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Monday, 4 January 2016

Tenerife in January 2016

Tenerife Fiestas in January 2016

The Plaza del Príncipe in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the Plaza del Adelantado in La Laguna are hosting, from 2nd to 5th January, the traditional Los Reyes (Three Kings) Crafts Fairs, with stalls from a total of 79 artisans. In both, the extended opening hours are from 11:00am to 10:00pm on each of the three days. (Feria de Artesanía en Reyes 2016 en Santa Cruz y La Laguna)

The night of January 5th sees the much awaited arrival of Los Reyes (The Three Kings) and January 6th is a public holiday, as Epiphany is the biggest family day of the holiday season.

As they do every year, Los Reyes (the Three Magi from the East) will be arriving in various locations in Tenerife tonight as part of their busy schedule delivering gifts to both children and adults alike. The well-behaved ones anyway.

In Santa Cruz, once again, they will be arriving to the Heliodoro Rodríguez López football stadium at around 5pm, then their procession takes place from the Avenida Bélgica ending in the Plaza de La Candelaria, between 7pm and 9pm.

In Adeje, The Three Kings will arrive at Adeje Football Pitch in a helicopter, at 5pm after which are children's entertainments and a grand cavalcade through the streets. Llegada del Helicóptero de SSMM Los Reyes Magos de Oriente

Almost all towns on the island will get a visit from Their Majesties. Should be easy to find: just aim for the centre of town and follow the [other] screaming kids!

Many towns and villages on the island will celebrate the Fiestas of San Antonio Abad (Saint Anthony the Abbot) and my pick would be the Feria Artesanía y Ganado San Antonio Abad 2016 – Los Silos (Crafts and Livestock Fair in Los Silos). The main activities are on Sunday, 17th January, starting at 10:00 hours with the Craft Fair taking place, until 19:00 pm in the Plaza de la Luz, courtyard of the former Convent of San Sebastian and the streets Olivo and Felix Benitez Lugo with the participation of 80 craftspeople. At the same time, in the grounds at the rear of the Convent of San Sebastian in Los Silos, the Exhibition of Livestock and pets will gather.

San Antonio Abad is the main protagonist also in the Fiestas Patronales y Romería de San Antonio Abad 2016 (the town's patron) in Arona, which culminate on Sunday, 17th January, with the traditional Romería that begins at 12:30 hrs. There the activities will be centered around the Plaza del Cristo, in the centre of Arona and the streets; Calle El Calvario, Calle Domínguez Alfonso, Calle La Luna, Calle Duque de la Torre.

There is an assumption that to see the ‘real’ Tenerife visitors have to go north, but not so. Anyone staying in Los Cristianos or Playa de las Americas is less than twenty minutes from this event, which takes place in the narrow streets of Arona.

On a possibly much smaller scale, there is also the Romeria San Antonio Abad 2016 Chio on Sunday, 17th January, from mid-day, in the village of Chio.

San Sebastian Festival 2016 in Adeje
A celebration that dates back to the late nineteenth century are the fiestas of San Sebastián in La Caleta, Adeje that attracts thousands to see the procession of horsemen accompanying the image on the morning of January 20th.

  • 19th January 20:00 hrs. Ermita de San Sebastián (La Enramada beach) Mass sung by the Parranda El Mesturao in honour of San Sebastián Mártir (Saint Sebastian). 21:00 hrs. Procession with the image of San Sebastián, accompanied by the Banda del Patronato Musical de la Histórica Villa de Adeje (Town Band). At the return to the church, there will be "an offering of fireworks".
  • 20th January 12:00 hrs. Eucharist in honour of San Sebastián Mártir, sung by the Coro Parroquial Santa Úrsula de Adeje (Choir), followed by the customary procession, accompanied by the Banda del Patronato Musical de la Histórica Villa de Adeje (Town Band), at the end of which will be the traditional blessing of the animals.

