Ibiza Traditions
Ibiza's insular character has nurtured and protected a rich heritage of traditions that is very appealing to sensitive and curious travelers.
The Ibiza countryside accumulates centuries of tradition in its houses, churches, dry stone walls, wells, and fountains. Throughout the island, there are excellent examples of traditional country houses, with their whitewashed facades, their cubic shapes, their small windows... To discover the architecture that gave Ibiza the nickname of White Island, it is enough to go into the secondary roads of the interior, where they appear in the middle of a farm field or converted into cozy restaurants.
Also the traditional dance of Ibiza, the "Ball Pagès", stands out for being a folkloric representation without equality in the Mediterranean.
In this ancestral courtship dance, the women move hieratically tracing curves while the man makes constant jumps around them while playing large castanets called castanyoles. In addition to the dance, you have to pay attention to the traditional costumes, the goldsmith work of the enterprises, true works of art in silver, gold, and coral that adorn the chest of the women; and the instrumental group that accompanies the dancers, made up of the drum, the flute, and the espasí, a unique metallic percussion musical instrument that looks like a sword.
Knowing how Ibizans live their traditions is very simple: just join the patron saint festivities of the towns or the more than twenty popular ballades that are celebrated in wells and fountains from April to October. On all these occasions, the performance of the ball pagès is followed by a tasting of traditional sweets (orelletes and bunyols). Apart from these festive events, visitors can also enjoy the beauty and uniqueness of the ball pagès in the performances scheduled during the summer season in the courtyard of the church of Sant Miquel and in the port of Ibiza.
