Sant Joan Pelut 2026
Sant Joan Pelut is Sant Llorenç des Cardassar's midsummer festa, built around one of Mallorca's most distinctive traditional dances. The figure of Sant Joan Pelut — in his red cape — dances in honour of Saint John the Baptist. Interrupted under the Franco dictatorship and recovered in 1980, the dance and its festa have grown over four decades into the village's own way of marking the longest days of the year. The celebration runs across the vigil and the saint's day. On the eve, the painting of Sant Joan is hung in the church, and the plaça Nova fills for a torrada and a folk dance with the Sonadors de Sant Joan Pelut and the folk groups Nirà Bé and Arrels a l'Antigor. The next morning brings the Ball de Sant Joan Pelut Petit — the children's dance — in front of the Rectoria, and in the evening a mass in honour of Saint John the Baptist with the offering of the traditional dance. Straight after, Sant Joan Pelut, the dimonis, the Sonadors and sa Xerebanda set off on a parade through the centre of the village, cooling off, along the way, the Joans and Joanes who have asked to be refreshed. It is a plastic-free festa, so bring your own reusable tableware.
