The Much has just been admitted to the hospital and eclipses the pink light of the Mucada

SineuThe Much has fallen. Maties Gàmez, who was playing 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 bruised". 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 p.m., the meeting in the Plaça del Fossar already having taken place, when the news that "the Much has fallen" and that "they are taking the Much to the Hospital of Inca" began to circulate among those who go or are in Sineu to experience the festival. Surely many of those who were in the Plaça del Fossar in Sineu have not even noticed the Much's outburst. And it is that Maties Gàmez fell from the bar counter of Can Castell and had to be transferred to Inca by ambulance. Sources from the organization have pointed out that very Mallorcan saying: "the Much is fine considering what it could have been".

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

The proclamation

Under the guiding thread and motto of this edition, 'Let's bring light to the darkness' – in clear reference to the coincidence of the festival with the solar eclipse phenomenon – this year's Mucada proclamation 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. Once again, it has been a satirical festive proclamation that has not shied away from any current topic and has connected the neo-festive revelry with the main concerns affecting the urban center of Sineu, in particular, and Mallorcan society, in general.

"I arrived early / due to 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 prepared: "Foreign companies / have already sold half the island, / but here we've screwed them! / Wednesday, the apocalypse". From there, the proclamation focused on the so-called local "plagues", making direct reference to the controversy over the chicken farm – one of the town's long-standing battles – and the proliferation of large vehicles that clog the medieval town. As an alternative, the proclamation called for sustainable mobility by bicycle or on foot, but also with a nod to the promotion of Club Esportiu Sineu to the third division.

The Camí Vell de Costitx, a public road closed to traffic by private hands, and access to land and the housing crisis have been other of Amengual's proclamations.

The feminist claim has been a central pillar in the discourse, with a strong 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 "homologated glasses" to protect themselves from the eclipse of party that invaded Sineu.

Afterwards, while the party continued its script set by the musical pieces, it was the turn of the arrival of the Much and his intervention with microphone in hand. The beast of the Puig descended, knowing the situation of the town and the island it inhabits inside out. 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 also stressed that the party, ultra-consolidated, is already "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 attend as "the authentic Much". Punctual at six in the afternoon and also with the soundtrack as a guide, the encounter took place, giving way to the Muca, Martina Fernández. A meeting that had Madò Farta as an exceptional guest. It was from here to Can Castell that the scare arrived.

At nine in the evening, New York, New York sounded sad, not only because it marked the end of the party, but also the end of the Much and Muca biennium, 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 real crowds on the train platforms did not have to be regretted.

Finally, and as Amengual said in his speech, the strength of the party 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 party. They have not seen a Mare de Déu d’Agost exclusively dressed up and with Spanish wine. Thus, today the names of the Much and Muca for the next biennium have been announced, they will be Tonina Ramis Confit and Marc Martorell Dimoni.