On Sunday, 24th January, the town of Güímar celebrates its Romería de San Antonio Abad. As is tradition, this pilgrimage will include the exhibition of farm animals, pets and exotic species, and the participation of folk groups from the municipality and other parts of the island. Events begin on Sunday, from 9:00 am, with the arrival and gathering of all the animals for the shows. At 11:00 am, in the church of Santo Domingo, there will be a Mass in honor of San Antonio followed by the pilgrimage, involving folk groups, clergy and municipal authorities. The Romería will proceed the blessing of all the attending animals. There will also be the Craft Fair with 37 stalls.

The final weekend of of the month, on Sunday, January 31st, sees the celebration of the Fiestas de San Antonio Abad in Buenavista del Norte with it's traditional Feria de Ganado (Livestock Fair) and Romería. The Livestock Fair takes place from 11 am at the Urbanización Las Marinas in the Triana district of the town, whilst at the same time, mass is said in honour of the saint at the church of Ntra. Sra. de Los Remedios, after which the icon is taken in procession to the livestock enclosure, where the animals will be blessed at 1 pm.

At 2 pm the Romería of San Antonio Abad leaves from Triana, through the streets to the Plaza de Los Remedios where the awards ceremony will take place.  Events of the day are rounded off with dancing to the Malibu Band.

Meanwhile, in the district of La Florida in La Orotava, as the culmination of their 10 day long program of fiestas for San Antonio Abad y la Virgen de La Esperanza 2016, the 35th Romería of San Antonio Abad and the Virgen de La Esperanza also begins at 2 pm, with the participation of musicians, carts, wagons, etc.

As well as national, regional and island-specific public holidays, each municipality in Tenerife also has its own local public holidays. 

Those in January 2016 are:
  • La Guancha: 18th January - Día de Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza
  • Adeje: 20th January - Festival of San Sebastián
  • Los Realejos: 22nd January - Festival of San Vicente
The following fiestas will be taking place on the island this month:
  • 17th January - Fiestas of San Antonio Abad in Arona, Buenavista del Norte, Güímar, La Florida (La Orotava) and Los Silos.
  • 21st January - Fiestas of San Sebastián in Adeje
  • 22nd January - Fiestas of San Antonio Abad in Icod de Los Vinos
  • 22nd January - Fiestas of San Sebastián in Los Realejos

Almond Flower Routes: Two routes this year, organised by Santiago del Teide on Saturday, 30th January and a second one, arranged by the Tenerife Cabildo, on Sunday, 31st.

On Saturday, 30th January, the XIX Ruta del Almendro en Flor (19th Almond Flower Route) has a 4.5 hour high difficulty "long route" or a 3 hour medium to low difficulty "short route", both leaving the plaza in Santiago del Teide at 08:30 hrs.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, 31st January, the Tenerife Cabildo and the Tenerife Rural Fundación have organised a 9km average-difficulty walk with a specialist guide, details at Tenerife Cabildo’s Almond Blossom Route in Santiago del Teide. Inscription for this walk needs to be made by Thursday, 28th January.

Previous inscription (and payment) is required to go on these walks (which have limited places), which can be done via the Santiago del Teide Town Hall website. 

And even if you don't wish to join one of these organised walks, this signals that now is probably the right time to take a trip up to Santiago del Teide and particularly the Arguayo valley to see the almonds in blossom.

Alongside the walks, Santiago del Teide is also holding their XIX Concurso de Fotografía “Almendro en Flor” (Almond Flower Photographic Contest), which they say is open to anyone over 18 of any nationality and country of residence.

There is also the Muestra gastronómica de la Ruta del Almendro en Flor  - linked gastronomic event - in which 13 bars and restaurants in the municipality are offering special breakfasts and menus between January 23rd and February 20th, where the principal ingredient is the almond.

