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Tenerife in September 2021

Baile de Las Libreas, El Palmar Photo: Buenavista del Norte Town Hall (More images)

In June the Department of Festivities announced the dates of the Tenerife Summer Carnival 2021, to be held from September 6 to 12 in Puerto de la Cruz. Necessarily, the preparations are being carried out with caution. As last year, there will be no mass events or parades.

However, after the hiatus of last year, Puerto de la Cruz recovers the celebration of what will be its second Carnival King Gala, elected for the first time in 2019 and Televisión Canaria, has just committed to broadcast the gala, to be held at the Lago Martiánez on September 10. Organisers announced that there are sixteen contestants for the King of Summer Carnival this year, double the number from the first edition.

Spanish singer Marta Sánchez is the first of many artists confirmed for the Tenerife Summer Carnival 2021. The famous singer will be one of the artists who will participate in the Gala for the Election of the King of the Summer Carnival 2021, to be held on September 10 at the Martiánez Tourist Complex and that will be broadcast on TV Canaria and streamed on social networks.

Summer Carnival Program 2021

  • On Monday, September 6, inauguration with the raising of the Carnival flag and opening the Carnival of Tenerife exhibition in the hotels of the tourist area of Costa Martiánez. Start of the Ruta Gastronómica del Trampantojo (Trampantojo Gastronomic Route).
  • Tuesday, September 7, will be the day designated as Germany Day. For this, an official reception of the delegations will be welcomed, the inauguration of the medal exhibition and a gala dinner.
  • On Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th of September, the “Carnival Trends” Forum with performances by some of the carnival groups.
  • Official presentation of the Carnival on Friday, September 10 with the long-awaited and unique "Gala del Rey del Carnaval" (King of Carnival Gala), with the participation of the most emblematic groups of the northern carnival and Marta Sánchez, among other artists.
  • Saturday, September 11, has been the day chosen for the celebration of the Summer Carnival Parade that will take place inside the Lago Martiánez and will be broadcast on television.
  • Sunday September 12, the closing ceremony of the festivities.

Marta Sánchez estará en el Carnaval de Verano de Puerto de la Cruz

The emblematic Fiestas del Cristo in La Laguna this year will celebrate cultural events in their traditional location of the Plaza del Cristo, after being severely restricted last year. On Sep 14th, the big day of the festivities, the pyrotechnic display returns at 11:30 pm. This year they have fireworks that considerably reduce noise pollution by almost 60%. There will be a fun fair in the space attached to the square.

Events began last Friday with the reading of the proclamation of the festivities, on horseback, through the streets, a tradition that had not been carried out since 1984.

The main religious events begin on 9th Sep, with the descent of the image in the sanctuary at 11.00 hours, as is tradition, and in the afternoon procession with the Brotherhoods and the Army Artillery Regiment in the Plaza del Cristo.

On 14th Sep at 11.00 the solemn mass in the square, after which, the figure of Christ would return to his sanctuary at noon. That night, the plan is to celebrate mass again in the plaza, accompanied by the Achamán group.
Among the cultural events, the the symphonic concert returns to the Plaza del Cristo on Friday at 9:30 p.m. The Las Palmas Symphony Orchestra will interpret themes from Mexican folklore, accompanied by typical instruments and four voices: Fabiola Trujillo, Mara Pérez, Manuel Estupiñán and José Santana.

In addition, the Plaza del Cristo will also host, as always at 9.30 pm, the Night of Humour, on Saturday; the Reggaecan Festival, on 9 Sep; the Youth Festival of the City of La Laguna, on the 10th; the Sabandeños Festival, on the 11th; the Day of Traditions, the 13th; and the Night of Orchestras, on the 14th, "as a stage show, without dancing" stressed the mayor. The Teatro Leal will also be the scene of performances such as that of Pablo Milanés, on the 11th; Fimucité, on the 17th; Ainhoa Arteta, on the 18th; or an acoustic one by MClan, on the 24th, among other cultural, sporting events and exhibitions.

This September, the town of Tacoronte is dressed again for a party, creating a space for meeting and devotion around the figure of Cristo de Los Dolores, in whose honour a wide program of cultural and religious events will be held. The Plaza del Cristo will be transformed into an open-air stage.

The festive program began on Sunday, September 5, with the reading of the Proclamation of the Festivities by Juan Fajardo, the artist responsible for making Tacoronte's traditional Corpus Christi carpet for more than 30 years. The rest of the program will run until October 2, although one of the highlights of it will be the Octava del Cristo, on September 26, a Sunday in which the traditional procession will not be held, following indications of the Diocese, to avoid crowds. However, there will be a liturgy for the Eighth day, the Craft Fair and a closing of the festivities by Los Sabandeños on this same Sunday.

Craft Fair

The craft fair will return on Sunday of the Octava del Cristo (September 26). Both the Proclamation and the two Eucharists will be broadcast by Canal 4 Television. The Eucharist on Saturdays, September 18 and 25, will be celebrated at 6:00 p.m., with the display of fireworks at the end of the subsequent sacred concerts. On Saturday 18, La noche del humor (A night of humour), after the fireworks and La Noche Joven (Youth Night), on September 22, as well as a children's show on September 23. On Saturday 25, after the fireworks display, there will be a tribute concert to Queen and the next day, a performance by Los Sabandeños, to close the cultural program.


