Mare de Déu de la Salut, literally the Mother of God of Health, is one of two Palma patrons - the minor patron after Saint Sebastian. Essentially a celebration of the Virgin Mary's birthdate (September 8), fiestas in Palma haven't amounted to much for many years. This year, however, the town hall has arranged two music events - one in Sa Feixina Park this Friday, the other in the Parc de la Mar on Saturday. The organisers of Magaluf's Mallorca Live Festival have been involved with this second event, one which is attracting particular criticism.
The town hall has said that this year's fiestas have been in collaboration with the federation of residents association. They may well have been, but the federation is among the critics of an event "that could be exactly the same as any festival in Ibiza, Berlin, or Toronto". Various associations have expressed their dissatisfaction with an "institutional festival, one that doesn't emerge from the streets, but from the town hall's marketing department".
Unlike highly popular 'neo-fiestas' that have emerged in recent years, such as Sineu's Mucada, the Palma event has "as little to do with these as pa amb oli served in a gastropub". The issue isn't having concerts in the Parc de la Mar, but rather making them seem as though they are "recovering traditions". "Tradition doesn't emerge from a PowerPoint presentation." It just so happens that on Sunday there is the mother of all water fights in the Parc de la Mar for the Canamunt-Canavall Fiestas, precisely the kind of popular neo-fiesta that is being referred to.
"It's not a celebration, it's a simulation, functioning as a giant screen where Palma rehearses its role as the 2031 European Capital of Culture." In contrast to popular fiestas, they are critical of a "product packaged to project cosmopolitanism, comparable to any city brand". "The patron deserved a celebration. What they've given us instead is a simulation with international DJs, a festival without a patron saint, like a food photo on Instagram."
Opposition party Més have also had their say, arguing that the Parc de la Mar event has been turned into a private showcase for Mallorca Live. Councillor Miquel Àngel Contreras says that promotional images released by the company "include raffles for season tickets to its private events, advance sales of alcoholic beverages, and even the announcement of an official after-party at a private nightclub". "The company is therefore misusing a public contract and the institutional image for unrelated purposes." The town hall's logo is being used.
According to Més, the company behind the event in Sa Feixina, Ritualë, is advertising this "as if it were a private event, when it is promoted by the town hall and paid for with public money". Més hold Mayor Jaime Martínez and the councillor for citizen participation, Lourdes Roca, directly responsible for what they allege is fraudulent use of the municipal brand and failure to defend the public interest.