Friday, 1 January 2016

Public Holidays in Tenerife 2016

2016

The Canarian government has fixed the calendar of public holidays for 2016:
  • 1 January (Año Nuevo/New Year’s Day)
  • 6 January (Epifanía del Señor/Epihany)
  • 2 February (Virgen de la Candelaria/Candlemas)
  • 24 March (Jueves Santo/Easter Thursday)
  • 25 March (Viernes Santo/Easter Friday)
  • 2 May (Monday in lieu of Fiesta del Trabajo/Workers’ Day)
  • 30 May (Día de Canarias/Canaries Day)
  • 15 August (Asunción de la Virgen/Assumption)
  • 12 October (Fiesta Nacional de España/Spain Day)
  • 1 November (Todos los Santos/All Saints Day)
  • 6 December (Día de la Constitución Española/Constitution Day)
  • 8 December (Inmaculada Concepción/Immaculate Conception)
  • 26 December (in lieu of Christmas Day, which falls on a Sunday.)
Ten of those are "fixed" National Fiestas, two are decided at the the level of the whole Canary Islands, then each island also has an additional day of it’s own, which in Tenerife’s case is 2 February (Candlemass – Feast of the Purification of the Virgin), the Virgen de la Candelaria. 

In addition, each municipality has a further 2 local days.

Tenerife Carnaval Dates for 2016

Carnival 2016 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Carnaval in the streets in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, between 5th and 14th February 2016, begin after the Gala de Elección de la Reina (Gala Election of the Carnaval Queen), which is to be held on Wednesday, 3rd February.

It's time to dig out those old legwarmers, add a pink tutu, wear a huge bow in your big blonde hair, (maybe even add a Madonna bra for extra authenticity) ... especially if you're a bloke, because "The 1980s" is the theme for Santa Cruz Carnaval in 2016. Apparently the theme, chosen by the public, marginally beat “The Caribbean”.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival 2016
  • Wednesday, 3rd February: Election of the Carnaval Queen
  • Friday, 5th February: Cabalgata Anunciadora (Opening Parade) from 20:00 hrs, starting in the Avenida Bélgica.
  • Sunday, 7th February: Carnaval de día (Daytime Carnaval), from 13:00 hrs in the Plaza del Príncipe, Plaza España and Plaza de la Candelaria.
  • Tuesday, 9th February: Coso Apoteosis del Carnaval (Main Parade), from 16:00 hrs with the parade route along the Avenidas de Francisco La Roche and Marítima.
  • Wednesday, 10th February: Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) - even if the effigy is cremated - from 21:00 hrs in Ramón y Cajal.
  • Friday, 12th February: Coso Infantil (Kid's Parade), from 18:00 hrs in the Parque García Sanabria.
  • Saturday, 13th February: Carnaval de día (Daytime Carnaval), from 13:00 hrs in the Plazas del Príncipe, Plaza de La Candelaria y Avenida Francisco La Roche.
  • Sunday, 14th February: Gran Fin de Fiesta del Carnaval 2016 (End Of Carnaval Parties) with different shows and activities in various locations around the city.

Puerto de la Cruz
  • Thursday, February 4th, 2016 - Election of the Carnival Queen
  • Saturday, February 6th, 2016 - Proclamatory Parade
  • Wednesday, February 10th, 2016 - Burial of the Sardine
  • Friday, February 12th, 2016 - Men´s Marathon in High Heels
  • Saturday, February 13th, 2016 - Main Parade

Los Gigantes

We calculate that the 4 main days of the Los Gigantes Carnaval 2016 should run from Friday, 19th February 2016 to Monday, 22nd February 2016, thus: 
  • Friday, February 19th, 2016: Election of the Queens. 
  • Saturday, February 20th, 2016: Kid’s activities
  • Sunday, February 21st, 2016: Main parade from 5pm.
  • Monday, February 22nd, 2016: Burial of the Sardine from 9pm.

Güímar 
  • Friday, February 12th, 2016 - Las Burras de Güímar

Los Cristianos (Arona)

Los Cristianos International Carnival 2016

Los Cristianos will become La Vieja Habana (Old Havana) for a Cuban-themed carnival and events run from the 4th to 14th of March 2016.