There are no national public holidays in September, but these Municipal Holidays:
  • 7 September: Festivity of Nuestra Señora del Socorro in Güímar
  • 8 September: Festivity of Nuestra Señora de la Luz in Los Silos
  • 8 September: Festivity of Nuestra Señora de Abona in Arico
  • 8 September: Festivity of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios in Tegueste
  • 13 September: Festivity of San José in San Juan de la Rambla
  • 14 September: Festivity of the Most Holy Christ of La Laguna.
  • 20 September: Santísimo Cristo de la Dulce Muerte in Guía de Isora
  • 29 September: Festivity of San Miguel Arcángel in San Miguel de Abona

Town Hall and Traditional Fiestas in Adeje

Town Hall of Adeje

The Ayuntamiento de Adeje (Adeje Town Hall) can be found in the Calle Grande, 1, 38670 Adeje, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Tel: +34 922 75 62 00. Official website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram. The council's tourism department also operate the Costa Adeje website, which also has it's own social media presence: Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Youtube.

Fiestas of San Sebastián: 20th January

It was on the La Enramada beach, where there was the first apparition of the Virgen de La Encarnación, patroness of Adeje and, is where the first church was built on the south of Tenerife. Farmers profess a great devotion to San Sebastián. Many miracles have been attributed to the image of the patron saint and men and women of all ages come to the old hermitage in the hope of regaining their health or to request or keep a promise. The events of the Fiestas of San Sebastián are celebrated on the La Enramada beach and also offer the colony of Gomeran residents in the south of the island an occasion to honour a replica of the Virgen de Guadalupe, patroness of La Gomera that is kept in the La Enramada church.

Fiestas of San Sebastián in La Caleta, Adeje

Representation of the Passion of Christ

The representation of the Vía Crucis (The Stations of the Cross) is central to the celebrations of Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Adeje. More than 300 amateur actors bring to life the most relevant scenes in the last hours of the life of Christ, in the town's main street, the Calle Grande. Held on Good Friday, starting at 12:00 hrs mid-day, the two hour spectacle is televised by Televisión Canaria.

Corpus Christi

The celebrations of Corpus Christi allow residents and visitors alike to enjoy the carpets of salt made along the processional route in the Calle Grande in Adeje. Tons of salt, and on occasions earth, give colour to these ephemeral artworks.

Fiestas Patronales Ntra. Sra. de la Encarnación y Santa Úrsula

The Romería is celebrated in the Calle Grande in honour of the patrons of Adeje: Santa Úrsula, the Virgen de la Encarnación and San Sebastián. Residents and visitors come together on the second or third Sunday of the month of October to partake in Canarian folklore and gastronomy.

Other celebrations in the municipality include:
  • Ntra. Sra. de Fátima: 13th May
  • Ntra. Sra. de Las Nieves: 1st week of July in Las Nieves
  • Ntra. Sra. de Coromoto: Last week of July in Taucho
  • Ntra. Sra. del Carmen: 1st week of July in Tijoco; 2nd week of July in Los Olivos; 2nd week of August in La Caleta.
  • Ntra. Sra. de Candelaria: Last week of July in Armeñime
  • Virgen del Campo: 2nd week of September in Fañabé
Source: Fiestas de Adeje

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Town Hall and Traditional Fiestas in Arafo

Town Hall of Arafo

Ayuntamiento de Arafo, Calle Amilcar González Díaz 1, 38550 Arafo, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 51 17 11. Website | Facebook | Twitter (Press). Arafo also has separate social media accounts including a dedicated Twitter account for Prensa (Press) and numerous Facebook pages for different departments.

In the 1950s, a series of improvements in its urban facilities were carried out in Arafo, such as the constructions of the Obra Social del Movimiento building, the installation of the drinking water service, paving the streets, expansion and improvement of the Plaza José Antonio, the completion of the building for schools and the Town Hall and the construction of a group of limited-income housing in the Carmen neighbourhood. The seat of the town council had been itinerant, once the parish church or the home of the mayor on duty, later they would be houses generally rented to influential people. In 1935 a motion by Mayor Luis Marrero was approved for the construction of new buildings for the Town Hall, Court and Civil Guard barracks, however the Civil War paralyzed the project. The current headquarters of the consistory, was begun during the decade of the 1930s, at first to be occupied by the primary schools. In 1943, the council moved to a room on the first floor. The second was concluded at the end of the fifties. The progressive increase in the town hall offices led to it being used entirely as Town Hall.


Fiestas celebrated in Arafo include:
  • Fiestas de La Cruz in Aserradero or La Cruz, beginning of May
  • Romería in honour of San Isidro in May
  • Fiestas patronales in honour of San Juan  Degollado, San Agustín and San Bernardo: during the month of August
  • Romería de San Agustín: Saturday before last Sunday of August
  • Fiestas a San Andrés: in La Hidalga and El Carretón, end of Nov
  • Fiestas in honour of San Juanito: in the Playa de Lima
  • Fiestas a Nuestra Señora del Carmen
  • Feria Regional de Artesanía: coinciding with the Fiesta de San José.
  • Santa Cecilia: is commemorated by musical groups from Arafo.

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Town Hall and Traditional Fiestas in Arico

Town Hall of Arico

Ayuntamiento de Villa de Arico, Calle Meleque, 1, 38580 Villa de Arico, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 76 82 42. Website | Facebook | Twitter.


