The Sant Jaume square in Manacor hosted the first Encamisadeta on Thursday, a children's event that paraded through the streets to the Rector Rubí square with gegants, xeremiers, and the Mulasseta.
The town of Manacor debuted a new activity on Thursday as part of the Sant Jaume 2026 festivities: the Encamisadeta, an exclusively children's parade that brought together boys and girls from the local summer schools. The initiative, which emerged from the spontaneous play of the little ones in schoolyards, was embraced with great participation for the first time in the official festival calendar.
The meeting point was Sant Jaume square at 9:30 in the morning. All the summer schools from Manacor gathered there to begin a march on foot to the Rector Rubí square. Leading the procession were the gegants, followed by the xeremiers and the Mulasseta, a symbolic figure of the animal. The children, carrying their own cardboard Mulassetes made in the days prior, closed the parade.
The large turnout of participants necessitated periodic stops to compact the group, while the xeremiers played traditional songs that the gegants accompanied with their dances. Upon reaching the Rector Rubí square, the little ones took shelter in the shade and witnessed a new dance by the gegants. The Town Hall provided cold bottles of water for the children to refresh themselves while having a snack.
Subsequently, those accompanying the Mulassa positioned themselves in the centre of the space to perform a joint dance with the figure of the animal, accompanied musically by the xeremiers. To conclude, a mini-game inspired by the jocs del pla of the Sant Joan festivities in Menorca was organised. Participants, with a sword and a Mulasseta, ran to try to guess the ring.
The Encamisadeta was born from a father's observation, who saw how the children played with the Mulassa in the schoolyard. Noticing their interest, he made them a toy Mulassa so they could play and dance with it. This year, the proposal successfully transitioned to the official festivities.
The Sant Jaume 2026 festivities will continue tomorrow, Friday, July 25, with the official Encamisada for all audiences, which will begin at 19:00 and serve as the closing event of the celebrations in Manacor. A large turnout of locals and visitors is expected to bid farewell to the patron saint festivities.
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