Celebrating the Pujada al Pi | The Pine Tree Climb in Pollença
Every 17th January
We just experienced our first fiesta de Sant Antoni / Pujada al Pi and we’re all a bit stunned, in a really good way! It took me hours to get to sleep last night as the adrenalin was pumping through my veins and this morning I just wanted to throw the windows open and talk about it with everyone – except everyone seems to still be in bed..!

Words & Pictures by Lucy Hawkins
This beloved fiesta, honouring Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals, is a lively celebration of tradition, community, and culture that brings everyone together on January 17th each year. It dates back centuries, intertwining Christian, and pagan traditions. The festival's origins stem from the need to welcome the warmer days of the year, signifying a time of fertility and rebirth. Today, it’s marked by parades, bonfires, and musical revelries, I’ve seen nothing but smiling faces for days.
The festivities kick off the night before with a bonfire competition showcasing towering piles of firewood adorned with allegorical figures of the saint or local symbols. The ‘foguerons’ are ignited as night falls and the locals gather to dance, drink wine and warm up. The air fills with the scent of grilled sardines and the streets are thick with smoke. We celebrated with our neighbours as the kids danced through the streets dressed as ‘dimonis’, demons trying to tempt poor old Sant Antoni.
We woke on Friday morning, smelling very smoky, but thrilled to have the day off from work and school & curious to partake in our first blessing of the animals. We took our confused cat along to be blessed by the priest at church. The pouring rain couldn’t dampen our spirits, although it had a good crack at the smouldering bonfires. A procession of town folk lapped Pollença with their pets, ending up at the church where the lovely priest sprinkled us with holy water as firecrackers went off in the background. Needless to say our cat didn’t thank us for it, but she’s blessed now, so she should do.
Finally it was time for the Pujada al Pi– the climbing of the pine! The rain stopped just in time for us to join the procession in walking 3km out into the pine forests that border the town. Hundreds of us walked together through the beautiful countryside of the Ternelles estate, along the river that now gushed thanks to the rain.
We reached the pine tree that had been chosen, chopped down and stripped during the week and loaded onto a cart. Fires and BBQs dotted the hillside, musicians played, young girls danced and we were greeted by all the families from school and everyone we’d ever met in this charming town. Free bread, olive oil, tomatoes, olives, sardines and casks of wine were supplied by the town hall. The kids played by the river, teens clambered over the chosen tree and the rest of us caught up with our friends.
After lunch, ropes were attached to the tree and it was dragged back through the forest and around the narrow streets of Pollença, led by the band. It took hours and hours because no one’s in any hurry in general here I’ve noticed, and particularly not on Sant Antoni. Also, turning a 20.5 metre long tree around in 17th century streets is not a particularly easy task!
They finally got it to the old town square. It was packed, I mean really packed, this might be why they eat sardines. We decided it wasn’t completely safe for the kids so my husband took them home and I hustled into the centre of the crowd as the tree was soaped to make it even harder to climb and finally erected.
As soon as it was in place young guys jumped onto it trying to shimmy up to top where a prize awaited. It was one big human pyramid as they scrambled on top of each other, occasionally falling off into the crowd. One or two made it up a few metres, and then slid back down again. But after a little while there were a couple of contenders who were starting to stand out. Some of them had been training for months, some were there to help their friends up, some were just a bit boozed and fancied a try at it. It was extraordinary, there was so much to take in.
Every 17th January
We just experienced our first fiesta de Sant Antoni / Pujada al Pi and we’re all a bit stunned, in a really good way! It took me hours to get to sleep last night as the adrenalin was pumping through my veins and this morning I just wanted to throw the windows open and talk about it with everyone – except everyone seems to still be in bed..!
We reached the pine tree that had been chosen, chopped down and stripped during the week and loaded onto a cart. Fires and BBQs dotted the hillside, musicians played, young girls danced and we were greeted by all the families from school and everyone we’d ever met in this charming town. Free bread, olive oil, tomatoes, olives, sardines and casks of wine were supplied by the town hall. The kids played by the river, teens clambered over the chosen tree and the rest of us caught up with our friends.
After lunch, ropes were attached to the tree and it was dragged back through the forest and around the narrow streets of Pollença, led by the band. It took hours and hours because no one’s in any hurry in general here I’ve noticed, and particularly not on Sant Antoni. Also, turning a 20.5 metre long tree around in 17th century streets is not a particularly easy task!
They finally got it to the old town square. It was packed, I mean really packed, this might be why they eat sardines. We decided it wasn’t completely safe for the kids so my husband took them home and I hustled into the centre of the crowd as the tree was soaped to make it even harder to climb and finally erected.
As soon as it was in place young guys jumped onto it trying to shimmy up to top where a prize awaited. It was one big human pyramid as they scrambled on top of each other, occasionally falling off into the crowd. One or two made it up a few metres, and then slid back down again. But after a little while there were a couple of contenders who were starting to stand out. Some of them had been training for months, some were there to help their friends up, some were just a bit boozed and fancied a try at it. It was extraordinary, there was so much to take in.
My heart was in my mouth as 16 year old Jaume Coll, made it to the top. Absolutely nothing to break his potential 20 metre fall except for the crowd. I was so worried for him, and his mother, so proud of him, so moved by his skill and determination and the coming together of the entire town to get the tree there in the first place. When he reached the top I nearly burst into tears. He climbed into the branches and tore open a bag of confetti which fluttered down over the crowd to the sound of rapturous applause. He then grabbed the prize bag - traditionally, a rooster—symbolising Pollença— but now a chicken from the butchers. You couldn’t make it up.
As he descended, the guys who had made it some of the way up all hugged him and the magnanimity of it all was the final straw for me, I shed a few tears, delighted to see shared unity & compassion, but most of all relieved no one had been seriously hurt quite frankly!
The party continued late into the night. Street cleaners had everything tidied up pretty much instantly and despite the copious amounts of alcohol consumed, I didn’t see a single act of aggression or ill-will. As one local put it, ‘Pollença is strong because it unites, and the party never stops’.