  • San José Obrero: 1st May
  • Fiesta de la Cruz: in La Sabinita, 3rd May
  • Virgen de la “O”: in El Río, 31st May
  • San Juan Bautista: 24th June
  • Nuestra Señora de la Luz: in Arico El Nuevo, 15th August
  • Virgen de Tajo: in Arico, 16th August
  • Romería de San Bartolomé: in El Río, 3rd Sunday of August
  • Santa María de Abona: 8th September
  • Bajada a la Ermita de la Virgen de Abona. Every 5 years on the 2nd Sunday in September
  • Virgen de Las Mercedes: in Porís de Abona, 24th September
  • San Miguel de Tajao: 29th September

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Town Hall and Traditional Fiestas in Arona

Town Hall of Arona

Ayuntamiento de Arona, Plaza Cristo de la Salud, 1, 38640 Arona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Tel: +34 922 76 16 00. Website | Facebook (Tourism) | Twitter | Instagram | Flickr | Youtube.


Fiestas in Arona include:
Source: Calendario de las Fiestas del Municipio de Arona 2016

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Cristóbal de Ponte, founder of Garachico

Iglesia de Santa Ana (Church of Santa AnaWolfgang HolzemCC BY-SA 4.0
In 1520, Cristóbal de Ponte, the founder of Garachico, ceded a plot to construct the church.
The dedication of the church to Saint Anne was inspired by his wife, Ana de Vergara.

Cristóbal de Ponte (~1447-1532) was born in Genoa (Italy) and died in Tenerife. He participated with other compatriots, in financing the conquest of Tenerife; and his financial contribution must have been important, judging by the generous distributions of lands that resulted. Historian Cioranescu, relates that Cristóbal de Ponte was the first inhabitant of Garachico “at least, the first whose memory has been preserved. He had a house on his land since before 1499; he made a sugar mill around 1501 and water saw around 1504”.

"... a native of Genoa, patrician of said city and whose name was inscribed in the Libro d'oro della nobiltà di Genova (Golden Book of that city). He passed to Spain and entered the service of the Catholic Monarchs, who authorised him to attend the conquest of the Canary Islands and there he rendered important services to the Spanish sovereigns. These, to reward him, granted him extensive divisions in the district of Daute, Tenerife Island, where he settled in 1497. In the year 1500 he founded the city and port of Garachico."
   
Son of the also Genoese, Juan Esteban de Ponte, he lived in La Caleta de San Pedro, and his estate in El Tanque was located in the Realexo de Daute, above Garachico. He built on his property the chapel of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, later San Sebastián, where he maintained a clergyman chaplain. 

Cristóbal de Ponte married, in 1503, Ana de Vergara, who died in 1514, daughter of García de Vergara and María Hernández and sister of fellow conquistador and Sevillian Jewish conversoPedro de Vergara

Cristóbal de Ponte, overlooking the Parque Puerta de la Tierra

On the wall overlooking the Puerta de la Tierra in the park of the same name in Garachico, is this bust of Cristóbal de PonteTo commemorate him, the sculptor Eladio de la Cruz, made a high relief, bronze bust of the founder who appears flanked by the coats of arms of Genoa and Garachico. The work is displayed on three natural stone monoliths designed by Lorenzo Dorta García. Several anchors, some from the old port and others donated by the port authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, complete a paved and landscaped complex. 

In 1527 Ponte was summoned by the Inquisition and excused himself by saying he could not come because of his many years and ailments. In later writing he alleges that he is a sick man, very weak and skinny and has lost much of his sight in such a way that it is necessary for him to have a guide.

Cristóbal de Ponte's will was opened upon his death in 1532, on May 11, before Antón Martín, public notary of Daute. His sons Bartolomé de Ponte retained the inheritance of Daute and Pedro de Ponte, that of Adeje.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles and Convento de San Francisco RobertoZNCC BY-SA 4.0
The former Franciscan convent - the oldest of the five convents built in the town - and church of Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles in Garachico, Tenerife, were founded by Cristóbal de Ponte, in 1524. This church is the burial place of the founder and his wife, Doña Ana de Vergara.

Town Hall & Fiestas in Buenavista del Norte

Town Hall of Buenavista del Norte (left) in the Calle Alhóndiga

Ayuntamiento de Buenavista del Norte, Calle la Alhóndiga, 5, 38480 Buenavista del Nte., Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 12 90 30. Official website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YoutubeTourist Information office at the “Casa Matula, Plaza de Los Remedios, 4. Phone: +34 922 12 80 80 and +34 922 12 90 30-Ext: 1071. Email: turismo@buenavistadelnorte.es which has it's own Facebook page: Turismo Buenavista del Norte


  • San Antonio Abad: 3rd and 4th Sunday of January
  • Baile de Piñata: At carnival time in Teno Alto  
  • San Juan: Last week of June in Los Carrizales
  • Santa Lucía: Last weekend in July in La Cuesta
  • San Bartolomé: 24th August
  • Virgen del Carmen: Last weekend of August and first weekend of September in Las Portelas
  • San Jerónimo: Second weekend in September in Teno Alto
  • Virgen de la Consolación: Second half of September, featuring the Baile de las Libreas, in El Palmar
  • Nuestra Señora de la Concepción: First w/e in October in Masca 
  • Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios: 25th October

Agriculture is the reason behind many of the popular celebrations in Buenavista, among them the Día de la Siembra de la Papa (Day of potato planting) in Las Portelas, which is repeated every summer to coincide with the festival of Ntra. Sra. Del Carmen. Local residents and onlookers gather to enjoy a day of sowing and the subsequent lunch. The wheat harvest, staggered over the summer, begins in July. The subsequent threshing forms the origins of one of the most complete rural celebrations in the area: the Día de la Trilla (Threshing Day), this time in the neighborhood of El Palmar. The events on the last Sunday in September combine the making of a carbonera (an ancestral procedure for obtaining charcoal by slow burning firewood) with traditional threshing, where the skillful use of beasts enable the separation of the wheat from the straw. These are followed by lunch and an afternoon of music and dancing.

