Tenerife in November 2020

Santa Lastenia Cemetery in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Photo Jose Mesa Some Rights Reserved

November usually begins with a National Public Holiday on the 1st November for Todos los Santos (All Saints Day), however, as this already falls on a Sunday in 2020, it was replaced with a date earlier in the year instead. All Saints is the day when families gather to lay flowers on the graves of deceased relatives and there are few religious days that mean quite so much to the people of Spain and the Canary Islands. More flowers are sold for All Saints Day than for Valentines Day. This year will inevitably be difficult with so many people lost to COVID-19, but with a need for restrictions to limit the number of people who gather.

Santa Lastenia Cemetery was one of the first to announce that they will control the capacity on the occasion of the Día de Finados (Day of the Dead). 

As announced in July the Asociación Cultural Pinolere have, this year, fused the 35th Pinolere Crafts Fair with the 10th Canary Islands Cheese Fair to hold a joint event on November 6, 7 and 8, 2020. The fair in person has been suspended and will now take place online only.

The 25º Subida Icod La Guancha (Icod-La Guancha Hillclimb), organised by the Escudería Daute-Realejos will take place on Saturday, November 7, and the route, once again, is the TF-342 highway, the road that connects the municipality of Icod de Los Vinos with the urban heart of La Guancha. The event has been given the green light by the health authorities, but organisers are asking for maximum collaboration from fans, including not attending if the island of Tenerife were to continue on red alert for COVID-19 after the 6 November.

Cuenta atrás para la XXV Subida Icod-La Guancha

The only municipal holiday is 25 November for Santa Catalina in Tacoronte. 

Black Week, a week of discounts in the 250 businesses that have signed up in Santa Cruz, will take place from 23 to 30 November. Councillor for Fiestas, Alfonso Cabello, stressed that “Black Week Santa Cruz is the starting signal for the Christmas campaign, one of the most important dates for the commercial sector" and added that, "according to a recent study by Deloitte, the accessories and gifts sector invoices between November and January between 50% and 60% of all annual sales, so it is the most important campaign of the year”. He also recalled that the sector employs almost 22,000 people.

La Navidad en Santa Cruz arranca el día 23 con la ‘Black Week’ y el encendido de luces el 26

Thursday, 26 November, at 7:00 p.m., is when the Christmas lights, made up of more than three million LED bulbs, are officially turned on. This will be transmitted through social networks to avoid the public gathering to watch.

The Christmas lighting in Tenerife's capital this year will have more than 26 kilometres of garlands, 686 Christmas motifs, 170 light arches and five floor motifs. Perhaps the most striking thing is the tunnel of light in the Plaza del Príncipe, which will be about 90 meters long and a cascade of LED lights. A total of 140 streets will be illuminated throughout the municipality. Also the annual planting of the poinsettias began on Tuesday. 

The month's biggest celebrations are usually on 29 November on the Eve of San Andrés (Saint Andrew's Day), in Icod de los Vinos with their Tablas de San Andrés and in Puerto de la Cruz with the Fiesta del cacharro y la castaña (Fiesta of the pots and chestnuts). At time of writing we have no news on whether either of these events will be celebrated this year in any form.

One of the traditions observed around San Andrés (St Andrew's Day) in November in Tenerife, are the Catas del Vino: the opening of the new wine. In previous years there have been events such as a Semana de San Andrés - a whole week of events such as technical conferences, workshops, tastings and guided routes through Denominations of Origin in addition to the traditional act of uncorking. 

This year, between 16 and 30 November, La Casa del Vino de Tenerife (Tenerife Wine Museum), is offering Degustación de Vinos de Tenerife (Tenerife Wines Tasting) - along with other local products, such as cheeses, dried fruits, olive oil, honey and jams. Contact the Casa del Vino.