Los Cristianos (Arona) Carnaval is notoriously difficult to pin down. Last year, confirmation of the dates came just 2 days before it began, however, on getting an email from a reader, I thought I'd check with the town hall, expecting nothing and nearly fainted when seeing a timetable for their fiestas for the entire year!

Here's the full programme of events for Los Cristianos Carnival 2016:
  • Friday, 4th March at 9 pm, presentation of the candidates for Carnival Queen and Junior Queen at the Carnival Enclosure, Valdés Center.
  • Saturday, 5th March at midday, inauguration of the exhibition "Un Sueño de Carnaval, Homenaje a Víctor Gámez" (A Carnival Dream, Homage to Víctor Gámez) at the Cultural Centre in Los Cristianos. - At 7 pm Cabalgata Anunciadora del Carnaval (Carnival Opening Parade) in Playa de Las Américas from the Commercial Centre Gala en la Avda. Rafael Puig Lluvina through to the Commercial Centre Oasis en la Avda. Las Américas. - From 10 pm Wig Party (Fiesta del Pelucón) in the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center.
  • Sunday, 6th March at midday Carnival Concert with the Banda de Música de Arona in the Plaza de la Pescadora, Los Cristianos. - At 5 pm Parade with all the musical groups of the carnival, from the Plaza del Pescador (Cultural Centre) to the Playa de Los Cristianos beach. - At 6 pm Meeting of the Murgas of Tenerife in the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center. 
  • Tuesday, 8th March at 7 pm Festival of dance groups in the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center.
  • Wednesday, 9th March at 6:30 pm Dance for the elderly in the patio of the Cultural Centre. - At 8 pm Gala for the selection of the Junior Carnival Queen at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center.
  • Thursday, 10th March at 9 pm Grand Gala for the selection of the Carnival Queen at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center.
  • Friday, 11th March at 9 pm Drag Queen Gala after which there will be dancing to the Orquesta Deliciosa at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center. - From midnight Zona DJ with local DJs in the Plaza de Pescador (outside the Cultural Centre).
  • Saturday, 12th March from midday Carnaval de Día (Daytime Carnival) with 40 Principales with national and international artists at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center and with various activities and workshops occurring simultaneously at the Plaza de la Pescadora. - At 5 pm Carnival Costumes Contest at the Plaza de la Pescadora. - At 8 pm Dancing with the orchestras Armonía Show y Tropin at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center. - At 10 pm Carnival procession along the beach from the Avenida de Suecia to the Plaza del Pescador (Cultural Centre). - From midnight Zona DJ with local DJs in the Plaza de Pescador (outside the Cultural Centre).
  • Sunday, 13th March from 11 am to 2 pm Exhibition of Vintage and Classic Cars (event to be confirmed) in the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center. - At 11:30 am Contest of Pets' Costumes at the Carnival Enclosure in front of the Valdés Center or the Plaza de la Pescadora. - 4 pm Gran Coso Apoteósico del Carnaval (Carnival Main Parade) from the Paloma Beach apartments in the Avda. Juan Carlos I to the Centro Cultural de Los Cristianos, at the end of which will be dancing to the orchestras Combo Dominicano and Pasion Gomera in the exterior of the Cultural Center.
  • Monday, 14th March at 8:30 pm Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) with the procession from the Plaza del Pescador (Cultural Centre), to the Playa de Los Cristianos beach at the end of which will be the end of carnival party with local DJs in the Plaza de Pescador (outside the Cultural Centre).
Oh and there's even an official carnival song for Los Cristianos Carnival, Carnaval en la Bahía by Sira Mayo & David González.

NB: We provide these dates so you can plan ahead, with the usual disclaimer that we cannot be held responsible for changes made beyond our control.

Wednesday, 7 October 2015

La Librea de Valle Guerra

La Librea de Valle Guerra, in the municipality of San Cristobal de La Laguna, faithfully reflects events of the Battle of Lepanto, which took place on 7th October 1571, when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of European Catholic maritime states arranged by Pope Pius V, decisively defeated the fleet of the Ottoman Empire on the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth, off western Greece.

