Virgen del Carmen Fiesta, Puerto Pollensa

For two weeks Puerto Pollensa has been honouring the patron saint of seafarers and fishermen, there have been nightly DJ’s, bands, concerts, dancing, children’s parties and entertainments. The town has been filled with pop up markets, food stalls and performers and the last night was no exception, with the main square taking on a carnival atmosphere where bouncy castles and fairground rides vied for space with street vendors pushing all things handmade or edible or glowing.

The last day featured mass at the Church of the Virgin of Carmen followed by the traditional parade of St Peter and the Virgin through the streets to the port where the procession boarded boats and continued out onto the water. Later came the pageant of the giants accompanied by musicians playing the traditional band and pipers. 

At 11pm the crowd made their way to the port where preparations were in place for the ‘demons’ arrival. Having heard about this event second hand, my expectations were low and I had openly scoffed at the safety notices taped up in the street warning spectators to wear old clothes, covered footwear, protect their heads, cover their ears, respect the fire demons and the security teams. I thought the health and safety nuts were being over cautious and so was completely unprepared for what happened next.

Then the sound of drums arose and instantly the empty street filled with capering demons and devils cloaked in thick dark habits, robes and giant clanging cowbells and sporting terrifying masks fashioned after skulls and topped with twisted horns, antlers and demonic symbols.

Without warning the devils rushed the crowd whooping and hollering and ‘stealing’ children away from their parents. The kids on either side of me were split between fear and fascination; one child dissolved into immediate hysterics whilst another reached up to the horned and glowing apparition before her and demanded to be stolen away.

Everything was alight, the devils were waving pitchforks and torches that spewed torrents of sparks, they spun these flaming tools around their heads and dragged them along the ground threw them at each other and towards the crowd. They danced in flames and spat fire from their mouths and endlessly jumped and lunged into the crowd who alternately surged forward and leapt back from the fascinating spectacle.

The port roundabout was a circlet of sparks and torches, a giant Catherine wheel atop the centre was lit spinning madly in the midst of the chaos and the cheers of the crowd. Then we were on the move, the devils took off running down the street away from the port and the crowd swarmed after them, for an hour we followed these dancing firebugs along the waterfront, their energy and their fire never ceased. They posed for photos with their masks leering grotesquely and they dragged spectators into the street to dance under their umbrellas of flame. Periodically a demon would set alight to a dangling fuse attached to fireworks that were strung across the street at intervals up the road.

Easily a thousand people lined the street and followed the procession and more again lined the balconies of the accommodation overlooking the scene, the noise was a madness of pounding drums, bangers going off and endlessly screaming, whistling, shrieking fireworks, there was certainly no-one asleep in the whole town.

The flaming devils led us to La Gola beach where a last crescendo of flame and double strand of fireworks were set off above the street, settling to a momentary silence until the bangs and whistles started again only this time up in the sky as a more traditional firework display exploded over the bay. The demons melted away and the crowd quickly filled the beach settling down on sun loungers and sand and turning their heads upwards to ooh and ah at the exploding stars that signified the end of 2015’s Fiesta of Virgen del Carmen.

Taken completely by surprise by the scope of the whole display I was amazed by every second of those fire twirling mad men and urge any one visiting Mallorca next year to co-ordinate their trip with this event! Be warned though your children will either end up with nightmares or a lasting desire to be a fire demon!

Find out more dates for fiestas like this on our events calendar.