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Pastel de Tres Leches (Three Milk Cake)

Pastel de Tres Leches in a bar in El Palmar, Buenavista del Norte

It's not a great image and you can see that I'd already made a right mess of the table with my main course, but this is a desert I had once, as a birthday treat, in a bar in the El Palmar Valley in Buenavista del Norte. It was their version of the dessert, Pastel de Tres Leches (Three Milk Cake), a sponge cake soaked in a mixture of three kinds of milk. To be honest, we sub-title this "heart attack pudding", because you can almost feel your arteries hardening before you even dig your spoon into this calorie, carbohydrate, cholesterol and fat-laden delicacy, but we figure it's probably OK if reserved for a once-a-year treat. 

And an easier, lazier, recipe that is this tasty, you will never find.

Ingredients

Sponge cake (make it if you must, but a "block" of dense, store-bought Madeira cake works just great and yields around four generous portions.)
1 can of condensed milk
1 small can of evaporated milk
Small pot of double cream
A slurp of rum (to taste)

Method:

Place each portion of sponge in individual deep dishes. In a bowl, jug or blender, combine the three milks and add a splash of rum to your own liking. Mix well.

About half to an hour before you wish to serve, pour some of the milky mixture over each of the sponges and allow them to wallow in the fridge to soak.

Town Hall and Fiestas in Candelaria

The Basilica and coast of Candelaria

The Town Hall, Ayuntamiento de Candelaria, Av. de la Constitución, 7, 38530 Candelaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 50 08 00. Official website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube.


Fiestas in Candelaria include:
  • Virgen de Candelaria: 2nd February (Public Holiday). Feast of Our Lady of Candelaria. In 1497, Alonso Fernández de Lugo first celebrated Candlemas, coinciding with the Purification of the Virgin. The night of the 1st to the 2nd February is celebrated with the "Procession of the Candles" during which the lights are extinguished in the town. During the procession, the faithful pray the Rosary carrying lighted candles, which symbolize Jesus as the light of all people.
  • San Blas: 3rd February
  • Carnaval: Around the time of Shrove Tuesday each year.
  • Virgen del Carmen: 16th July
  • Santa Ana: 26th July
  • Virgen de la Candelaria: 14th and 15th August (the latter is a Public Holiday). Celebration in honour of the patron of the Canary Islands. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the archipelago come to the village to celebrate the feast of the patron in the Pilgrimage to Candelaria as well as the Ceremony of the discovery of the Virgin of Candelaria.

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Town Hall and Fiestas in El Rosario

Town Hall of El Rosario

The Town Hall of El Rosario, Ayuntamiento de El Rosario, Plaza del Ayuntamiento, s/n, 38290 La Esperanza, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 010 160. Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube | Instagram


El Rosario is a municipality in the north eastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife province, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The seat of the municipality is the town La Esperanza, in the mountainous interior of the island.

Fiestas in El Rosario include:
  • Fiesta in honour of San Amaro, Santa Lucía y San Sebastián: On the Sunday after 15th January in Machado.
  • Fiesta in honour of San Isidro Labrador and Santa María de la Cabeza: in El Chorillo on the Sunday nearest to 15th May. 
  • Fiesta de San Juan: with the traditional bonfires on the night of 23rd June in Tabaiba and on the Playa de La Nea.
  • Exaltación de la Santa Cruz and romería del Santo Hermano Pedro: in Llano del Moro on the 1st Sunday of July.
  • Nuestra Señora del Carmen: 16th July in Boca Cangrejo, Radazul and Varadero 
  • Romería de Nra Señora de La Esperanza: 1st Sunday in August 
  • Nuestra Señora del Rosario: Around 7th October
  • Nuestra Señora de los Dolores: 2nd Sunday of October in Las Rosas, Lomo Pelado and Las Barreras
Fiestas populares en el municipio de El Rosario

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Town Hall and Fiestas in El Sauzal

Town Hall of El Sauzal

Ayuntamiento de El Sauzal, Calle la Constitución, 3, 38360 El Sauzal, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 57 00 00. Official website | Twitter | Youtube.


Fiestas celebrated in El Sauzal include:
  • San José: Around 19th March, in San José.
  • Virgen de La Piedad: End of April / beginning of May in El Calvario.
  • Nuestra Señora la Virgen de Fátima: Around 13th May in El Hayal.
  • San Pedro Apóstol: The last two weeks of June in El Sauzal.
  • Santa Cruz: 2nd and 3rd weeks of July in Ravelo.
  • Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles: 2nd August.
  • San Nicolás: 10th September in San Nicolás.
Fiestas en el municipio de El Sauzal

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Town Hall and Fiestas in El Tanque

Town Hall of El Tanque



Fiestas in El Tanque include:
  • San Antonio Abad, nearest weekend after 17th January.
  • San José, 19th March.
  • Fiestas de San Alejo, the final days of April and 1st May.
  • San Isidro Labrador, in the middle of the month of May.
  • Nuestra Señora de la Begoña, first week of June.
  • San Antonio de Padua, 13th June.
  • Virgen del Buen Viaje, 31st August.
  • San José, third weekend in September.
  • Nuestra Señora de la Milagrosa, second week of October.
  • Santísimo Cristo del Calvario, third weekend in October.
  • Nuestra Señora del Coromoto, popular with those who have had to abandon their homes to go to live and work in Venezuela.

