El castell d’iràs i no tornaràs is a rondalla, of the marvelous genre, which could well be located in the vineyards of Santa Maria del Camí.
... And the vine shoots begin to grow, more shoots grow, and the vines fill with buds. With embers the little women heated them up, and they became grapes, with bunches bigger than your hand and grapes as big as almonds. A group of weavers has made baskets for everyone. Everybody takes one, and heads off to harvest the grapes; once their basket is full, then in it goes into the vat! And the group to tread the wine, with their legs and sleeves rolled up, tread the grapes and sing songs! Once the vat is full, they open the tap and start filling barrels. They fill and empty the vat a few times and fill all of the barrels. And what would you know? When it was starting to get dark and the evening star came out, the wine was made. The fairy opened a couple of taps, and a sparkling, black, bright liquid flowed out, and it was delicious.
El castell d’iràs i no tornaràs (Leave-and-Never-Return Castle)
Folktale compiled by Antoni M. Alcover. Translated by Richard Mansell. Performed by Caterina Valriu.
(Manacor, 1862 – Palma, 1932). Antoni M. Alcover i Sureda was a linguist and folklore expert. He is particularly well known for having compiled popular Mallorcan tales, published in a collection called the Aplec de rondaies mallorquines d’En Jordi d’es Racó (Jordi of Es Racó’s Mallorcan Folk Tales). Alcover ranks among Europe’s leading folklore experts, on a par with the brothers Grimm, Perrault or Andersen. His first collection of folk tales was published in 1885 under the title Contarelles d’En Jordi d’es Recó (Jordi of Es Racó’s Tales), apparently motivated by Alcover’s desire to read popular literature in his own language. This was the starting point of a project to compile an extensive collection of Mallorcan folk tales at a time when oral literature was gradually being lost, thus preventing these stories from falling into oblivion. The project was also probably inspired by the romantic notion of seeking to express the spirit of an island community. To ensure unadulterated orally transmitted folk tales, with no outside influences, Alcover sought storytellers who had had no or very little education. The Aplec was and continues to be very popular and, for many years, it was the only book read in the local language by many Mallorcans.
El castell d’iràs i no tornaràs (Leave-and-Never-Return Castle) is a marvellous folk tale, featuring all kinds of fairy-tale characters and elements: bird women, spells, and speaking objects and animals.
Santa Maria belongs to the wineyards landscape covered by the Binissalem denomination. In the back room of ca s'Apotecari, not only did the pharmacist prepare formulas but it was also a meeting place where he could talk with friends about literature, history and important news. The council of Santa Maria want to restore this space, where people will be able to reflect on sustainable development and the conservation of the area's heritage.
