The Town Hall of Sa Pobla has unanimously approved the granting of the Gold Shield of the Villa to the association Marjal en Festa, in recognition of over 45 years of promoting Mallorcan popular culture. The award will take place on July 10.
The association Marjal en Festa will receive the Gold Shield of Sa Pobla on July 10, the highest distinction awarded by the council. The plenary session unanimously approved the award, highlighting its work in preserving traditional Mallorcan dances, music, and clothing for over four decades.
A unanimous recognition of cultural trajectory
The Town Hall of Sa Pobla emphasises that Marjal en Festa has been "a fundamental piece" in the dissemination of popular culture. The entity, founded in 1980, has tirelessly worked to transmit traditions to new generations, filling squares with music and dance.
The mayor, Joan Campaner, founding president of the association, recalled that the seed of the group emerged in the autumn of 1979, when a group of young people formed at the Nuestra Señora de Vialfàs school. Guillem Bernat, a member of Aires Sollerics, was responsible for teaching them jotas and boleros, laying the foundations of what would become Marjal en Festa.
More than four decades of research and dissemination
The association did not limit itself to dance: it researched and recovered forgotten dances during the Franco regime, such as boleros, mateixes, and fandangos. It also created a dance school that gathered nearly 250 students in the 1990s and formed its own musical group with traditional instruments such as xeremies, castanets, and percussion.
One of the greatest achievements of Marjal en Festa has been the recovery of traditional Mallorcan clothing. Through years of study, they documented how the inhabitants of Sa Pobla dressed in the countryside, at festivals, or even for sleeping, paying special attention to hemp fabric and brizna.
For the residents of Sa Pobla, this recognition is a source of pride: the association has been the soul of local festivities for decades. The Gold Shield will be awarded at the beginning of the festivities of Santa Margalida and Sant Jaume, a moment that promises to be emotional.
A legacy that endures
Marjal en Festa has shown that popular culture is not only preserved but also reinvented. Its work has transcended the local sphere, participating in cultural exchanges and exhibitions that have taken Mallorcan folklore beyond the island.
The chronicler Alexandre Ballester was the one who suggested the name of the association, recovering it from a folkloric group from the 1950s. Since then, the entity has been a reference in ethnological research. And, hey, it’s not bad for a town to recognise those who have given it identity: after 45 years, the Gold Shield feels like poetic justice.
The event is on July 10 in Sa Pobla. Anyone who wants to see Marjal en Festa dance should not miss it. After all, tradition is danced.
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