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Town Hall and Fiestas in Fasnia

The New Town Hall of Fasnia

Ayuntamiento de Fasnia, Ctra. los Roques, nº 12, 38570 Fasnia, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 53 00 28. Official website | Facebook.


Fiestas in Fasnia include:
  • San Valentín: February country fiestas in Fuente Nueva La Zarza
  • San Isidro and Sta. María de la Cabeza: 2nd week of May
  • Mª Auxiliadora or Los Faroles: 3rd week of May in Plaza la Zarza
  • Día de La Cruz: 3rd May in Plaza de La Cruz del Roque
  • San Antonio: 13th June country fiesta in Monte de Fasnia
  • Nuestra Señora del Carmen: 3rd week of July, Plaza de La Zarza
  • San Joaquín and Santa Ana: 3rd week in August
  • San Roque: 3rd week in September in the Plaza del Roque
  • Nuestra Señora del Carmen: 4th week of September in Las Eras
  • Nuestra Señora del Rosario: 2nd week of October
  • San Andrés: November country fiesta in Monte de la Zarza
  • San Silvestre and Hermano Pedro: 4th week of December in La Sombrera
During the fiestas of San Joaquín (in August) and of the Virgen del Rosario (in October) the ancestral Danza de las Cintas takes place, with colourful ribbons attached to a central pole while dancing to the sound of drum and flute.

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Town Hall and Fiestas in Garachico

Town Hall of Garachico

Ayuntamiento de Garachico, Plaza de la Libertad, 1, 38450 Garachico, Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 83 00 00. Website | Facebook | Twitter.


Fiestas in Garachico include:

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Cestería Canaria (Canarian Basketry)

Handmade baskets from the Valle de el Palmar

Nowadays, some artisan work is still maintained thanks to the effort and commitment of local artisans, and through promotion in workshops. The cane and wicker baskets used in the past to collect the harvest and carry stones stand out. Local crafts can be purchased in stores or at the craftsman's house, as well as admired at crafts fairs. In practically the whole of the Canary Islands there are basketry centres, in most cases, very rudimentary. Basket weaving was an activity that was closely linked to the rural world, therefore, it was an art oriented towards domestic consumption, which sought the functionality of the product. This was so, until very few years ago. Nowadays, as with most handicrafts, it has become a luxury product, with a basically ornamental purpose.

The material varies according to the island and the type of model to be made. Normally chestnut, follao (Viburnum treleasei), wicker and cane, are used for the toughest jobs as they are very resistant. While the 'colmo', (as rye straw is known, especially on the island of La Palma and El Hierro) and laburnum, are used more in fine basketry, where the purpose is more decorative than practical.

Straw basketry

There are a wide variety of baskets made with straw, for sewing, etc. Usually made with bramble, raffia or threads. The straw baskets are typical of La Guancha and Buenavista, in Tenerife, Ingenio, in Gran Canaria and Breña Alta, Breña Baja and Mazo, in La Palma.

Rod basketry

The hardness of the rod (follao) allows to make very resistant works such as hand baskets, boats, baskets, foxholes, bread and clothes baskets, baskets with covers, baskets or serones. The stick baskets are typical of La Orotava and Los Realejos, in Tenerife as well as in Breña Alta and Breña Baja, in La Palma.

Cane and wicker basketry

Cane and wicker basketry dates from the first years of colonization. It is used to make among other things hand baskets, bread baskets, shrimp pots, reed cages for birds and reed drums to catch moray eels. The traps, drums and cages are built mainly in Icod de los Vinos and San Andrés, in Tenerife, while baskets are more frequent in Los Sauces and Barlovento, in La Palma and Sabinosa in El Hierro. Currently there are very few artisans who work the reed in a traditional way.

Pírgano basketry

The elaboration of pírgano (central nerve of the palm leaf) basketry, depends on the availability of palm groves. Elaboration is a particularly masculine task, due to the considerable physical strength that working with this material requires. This type of basketwork is produced mainly on the island of Gran Canaria. 


Town Hall and Fiestas in Granadilla de Abona

Town Hall of Granadilla de Abona José Mesa, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ayuntamiento de Granadilla de Abona, Plaza González Mena, s/n, 38600 Granadilla, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 75 99 00. Website | Facebook | Twitter | Youtube | Instagram.


On the 24th, 25th and 26th July, during the Fiestas of San Juan y Santa Ana in the district of Las Vegas, the Danza de las Varas, one of the most curious dances in the Canarian archipelago takes place. The steps, the costumes the dancers and the decorations of their poles are dissimilar to any other dance taking place on the islands. In June the Fiestas Mayores in honor of San Antonio de Padua and Nuestra Señora del Rosario take place. On the 13th June, fiestas in honour of San Antonio de Padua, patron of Granadilla de Abona, are celebrated with a romería that culminates in a dance in the town's main square. The 24th September, in El Médano, fiestas for the Virgen de las Mercedes de Rojas are celebrated with a maritime procession.

