Fira de Sant Tomàs in Sineu: Sausage scents, bagpipes and a slice of Mallorca

Fira de Sant Tomàs in Sineu: Sausage scents, bagpipes and a slice of Mallorca

How a village brings its cuisine, animals and old customs out onto the street

When in December the light flattens and the Tramuntana sky stays clear, people head out to the island's centre — today to Sineu. The Fira de Sant Tomàs is not a staged spectacle but a Saturday full of sounds: the crackle of fire, laughter at market stalls, the rough wail of bagpipes. The smell of roasted meat and sobrasada drifts to the Plaça des Mercat and mingles with the scent of stable manure and damp stone.

Sausages and meat are at the centre, of course the sobrasada — creamy, spicy, a piece of home on bread. Traders set up their tables, butchers from small villages display their cured meats, and there is a relaxed kind of competition: who has the heartiest chorizo, whose sobrasada has the most delicate paprika note? Buckets and basket lids rattle in the alleys, children run past the stalls with warm fingers, and visitors sample small slices as the sun slowly sinks over Sineu's rooftops.

But the fair is more than a market. There are hunting demonstrations where dogs and handlers show what decades of practice mean. Animal exhibitions bring sheep, goats and fattened pigs into the centre — and yes, the annual fattened pig contest draws a crowd: not only for the result but for the way farmers present their work and neighbours strike up conversations.

Parades with traditional costumes and bagpipe players wind between the stalls. The sound oddly suits Sineu: raw, old-fashioned, a little defiant. You see older people dressed up, young families with thermal cups in hand and tourists surprised at how direct and unfiltered Mallorcan traditions still are.

I stood today on a corner of the Carrer Major. In front of me: a butcher's shop, two tables with packages of sobrasada, behind them a stall with warm churros. A farmer carefully fed a cheeky fattened pig while a little girl handed him a piece of tape. Scenes like that are honest and a bit quirky — and that's exactly the appeal.

The Fira de Sant Tomàs matters for the island because it is more than consumption. It connects production and tradition, urban curiosity with farming practice. Young farmers show their animals, old recipes are revived, and local producers find buyers who care about origin. At a time when many products travel anonymously across continents, Sineu creates transparency for one day: you see the animals, talk to the people, understand working rhythms.

The event is also a small boost for the island's centre: cafés are full, overnight stays in simple guesthouses are booked, and a small increase in customers for local shops remains noticeable beyond the day. That has not only an economic effect but also keeps cultural networks alive — things that quickly wither in villages when encounters disappear.

If you want to go today: the fair lasts until early afternoon. The detailed programme is available as a PDF on the Ajuntament de Sineu website. Visitors are advised to wear warm clothing, sturdy shoes and come with an empty stomach. And: respect the animals and exhibitors — taking photos is okay, but asking is more polite.

Afternoon sun, outdoor heaters at the stalls, two butchers quietly discussing feeding and curing times — this is Mallorca away from the postcards. Visitors to Sineu are served a piece of living craftsmanship. And for the palate there remains the memory of sobrasada: a simple slice, a small happiness.

Outlook: Events like the Fira de Sant Tomàs show that traditions stay alive when they are given space to be shown. Maybe that's an invitation to other places on the island: make local life more visible, connect producers directly, and shape festivals so they enrich everyday life — not just the calendar.

Today in Sineu: loud, spicy, warm-hearted. A uniquely Mallorcan festival that lets you peek behind the apron.