Sant Sebastià (Palma i Pollença)

What is

Patron saint of Palma since the plague of 1523. Revetla of foguerons and concerts in the squares on the night of January 19. In Pollença, the party has cavallets danced by adults.

On i quan

• Palma: revetla January 19; day 20.
• Pollença: Sant Sebastià (January), with cavallets.

Personatges and objects

• Relic: a fragment of arm bone, today in the Cathedral Museum.
• Foguerons in the squares fogueró .
• Dimonis and correfocs (since the union with Sant Antoni in the 70s).
• Plague Day (from 2025): plague doctors with masks and children dressed as rats.
• Pollença: cavallets danced by adults (in the rest of Mallorca it is children).

How is

• Palma: foguerons and torrades in the squares; music stages.
• Recreation of the 1523 episode in Plaça de Cort (Pest Day).

Vocabulary

• revetla: festival of the eve.
• torrada: grilled meat from the fogueró.

History

• 9/3/1523: notarial act: the relic, brought by Manuel Suriavisqui (archdeacon of Rhodes), is left in La Seu due to a storm, in the midst of an epidemic. Tradition says that the plague subsided.
• 1541: another local date for patronage (to be verified).
• 70s: the festival joins Sant Antoni (disclosure source).
• 2025: first Plague Day, promoted by brotherhoods.

Protection

• Without localized declaration.

Why is it design

• Urban fire festival: the rural model of Sant Antoni adapted to city squares.
• New tradition with historical iconography: plague doctor mask.

For the project

• Follow how a festival (Dia de la Pesta) is born: design of a tradition in real time.

Sources

• mallorcaglobalmag.es/500-anos-reliquia-sant-sebastia-catedral-palma/
• ultimahora.es/noticias/sociedad/2026/01/10/2546925/peste-toma-placa-cort-multitu
• majorcadailybulletin.com/enjoying-mallorca/whatson/fairs-1/saint-sebastian-away-

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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