The Ermita de Sant Miquel
I don’t know if you have noticed that churches, temples and mosques often share the same location, with centuries between them, often with one being built over the previous edifice. […]
Dances With Bears
Els Óssos i en Joanet de l’Onso is the name of a group of six infant dancers plus an adult leader who are part of a newly formed folkloric act […]
The Countdown to Lent
The Mallorcan folks are really quite clever people. They certainly were some time ago, let’s say, a hundred years ago. Then, school education was a matter of the upper class […]
Sant Honorat and the Cossiers of Algaïda
The patron saint of the village of Algaïda, Sant Honorat (Saint Honorat), is celebrated every year on January 16th. Yesterday, the saint was honoured with a special church service during […]
The Adoration of the Magi
Today, Spain celebrates the Festividad de Los Reyes Magos. The Three Kings, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar, arrived last night to pay reverence to the recently born baby Jesus, and to […]
The Santa Ana Chapel in Muro
The chapel of Santa Ana in the village of Muro was the first parish church in that pueblo, possibly dating from the 14th century. Once Muro’s population had grown beyond […]
Women in Red
Today is the day of the innocent pranks, Día de los Santos Inocentes (Day of the Innocent), Spain’s version of the Anglo-Saxon April Fool’s Day. Another three days, and it […]
The Església de Jesús-Maria in Sineu
The Església de Jesús-Maria in Sineu was built between 1793 and 1812, replacing an earlier temple dating from 1667. The church formed part of the convent of the Orde dels Mínims […]
The Day of the Innocent
May I remind you that the day after tomorrow, December 28th, Spain will celebrate the Día de los Santos Inocentes (Holy Innocents’ Day), a day for pranks, equivalent to April […]
Nit Sant and the Sibil·la Chant
Last night, Mallorca celebrated Nit Sant (Christmas Eve). A special church service is held on the Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) called Matines de Nadal. These masses are probably the most […]
Seaside Pleasures
I am not a friend of the fixation on Christmas decorations in the streets of our pueblos and towns, especially not those in Palma. It all seems overly commercial and materialistic, […]
The Winter Solstice Performance
I am very sorry if this blog entry happens to be an annual rerun but, there you go. We are coming up for another Winter Solstice the day after tomorrow (December […]
This Year’s Nativity Scenes
It’s this time of the year again. Belén time, Betlem time, time of Nativity scenes. I have a number of personal favourites, as every year. In Palma, I would suggest […]
The Oratori de Sant Josep in Sineu
The Oratori de Sant Josep in Sineu is a charming old chapel. Until now, I had never managed to get a look inside as the oratory had always seemed closed. […]
The Iglesia de Montesión
In Mallorca, and in particular in the island capital Palma, one continuously encounters relics and historical monuments indicative of wrongdoing, bloodshed, skirmish, conflict, struggle, defeat, massacre, annihilation and general misdemeanour. Often, these […]
Beato Ramon Llull
Spain is a country largely influenced by the Catholic church. The impact of religion here may be somewhat diminished when compared to, say, fifty or a hundred years ago, but […]
The Mallorca Photo Blog 