“Long live Pollensa, beautiful land”

This is a translation, with only a touch of licence, of Visca Pollença. Adopted as the Pollensa hymn, it was originally from a 1942 zarzuela, Amor de Pagesia (better known as Aineta). The words, you can appreciate, are something special. For a hymn, they are perfect. Yet curiously perhaps, their origin was a comedy production. Curiously in particular because of the solemnity of when Visca Pollença is performed. The final rituals for the reenactment of the 1550 Moors versus Christians clash for Pollensa’s La Patrona Fiestas include this, rituals which - for many maybe - are a somewhat unknown addendum to the street theatre of the reenactment.

The confrontation between Joan Mas and Dragut, the fight that follows, the white-clad Christians with their staffs facing the sword-wielding, face-painted Moors encapsulate this astonishing annual highlight of the Mallorca summer fiestas season. But behind all this, or rather in addition to it, are elements as significant, both from that time in the sixteenth century and from more recent years which have made the day of August 2 - La Patrona, the Mare de Déu dels Àngels - far more than just the crush of combative bodies on a Pollensa street.

One of the great symbols of the day is the Pollensa flag. Its red and black quarters did not, unlike flags of many other municipalities in Mallorca, descend into oblivion. Red and black are identifiably ‘Pollencin’. But what are its origins? It dates in fact from only a short time before the events of 1550. The colours of Pollensa’s captain of arms, Pere Desbrull, were red and black. In 1542, he gave an instruction that the flag to identify the Pollensa militia in battle should be red and black.

Desbrull was the captain of arms in 1542 and he was still the captain of arms in 1550. So, where was he? The story of the raid is silent where Desbrull is concerned. It is a missing part from the story as much as is the detailed role of Joan Xumet, the traitor who had entered into some form of alliance with Dragut and was condemned by the nickname given to him - Lloctinent, lieutenant.

In principle, it should have been Desbrull who led the people of Pollensa. But as we know, it was Joan Mas, wrongly credited with having been captain as he was a mere knight, who leapt out of bed overnight on May 30, 1550 and shouted the immortal words - “Mare de Déu dels Àngels, assistiu-nos. Pollencins, alçau-vos. Els pirates són aquí. (Mother of God of the Angels, help us. People of Pollensa, get up. The pirates are here).”

But there are questions as to whether even Joan Mas was there. There’s little reliable evidence which supports his role. The story of the raid is littered with factual query. It is conceivable that it was in fact the viceroy of Mallorca, Joan (also Gaspar) Marradas, who took the fight to the Moors. We’ll never know for certain and it doesn’t really matter. Mas was the hero and Dragut was the enemy, although as he was the supreme commander of the Ottoman navy, it is pretty unlikely that he ever set foot on Pollensa land.

Mas against Dragut is all part of the ritual, a defining moment in the reenactment, its most celebrated. However, as I say, there are other elements of the day, like the playing of the Alborada, both at 5am in the morning and during the final rituals. It was first performed in 1882, the work having been a reinterpretation by Pollensa composer Miquel Capllonch of an original by a Galician, Nicolas de Castro. There is also, for example, the dance of the Cossiers, who disappeared from the Pollensa scene in 1910 but were revived in 1981.

And then there is also the role of the women. The scant information that is available for what actually happened in 1550 does refer to women, and the reenactment - as it was many a long year ago - did give women an active part in the fight against the Moors. It’s believed that the very first reenactment was in 1857, and women were involved. In 2019, this long-overlooked element was brought back.

The Moors and Christians of Pollensa, a combination of fact and questionable fact from the sixteenth century, of fiesta occasions of the nineteenth century, of revivals and of a hymn that was originally written for a zarzuela.