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Las Dalias, a handcraft market with its own identity

By 26 February, 2013 August 3rd, 2020 No Comments

Back in the fifties, a young farmer and carpenter from the neighbouring municipality of Santa Eulalia, Joan Mari, fulfilled his dream of opening a bar in the vicinity of the village of Sant Carles de Peralta. He ran a small roadside bar with a dance hall in the back that was called Las Dalias, as it was surrounded by this variety of flower. Its opening coincided with the feast of
San Carlos, on 4 November 1954, which was a major social event.


Sant Carles, is a small rural area located in the northeast of the island of Ibiza, with red earth and green fields filled with almond, fig and carob trees, as well as Ibizan houses with thick whitewashed walls and a coastline with beautiful beaches and crystal clear water. Village life revolves around a beautiful church with unique features and a bohemian bar, Ca n’Anneta, famous for the Ibizan herbal liqueur that they make. This area also became a favourite place for many artists, painters and sculptors who took up residence here, creating a cosmopolitan and lively atmosphere.

During its early years, Las Dalias was the quintessential meeting place for local people. All kinds of family events and parties were held in the dance hall. In the 60s, with the advent of tourism, Joan Mari had to diversify the business and he began offering a variety of shows with dinner in the gardens of the premises. The business proved successful and spurred him on to build a restaurant. In the 70s, with the emergence of the hippy movement and the birth of the des Canar market, Las Dalias began organising parties of this kind.

The idea of establishing a market in Las Dalias came during the winter of 1985. The first day, four stalls were mounted, which sold second-hand goods. With the passage of time, it has grown and every Saturday throughout the year it becomes a market for craftsmen and hippies, with its own identity, whose secret is the careful selection of materials, clothing, handicrafts, leather goods and unique items that are sold along with good presentation, full of colours, smells and even tastes from all around the world, in a relaxed atmosphere in the gardens of the Dalias.