The Cossiers dance for the May fiestas. | NURIA RINCON
Fiestas for the Mare de Déu de Maig are based on May being a traditional month for Catholic dedication to the Virgin Mary and for flowers as a symbol of daily worship.
This is believed to be because of the ‘Canticles of Holy Mary’, attributed to Alfonso X, the King of Castile from 1252 to 1284, which contain a specific honouring of the Virgin in May.
Alaro is one of the places in Mallorca which has a fiesta, and it is held in the upper village - Damunt.
It is an occasion for the Alaro Cossier dancers to perform, and they do so in the Plaça Cabrit i Bassa. There is a special mass for Guillem Cabrit and Guillem Bassa, two of Mallorca’s most legendary figures, who met a truly gruesome end, having incurred the wrath of a different Alfonso - III, the Liberal (so-called), of Aragon. In early January 1286, they were roasted alive in the square in what was then the centre of Alaro - Damunt.