Other celebrations taking place in this clearly very fun-loving municipality include:
  • Fiestas of La Milagrosa, in El Salto at the end of January.
  • Fiestas of San José, in Yaco on 19th March.
  • Fiestas of La Cruz in Granadilla town on 3rd May.
  • Fiestas of San Isidro Labrador in San Isidro on 15th May.
  • Fiestas of La Cruz de Vicácaro in Vicácaroon 26th May.
  • Fiestas of San Antonio de Padua in Granadilla on 13th June
  • Fiestas of Sagrado Corazón in Los Cuervos on 22nd June.
  • Fiestas of San Juan Bautista in El Salto on 24th June.
  • Fiestas of San Benito in Los Blanquitos on 11th July.
  • Fiestas of Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Chimiche, Casablanca and Los Abrigos on 16th July.
  • Fiestas of Santa Ana in Las Vegas on 26th July.
  • Fiestas of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves in Charco del Pino on 5th August.
  • Fiestas of Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje in Cruz de Tea on 18th August.
  • Fiestas of San Blas in Los Abrigos during the 2nd week of September.
  • Fiestas of Nuestra Señora de Las Mercedes de Rojas in El Médano during the 3rd week of September.
  • Fiestas of San Francisco de Asís in El Desierto on 4th October.
  • Fiestas of Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Chimiche on 12th October.
  • Fiestas of El Picacho in El Médano 28th October.
  • Fiestas of La Inmaculada in Charco del Pino on 8th December.
  • Fiestas of Santa Lucía in Granadilla on 13th December.
  • Fiestas of Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza in San Isidro on 18th December.

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Town Hall and Fiestas in Guía de Isora

Town Hall of Guía de Isora

Ayuntamiento de Guía de Isora, Calle Ayuntamiento, 4, 38680 Guía de Isora, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 85 01 00. Website | Facebook | Twitter.


The biggest celebrations are the Fiestas de Nuestra Señora de La Luz in September, but all of the following take place in the district throughout the year:
  • Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria: 2 February in Alcalá.
  • La Milagrosa: 3rd or 4th week of April in Chiguergue.
  • Romería de San Isidro: Third Sunday in May.
  • San Felipe: Last Sunday in May in Chirche.
  • San Juan y Nuestra Señora de La Paz: 24 and 25 June in Chío.
  • Nuestra Señora del Carmen: 1st & 2nd wk of July in Vera de Erques.
  • San Juan y Virgen del Carmen: 1st Sunday of Aug, Playa San Juan.
  • Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria: 15 August in Alcalá.
  • San Roque: Third Sunday of August in Chiquergue.
  • Nuestra Señora del Rosario y La Milagrosa: First Sunday in September in Tejina.
  • Feria de Artesanía: Second Sunday of September.
  • Fiestas de Nuestra Señora de La Luz y Cristo de la Dulce Muerte: 2nd and 3rd Sunday of September.
  • Fiestas del Volcán: Third weekend of November.
  • Santa Lucía: The Sunday nearest to 13 December in Fonsalía.

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Town Hall and Fiestas in Güímar

Town Hall of Güímar Javier Sanchez Portero, CC BY-SA 3.0

Ayuntamiento de Güímar, Plaza del Ayuntamiento, 4, 38500 Güímar, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Tel: +34 922 526 100. Website | Facebook.


By no means a fully comprehensive list, but fiestas celebrated in the municipality of Güímar, include the following events:

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Town Hall and Fiestas in Icod de los Vinos

Town Hall of Icod de los Vinos

Ayuntamiento de Icod de los Vinos, Plaza Luis de León Huerta, S/N, 38430 Icod de los Vinos, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 86 96 00. Website (Tourism) | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram


  • San Antonio Abad, 17 January in El Amparo
  • San Sebastián, 20 January, patron of the Local Police
  • Carnaval, January / February
  • Semana Santa, Holy Week, March / April
  • San Marcos Evangelista, 25 April
  • Cruz del Molino, 3 May in La Centinela
  • Santa Cruz and San Salvador, 3 May in Cruz del Camino
  • San Felipe Neri, 26 May in San Felipe
  • San Bernabé, 11 June in La Vega
  • San Antonio de Padua, 13 Jun in San Antonio
  • San Isidro Labrador, 15 June in La Mancha
  • San Juan Bautista, 23 June in Las Canales, El Amparo and Playa San Marcos
  • Virgen del Socorro, 27 June in Las Cañas
  • San Pedro y San Pablo, 29 June in Redondo
  • San Fermín, 7 July in Hoya Ana Díaz
  • Virgen de Fátima, 1st week of July in Cruz del Tronco and La Florida.
  • Virgen del Carmen, 17 July in Llanito Perera, Playa de San Marcos and Las Abiertas
  • Santa Ana, Santiago Apóstol and Virgen de la O, 22-26 July in Buen Paso
  • Virgen del Amparo, 5 August in El Amparo, with romería in the town centre
  • Santa Bárbara, last Sunday of August in Santa Bárbara
  • Virgen de las Angustias, 14 September in Las Angustias
  • Santísimo Cristo del Calvario, last Sunday of September
  • Virgen del Rosario, 7 October in Los Piquetes
  • Virgen del Pilar, 12 October in Las Lajas
  • San Nicolás y Virgen del Rosario, 23 October in La Vega
  • Octava del Cristo, last Sunday of October in El Calvario
  • San Andrés Apóstol. 29-30 November
  • Santa Bárbara, 4 December in Santa Bárbara
  • Santa Lucía, 13 December in Las Canales
  • Virgen de la O, 18 December in Buen Paso

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The famous Sangría of San Roque

Sangría

Whilst the romería once again cannot take place this year, we can get the flavour of the event. There are many ways to prepare Sangria, but today we give you the near mythical recipe for the sangria distributed at the Romería de San Roque in Garachico, which usually takes place each year on 16 August.