The Battle of Lepanto has a presence in the La Librea de Valle Guerra as a tribute to Canarian soldiers, led by Admiral Francisco Díaz Pimienta, who took part in the conflagration. Pimienta was pilot of one of the ships that fought in Lepanto, belonging to the fleet of Felipe II (Philip II of Spain). Born on the island of La Palma, Pimienta, together with a Canarian militia, became some of the most prominent fighters of the archipelago. It was Díaz who brought a fiesta to the Canary Islands to commemorate this heroic battle, namely to Barlovento. La Librea de Valle Guerra evolved from this first memorial feast in honour of the Virgen del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary) in the hands of a Tenerife noblewoman, Inés de Castilla, who with her husband, Captain Garcia Fernandez de Valcárcel, inaugurated a chapel in Valle de Guerra, dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus and the Virgin of the Rosary in 1615.

It is held once a year on the Saturday nearest to 7 October. 

Wednesday, 2 September 2015

Teno Alto Wooden Chariot Race

Wooden Cars Racing

Apparently, this goes on all over the island, with enough interest for an Asociación Carros de Madera de Tenerife (Tenerife Association of Wooden Cars) and even a Campeonato Isla de Tenerife de Bajada de Carros de Madera (Island of Tenerife Wooden Chariot Championship), of which the edition in 2012 was the XXXI (31st, by my count). That year, it had taken place in Teno Alto (a tiny hamlet in the municipality of Buenavista del Norte) in early September. 

Bajada being the opposite of subida, which in rally parlance translates to hill climb, so this is a hill drop - the carts apparently being merely gravity and willpower driven. Have you seen the drop at the sides of the road?

Sunday, 30 August 2015

Corazones de Tejina - The Hearts of Tejina

Corazones de Tejina

On a Sunday close to 24th August, in Tejina - the village is a district of La Laguna - (see map) holds the Corazones de Tejina, part of their annual Fiestas de San Bartolomé, which has been described as "One of Tenerife’s ‘quirky’ fiestas with three beautiful, giant hearts made from fruit and pastries depicting local life and scenes being paraded through the towns streets before they are erected outside of the church and abused by the creators of the other hearts."
 
Corazones de Tejina (The Hearts of Tejina) takes place on the Sunday closest to 24 August. This is one of the most brightly coloured and striking traditions on the island, which is why the residents are so keen to keep it alive. The three main neighbourhoods in the town (El Pico, Calle Arriba and Calle Abajo) bring out the hearts that they have been working on for days. Once raised, an entertaining ritual begins in which each neighbourhood tauntingly mocks the others' hearts.

Sunday, 16 August 2015

Romería de San Roque in Garachico

Romería de San Roque in Garachico

Every year thousands of visitors gather in Garachico to participate in one of the most popular and traditional festivals on the island, first held in the 17th century and described as, "Garachico’s most important annual festival when the town fills with pilgrims (and partygoers) from throughout the island. San Roque (Saint Roch), the town’s patron, was credited with saving the town from the Black Death, which arrived in 1601." As tradition marks, at 8:00 a.m. the town will wake up with the 'Viva San Roquito', thanks to the Garachico Musical Group. 

The Romería (Pilgrimage and festivities of San Roque (Garachico), which in 2006 attracted around 30,000, is held annually on 16th August (irrespective of day of the week), from around 2pm. The figure of the Saint is earlier taken from the Ermita de San Roque to the church of Santa Ana, in the town centre and after a religious service, is taken back to its hermitage, accompanied in procession by the municipal band, carts, flocks of goats and other festively bedecked animals, and musical groups (rondallas and parrandas). The fishermen of Garachico hold a sea-going procession, their boats forming part of the Saint's entourage along the coast. The traditional pilgrimage dance is held in the Plaza de San Roque.

And you probably need to try The famous Sangría of San Roque.