearic Islands do it? Do they actively participate or just observe?

Every year, on Saint Anthony's Day, Nordin makes a bonfire with his friends. He brings his toaster and halal meat—meat from an animal slaughtered according to the Quran. The type of meat is the only thing that sets Nordin apart from his friends. "Everything else is the same," the young man confirms. Nordin has already experienced the integration phase in schools. He went to CEIP Son Vasca, and weeks before the festival, they would start preparing for it. They would go to La Llebre, a campsite where they met up with other schools. "There were storytellers, we made bonfires, we roasted meat, and it created an atmosphere that we all enjoyed immensely," he says with a laugh. He admits that arriving in Sa Pobla at a very young age, with the entire schooling process still to be completed, has helped him a lot to integrate into the festival.

The activities that Nordin used to do are still carried out. Osama, a 12-year-old Moroccan boy in his sixth year of primary school, is also camping in La Llebre and shares Nordin's experience: "We do exactly the same as everyone else, but they eat meat and we don't," he says in a sweet voice and with excellent Catalan. Schools remain one of the main centers for spreading the tradition. Educational centers do what they can to bring the tradition closer to everyone and also provide the tools for each person to adapt and celebrate it in their own way. Some schools even buy chicken, lamb, or beef for the bonfire for students who don't eat pork, so that everyone can participate. Associations that promote the Sant Antoni festival, such as Sa Negreta, are also a key tool for integration. For example, Sa Negreta offers a vegetarian option, which was incorporated "more for Muslims than for vegetarians," according to sources from the organization. They also claim that over the years, they have provided information about the festival to many people from out of town who come to "learn about it and participate passively."

Mimoun, Osama's father, applauds the schools' initiative and also the fact that his children have always celebrated Saint Anthony's Day in class. Thanks to this, he confesses, the island festival arrived at his home. "In our house, the children always sing the songs of Saint Anthony," he says. He has been celebrating the festival for almost 30 years and explains that currently, unlike before, "there is no distinction between migrants and residents in Sa Pobla." The percentage of the migrant population in the municipality has grown in recent years—reaching almost 22% in 2021—which has been reflected in the increase in foreign participants and also in their integration into the festival. "We are like a family," he says. Mimoun is also the secretary of the IbnoMazig Cultural Association of Sa Pobla and is pleased that many Moroccans residing in the municipality actively participate in the Saint Anthony festivities.

Religion

Saint Anthony's Day is a Christian festival, but this doesn't prevent people who don't believe in Christianity from participating. "For us, it's a holiday like Christmas, and our intention is to participate and have a pleasant day; we don't think about religion," says Mimoun. Nordin, for his part, believes that taking part in Saint Anthony's Day "doesn't replace" his cultural identity or religion. "I've always participated and will continue to do so, and I don't feel any less Moroccan because of it. On the contrary, we are fortunate to live between two cultures and be able to blend them without changing who we are," he affirms. Although in recent years he prefers to wait for the demons to emerge at the church doors, he explains that he has occasionally attended the solemn Compline.

Larry Hershon is a man from the north of England who came to Sa Pobla in 2008 because his partner had lived there since 2003. He is Jewish, but doesn't believe in God: "In any case, it's all the same," he says. He also goes to church for Compline because he thinks it all "represents the essence of Sa Pobla" and actively participates whenever he can. This year he won't be able to go because he no longer lives on the island, but he says he'll watch it on television, just as he watched the town's pyrotechnic and musical show in the early years he lived there.

His integration into the festival was "impossible to avoid," he says. "There were bonfires in the streets, and you could feel the essence of Sa Pobla," he recalls. Furthermore, over the years he became acquainted with people from the town who would later become good friends. They taught him a love for the culture, the tradition, and also for their own language. "They wanted to share it with me, and in Catalan," he says. Hershon understood this as an intention to "preserve their own culture." Thus, this objective of the group of friends also became his own. Over the years, he developed a love for the glosas (traditional Catalan verses). He is, as he describes himself, a "great admirer" of the glosadora Maria Magdalena Amengual. Although he admits he doesn't particularly like fireworks, he also mentions the correfocs (fire runs) and the groups of devils who "charmingly" ignite the festivities.

And what about the other towns?

The Pollença pine tree no longer serves the unifying function it once did. In fact, for years, especially for the last decade, some Pollença residents showed resentment when someone from outside the town climbed the pine. There were even "displays of rejection towards the residents of Port de Pollença, expressed through chants and other symbolic means," recalls historian Pere Salas. Although this perception still exists, the presence and active participation of people from outside the town in the festivities is becoming more common among younger generations. As for the rivalry between Pollença residents, one cannot speak of a real animosity between Pollença and El Moll anymore. The relationship has improved considerably, especially among young people.

It was from the 1970s onwards that the festival began to have an unifying function, "especially with regard to the mainland population," explains Salas. He recounts that, at that time, the festival didn't yet have the popularity it does today, even among the locals, and there were often not enough hands to organize it and carry out the heavier tasks. "Many of the people who helped were outsiders. A prime example is Diego Rueda, from mainland Spain, who carried the pine tree up the hill repeatedly during the seventies and eighties. The relocation of the Ternelles pine tree was also, in its early days, the responsibility of people from outside the town, something that contrasts sharply with the current situation."

During those years, the festival was "slow," so "it was easier for it to have an integrating function," according to Salas. "However, when it's experiencing high participation, as is happening now, this function is diluted," he adds.

However, even today the pine tree in Port de Pollença "sees a greater participation of newcomers," he states. The town center has a "more recent" population base and a higher proportion of residents who have come from elsewhere, unlike Pollença, which maintains a more deeply rooted and traditional social structure, he adds.

Despite the different ways of celebrating Saint Anthony throughout the islands, the festival is a space for coexistence where everyone arrives with their own history, beliefs, and ways of celebrating. Whether experienced through faith or curiosity, tradition or discovery, there is something to share. The fire of Sant Antoni can warm everyone because celebrating is also a way of coming together.