Sangria takes its name from the reddish color obtained from its main ingredient, red wine. (Sangre = blood. Sangria means bloodletting in Spanish). 

Tips for making the perfect sangria
  • First of all, use a decent wine, neither a gran reserva nor a tetra-brick.
  • Always use hard fruit, such as peach, apple, pear, etc. Never use canned peach or pineapple.
  • The maceration time of the sangria must be at least 2 hours. That will give the fruit time to transmit flavours to the wine.
  • Sweeten to taste, but remember that the fruit itself or if orange or lemon soda is added, it will already add sweetness.
  • You can add cognac or any other alcohol. Your call.
  • Put the ice in the glass, at the moment of serving. If you make a bowl of sangria as is normally done, do not add ice to the bowl, because if the ice melts, the sangria will be watery and diluted.
Ingredients:

1 litre of red wine
1 peach
1 apple
1 pear
Half a melon
1 cinnamon stick
Orange peel
Lemon peel
Sugar to taste
Half a litre of lemon, orange or plain soda

Note: Increase by half a litre of and half a fruit for every two people.

Method:

Place all the peeled and cut up fruits in a large bowl, add the wine, soda, sugar (to taste), citrus peels and the cinnamon. Marinate for two hours and serve cold. 

Town Hall and Fiestas in La Guancha

Town Hall of La Guancha

Ayuntamiento de La Guancha, Calle la Alhóndiga, 1, 38440 La Guancha, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Tel: +34 922 828 002. Website | Facebook | Twitter.


The municipality of La Guancha extends from the slopes of Mount Teide to the sea. As in other localities in the north of Tenerife, the Fiesta de San Andrés, on 30th November, with the opening of the bodegas, is an important date.

Fiestas celebrated in the district include:
  • 18th January - Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza
  • 23rd April - San Jorge in El Farrobo
  • Last week of May - Virgen del Coromoto in Guancha de Abajo
  • 23rd June - Noche de San Juan in the Barranco de la Asomada
  • Third Sunday in June - Corpus Christi
  • Last Sunday in June - San Antonio de Padua in El Pinalete
  • Second - third week of July - Virgen del Carmen in Santo Domingo
  • Second Saturday in August - Bajada de Las Hayas
  • 17th August - Fiestas in honour of Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza
  • Forth Sunday in August - Santo Domingo de Guzmán
  • Second half of August - Fiestas Patronales
  • Second half of October - San Lucas in Las Cucharas
  • 22nd - 24th of October - Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza
  • Third week of October - Nuestra Señora del Rosario
  • Third Sunday in November - Santa Catalina
  • 29th - 30th November - Fiestas de San Andrés

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Punta de Anaga Semaphore Station

Igueste de San Andrés - El Semáforo

The Ministry of Finance and Public Function is putting the Punta de Anaga Semaphore Station up for public auction with a starting price set at 22,260.64 euros. The historic building, which turns 126 years old and has been included in the heritage red list due to its high degree of deterioration, passed into the hands of the State in 1970, when the Ministry of the Navy handed it over to the Treasury as it was considered unnecessary as a point for communication with ships.

The date set for this auction, which also includes two other properties, one in La Orotava and the other in La Laguna, will be October 26, 2021. But not everyone is happy about this: Mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdezcriticizes the decision of the central government and asks them to suspend the auction and rehabilitate the historic maritime signaling station for the "enjoyment of all".

The Semaphore of Punta de Anaga, according to the Santa Cruz chronicler, José Manuel Ledesma, was one of the first 20 electric semaphore stations that were built on the Spanish coast, by Royal Order on June 9, 1884. Its staff were made up of two lookouts and a signalman; the lookouts being chosen from among graduate officers of the reserve, navy boatswain or pilots of the Merchant Navy, all with more than five years of service. Built of red tuff, 222 meters above the cliff, it has a rectangular body, with two houses, a kitchen and a toilet, another rectangular body attached to the previous one, which served as a home for the orderly, and a third hexagonal body intended for an observatory.

El Estado subasta el Semáforo de Punta de Anaga por 22.000 euros

Town Hall & Fiestas in La Matanza de Acentejo

Town Hall of La Matanza de Acentejo

The Town Hall of La Matanza de Acentejo: Ayuntamiento de La Matanza de Acentejo, Av. Tinguaro, 20, 38370 La Matanza de Acentejo, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: +34 922 57 71 20. Website | Facebook | Twitter.


La Matanza de Acentejo, in Tenerife, means "the Slaughter of Acentejo" and refers to the First Battle of Acentejo, in 1494, lost by the Spanish.

