The Much has entered the hospital and eclipses the pink light of the Mucada

SineuThe Much has fallen. Maties Gàmez, who was interpreting the figure of the Much de Reig for the second year, fell inside the bar of Can Castell with the result of three vertebrae "a little damaged". This has overshadowed, in part, a Mucada marked by criticism, during the opening speech, of the problems of tourist Mallorca.

It was around 6:20 PM, after the Enqüentro in Plaça el Fossar had already been celebrated, when the news that "the Much has fallen" or that "they are taking the Much to Inca Hospital" began to circulate among those who were or are in Sineu to experience the festival. The rest, continued with their own activities. Surely many of those who were in Plaça del Fossar in Sineu have not even found out about the Much's fall. And it is that Maties Gàmez fell from the bar counter of Can Castell and had to be transferred to Inca by ambulance. From the organization they pointed out that very Mallorcan saying: "The Much is fine considering what could have happened".

But beyond the afternoon accident, the morning had followed its ritual. Gathering of mucaires, puig de Reig, games, appearance of the Much and start of the festival in the town with water, paper, music and the opening speech.

The proclamation

Under the common thread and motto of this edition, "Let's shed light on the darkness" — in clear reference to the festival coinciding with the solar eclipse phenomenon — this year's Mucada opening speech (which you can read below) has once again turned the call to celebration into a loudspeaker for social, political, and territorial criticism. This year the speaker was a sun, a sun embodied by the glosadora from sa Pobla, Maria Magdalena Amengual. One more year it has been a satirical festive proclamation that has left no current topic untouched, connecting the neo-festive revelry with the main concerns that run through the urban center of Sineu, in particular, and Mallorcan society, in general.

"I arrived early / because of the road closures" she said at the beginning, alluding to the planned closures for this Wednesday coinciding with the eclipse. But the woman from sa Pobla came with "Foreign companies / have already sold half the island, / but here we've screwed them up! / Wednesday the apocalypse". From here, the proclamation focused on the so-called local "plagues", making direct reference to the controversy over the chicken mega-farm — one of the town's battle horses in recent years — and the proliferation of large vehicles that are paralyzing the medieval town. As an alternative, the opening speech called for sustainable mobility by bicycle or on foot, but also with a nod to the promotion of Club Esportiu Sineu to third division.

The old Costitx road, a public road closed to traffic by private hands, or access to land and the housing crisis, where she strongly criticized speculation, tourist monoculture, and platforms like Airbnb, while warning of the expulsion of young Sineu residents due to gentrification, were other of Amengual's proclamations.

The feminist claim has been a central pillar of the discourse, with a resounding plea against the loss of women's rights and the need to articulate a collective resistance "no man should ever eclipse / our voice again".

The proclamation concluded by thanking the organizational work of the Muchal Foundation and inviting the square to collective revelry with the humorous recommendation to wear "approved glasses" to protect themselves from the eclipse of party that was invading Sineu.

Afterwards, while the party followed its script set by the musical pieces, it was the turn of the arrival of the Much and its intervention microphone in hand. The beast of the Puig came down knowing thoroughly the situation of the town and the island it inhabits. He criticized those politicians who want to make Majorcans second-class citizens, adding that "for me you are first-class, you are a national priority". He remarked how the party, now ultra-consolidated, "is an essential part of Sineu's identity". But he also had time to lash out at those who criticize the party, assuring, with a well-aimed dart, that "the party belongs to everyone except you".

The afternoon

With the bars and restaurants of Sineu, and the surrounding area, packed, thousands were those who sat down to eat to gather strength for the afternoon party. A party to which many come as "the authentic Much". Punctual at six in the afternoon and also with the soundtrack as a guide, the Enqüentro was celebrated, giving play to the Muca, Martina Fernández. This year's meeting had Madò Farta as a special guest. From here to Can Castell is where the scare happened.

At nine in the evening, "New York, New York" sounded sad, not only because it marked the end of the party. It also marked the end of the biennium of the Much and the Muca, and Gàmez could not experience it in situ.

The "emptying" of the town, as the mayor explained shortly before 10 p.m., was carried out in a very controlled and staggered manner, both by train and by vehicle. This meant that situations like those experienced a few years ago with actual crowds on the train platforms did not have to be regretted.

Finally, and as Amengual said in his speech, the strength of the festival lies in the fact that, as was already the case with Gàmez and Fernández, from now on all candidates for Much and Muca will have always lived in Sineu with this festival. They have not seen a Mare de Déu d'Agost exclusively in formal dress and Spanish wine. Thus, today the names of the Much and Muca for the next biennium were announced, they will be Tonina Ramis Confit and Marc Martorell Dimoni.