See the colourful La Beata festival on a Mallorca villa holiday

Spanish festivals are usually colourful affairs - and Britons on Mallorca villa holidays near Santa Margalida will find that the La Beata celebration is no exception.

The La Beata festival takes place during the first weekend of September to honour Catalina Tomas, the patron saint of Santa Margalida.

Saturday sees the Dissabte de la Beata ceremony - where floral offerings are made at the saint's monument - take place, followed by an open air party in the evening.

On Sunday, the Diumenge de la Beata portion of the festival brings a mid-morning Mass, after which some locals dressed as devils wait outside the church for a young girl and her assistants in costume as Catalina Tomas and her court to leave the building.

A riot of noise then occurs as the devils wander the streets of Santa Margalida with cowbells attached to their clothing. The evening brings a folk-religious procession with floats telling the story of the life of the saint.

Clay pitchers are handed out to hundreds of people, with the devils trying to snatch them away in order to break them at the feet of the costumed saint.

Holiday makers staying in a villa in Alcudia will be close to Santa Margalida, which is situated in north-east Mallorca.

Posted by Corrine Moore
 

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