Traditional fiestas celebrated in this district include:
  • San Antonio Abad: 17th January
  • San Blas: 1st April in Chamaina
  • La Cruz: 3rd May
  • “Los Cuarteles”: the week after Corpus.
  • Nuestra Señora del Socorro: last Sunday of July in San Antonio
  • Fiestas of El Salvador y Nuestra Señora del Rosario: 6th August
  • La Virgen del Carmen: last Sunday of August in El  Caletón
  • Nuestra Señora de Guía: 8th September

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Tenerife, the paradise of pools

Piscinas Naturales de Garachico

The island monopolizes the majority of natural pools (61 of 117) in the Canary Islands that have just been declared of regional tourist interest

Tenerife is the Canarian paradise of pools and the Tenerife coast is full of well-known or undiscovered natural pools full of unimaginable biodiversity. In addition to being a hallmark, they have become a great attraction for those looking for a different way of enjoying the sea, more in contact with volcanic nature. 

You just have to look at the internet, where hundreds of articles circulate with classifications of the best pools in the Canary Islands. For this reason, the Ministry of Tourism has just declared 117 of these pools of regional tourist interest. And Tenerife accounts for the largest part: 61 out of 117, 52% of all the Islands.

The Charcos de Marea Master Plan presented last week includes measures to improve the service facilities with an investment of 29.4 million euros. Fernando Miñarro, general director of Tourist Infrastructure of the Canary Islands, explained that the most accessible and visited natural pools have been selected, as well as the best equipped and with the greatest landscape values. 

"The objective is to improve all the facilities with the utmost respect for the enormous biodiversity in these pools. At no time is it intended to modify the landscape. It is a plan to improve accesses and car parks, with actions to minimize the impact of the urban intervention already carried out or to be carried out”, details the person in charge of this department of the Ministry of Tourism.

In Tenerife, the municipality with the most lava hot tubs is, by far, La Laguna (28), most are at, Punta del Hidalgo (27). This part of the coast linked to the Anaga massif has a volcanic platform that juts out into the sea for a kilometre and extends for more than four kilometres, with a succession of pools and coves of black sand between streams with shapes sculpted at the whim of the waves and tides: Punta Arroba, Redondo, Intermedio, Alargado, Cumplido, El Redondillo, De Las Ovejas, Del Mono ... and Charco Del Diablo (The Devil's Pool).

The north of Tenerife has those best known by the local population: Charco del Viento de La Guancha, El Caletón de Garachico, La Laja de San Juan de la Rambla or Los Charcones de Buenavista del Norte. But in this list of the Government of the Canary Islands there are also interesting options in the south: El Roquete de Arico, Malpaís de Rasca (Arona), Marqués de Adeje, La Jaquita de Guía de Isora ... "What we are looking for is simply to place value in these extraordinary corners of our coast, which provide a different and unique experience, at the same time, we guarantee their preservation", details Miñarro. 

This first census of natural pools of regional tourist interest arises from a larger project. The work Charcos en Marea, edited by the Ministry of Tourism and in which a detailed study of the 492 tidal pools registered in the Canary Islands is carried out. Its author is the architect and scholar of the volcanic coasts of the Canary Islands, Alberto Luengo, a work that is part of the Ecoáreas-Mardetodos project, developed by the Government of the Canary Islands since 2014.

The classification was made from a screening of those 492 described by Luengo's work. "First half was discarded and then there were 117 that we consider to be perfectly suited to the selection criteria," says the general director of Tourist Infrastructure of the Canary Islands. Tenerife accumulates the largest amount, perhaps because there is a tradition on the island that goes back a long way and that has prompted some municipalities to finance actions in the most well-known pools. But the rest of the Islands are also of great value, apart from the wild ones, which have not entered this list because they are more inaccessible and because the priority in them is to keep their natural world intact. In addition to the 61 in Tenerife, 18 in Fuerteventura, 11 in Lanzarote, 10 in Gran Canaria, 8 in La Palma and El Hierro and 1 in La Gomera have been identified as being of tourist interest.

Sergio Hanquet, photographer and diver, knows the pools of the Canary Islands very well. But above all he knows the enormous natural wealth that they hide. "There is much more than what people imagine: algae, crustaceans, fish, octopus ... Even salts are formed that are also very interesting." Most of those species, are characterized "by a great resistance to constant changes in natural conditions". "It must be taken into account that many of these habitats fill and empty depending on the tides, suffer jumps in temperature and salinity ...". "Those who visit these places must take into account the enormous variety of life they possess" and asks for "a lot of respect for the natural environment and to bathe with great care". "What cannot happen is what happens sometimes, that you come to a pool and you find accumulations of waste. They are delicate ecosystems and you can enjoy the pool but with great caution", he emphasizes.

This Charcos de Marea Master Plan goes in parallel with specific plans developed by some municipalities that pursue the same objective as the regional Executive. The most significant case at present is that of La Laguna and its Sendero Litoral de Punta del Hidalgo project. After obtaining the Blue Flag for the also known as Camino de San Juanito, the Lagunero mayor, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, promotes this part of the coast - from the Roquete beach, next to the Fishermen's Association of Nuestra Señora de la Consolación, up to the Charco de la Arena– on a maritime path with services and equipment and without altering its natural values. It is precisely in this coastal strip of Punta del Hidalgo where 27 of the 117 pools declared of regional tourist interest are concentrated.

Tenerife, el paraíso de los charcos

Tenerife Land of Eternal Christmas

Sunbathing SantaDesert Island ChristmasScuba Diving SantaTropical Santa
Santa's Having a Whale of a TimeSurfing SantaWaterski SantaCamel Rodeo Santa
With a wide range of products in each design, click the pics (above) to see the full selections.