It has been three years since we have felt such a party atmosphere in the streets of Santa Eulària on Primer Diumenge de Maig. Without health restrictions and with a pent-up urge to party, the public response was massive. If it were not for the presence of some masks, no one would say that we have been in a pandemic for two years.
Great weather for a party
The good weather also contributed to the success of the party. Among the hundreds of tourists who attended this cultural festival, one could not miss the arrival of the Imserso, who visited the Puig de Missa half an hour before the religious celebration began. Pablo Melo and Susana Barbero, dazzled by the undertaking and the attire of the balladora of Es Broll Sonia Ribas, asked her for a photo. This couple from Valladolid, visiting for the first time an island “so green” that reminded them of Galicia, were pleasantly surprised to discover that their visit to Santa Eulària coincided with one of the most traditional celebrations of the municipality.
Shortly after, accompanied by volunteers from the Sant Josep Civil Protection Group and their daughter, Antonia, the most awaited visitors arrived at Puig de Missa, Francisco Ribas Noguera and Catalina Roselló Torres, happy to be able to recall, 72 years later, their honeymoon trip, in which they crossed the island with a cart pulled by a mule to reach Santa Eulària, coinciding with a Primer Diumenge de Maig (First Sunday of May). Xico de Can Gibert spoke of their wedding, of that humble but unforgettable honeymoon, and of “that picnic” they set up that Sunday in May “under a fig tree”. “When we started, life was not easy and we have had a very hard time, it seems incredible that we are here today, but as some say ‘love moves mountains’,” he said very excitedly.
The couple of nonagenarians, residents of Sant Jordi, received a very warm welcome from those present. The mayoress of Santa Eulària, Carmen Ferrer, was the first to greet them and congratulated them on their 72 years of marriage. Then the Balearic Minister of Mobility and Housing, Josep Marí Ribas Agustinet, the mayor of Sant Josep, Ángel Luis Guerrero, and the bishop of Ibiza, Vicent Ribas .
Both the Sant Josep and Santa Eulària City Councils went all out to make the honeymoon anniversary of Catalina de sa Font and Xico de Can Gibert a special one. They had seats reserved for them in the first rows of the crowded church so that they could follow the religious celebration, headed by the bishop, in comfort. During the mass sung by the parish choir, the attendees broke into applause after Vicent Ribas dedicated some heartfelt words to the couple.
In the list of congratulations, the bishop of the Pitiusas and the parish priest of Santa Eulària, Marcelo Gabriel Jofré, also included, of course, all the mothers and the colla Es Broll, which celebrates its 40th anniversary. In addition, both expressed their gratitude to the priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Dmytro Kyiashko, who participated in the religious ceremony. The applause was heard again when, before the end of the mass, he took the floor to thank the whole of Ibiza for the help it is giving to his country, which has been invaded by Russia.
The outside of the church and the Plaza de Lepanto were filled with people eager to see the members of the Santa Eulària folklore group perform again, who last year at the Festes de Maig could only dress in traditional costumes, but not dance.
“We haven’t been here for two years, but it seems like a Primer Diumenge de Maig before covid”, commented Joan Guash Marí Botigues, who attended the celebration with his wife, Josefa Ramón, and other members of the Sant Joan senior citizens club.
Calle Sant Jaume was full to the brim during the party celebrations where motorcycles and old cars paraded and then carts, horses and hounds.
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