With tourists hyper fixated on attending the Running of the Bulls and messy tomato fights in mainland Spain, the cultural contributions of its territories have faded into the background. Take Tenerife for example. While they’ve got endless stunning beaches, consistently pleasant weather and great cuisine on which to indulge, people get the impression that life in Tenerife is relatively…quiet. 

That is the impression I got. “There is not much noise here. It’s very quiet. You’ll love it,” said my landlord Pedro. Taking his word for it, I settled into my new studio apartment in La Orotava in northern Tenerife, expecting mostly silence, the hum of Spanish TV and the odd car or two. Its small population and high altitude made it the ideal place to get away from noisy metropolises. That was until I heard the unexpected sounds of a marching band behind my building at 9PM. 

The Unique Religious Festivals of Tenerife

If you’re unfamiliar with Spain’s religious processions, in which devoted Catholics carry regal and elaborate statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, you would find yourself trying to decipher the music’s deeper meanings. Trumpets, trombones, flutes, horns and drums play solemn hymns that not only evoke a sense of deep devotion and sacrifice but also patriotism and triumph. Spain’s Catholic heritage and identity are deeply embedded in their daily life and have been for centuries, so much so that participants are willing to carry over 1000 pounds among narrow city streets for several miles. In the case of La Orotava, they carry it uphill…

In the seaside town of Candelaria, south of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, residents commemorate the island’s patroness, the Virgin of Candelaria. According to legend, almost a hundred years before the Spanish conquest, two Canary Islanders (guanches) came across a mysterious statue on a beach. She was holding a child in one arm and a green candle in the other. Another guanche who converted to Christianity informed them that it was the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, after they mistook her for one of their goddesses. The festival includes quintessential Canarian processions with the statue’s replica and candlelight. It is celebrated on February 2, also known as Candlemas as well as August 15, the feast of the Assumption of Mary.

Holy Week – The Most Important Celebration

All Catholic festivals culminate in the most important celebration in the liturgical year: Semana Santa or ‘Holy Week’. At this time, you’d notice a certain calm that settles over the island. After sunset on the Friday before Passion Sunday, as the gentle orange glow of street lamps illuminate the cobblestone streets, crowds start to form. Long red banners hang from the iconic Canarian balconies to form a pathway.

Inside the baroque style churches, large crucifixes are taken down from their place above one of the many marble altars and carried onto the street. It is called the Stations of the Cross, a remembrance and walk through of the Passion of Jesus Christ on his way to his crucifixion. Whether or not you are a believer, there is no denying the peace and beauty of the scene as well as the opportunity to do your own personal reflection. Onlookers bow their heads reverently, their rosary beads swinging gently in their hands. Some hold candles, whose gentle flames light the way.

The Triduum – Where the Tenerife Festival Ramps Up

On the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Glorious Saturday), that’s where the spectacle ramps up tenfold. In charge of all the processions are groups called confraternities, a tradition that dates to the 8th century AD. Confraternities are made up of Catholic laymen and laywomen who devote themselves to charitable acts of service for the community such as organising and participating in feast day celebrations, assisting churches with whatever they need for Mass, raising money for charity, assisting at funerals and much more.

At processions they wear either formal business attire, carry staffs with candles or adorn white robes and purple capes with gloves. They (mostly the men) carry statues depicting a dying Christ with his Cross, a sorrowful Pietá and saints who shared in the journey to Calvary. Usually, Jesus and Mary are dressed in the most regal of garbs, adorning bejewelled crowns or halos of stars. 

The Day of The Canary Islands

On May 30, all islands take a day off to honour their unique heritage in La Día de Las Canarias or the Day of the Canary Islands. It is the one day of the year where you get to time travel. The towns and little villages transform into a kaleidoscope of music, dance and art as the residents use these tools to go back to their roots and keep their cultural legacy alive. 

Everyone dresses up in their traditional Canarian outfits; women with brightly coloured skirts, dresses, white blouses and corsets while the men black trousers, waistcoats and sashes. Women wear broad straw hats while the men wear modest black ones without much flair. Every island has a variation of this peasant costume as it was used to identify the island from which one hailed. In a dynamic display, residents perform folk songs and dances as well as showcase age-old traditions, from making local products to art and sporting events. Lucha Canaria, a local sport described as a mix between wrestling and judo came from the guanches themselves and still survives to this day. 

Flower Carpets – A Unique Aspect of The Canary Islands Festival

In 1847, women of the esteemed Monteverde family in La Orotava decided to celebrate the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi (mid-June) in their own way. To honour the Lord, they wanted to decorate the street below as the priests passed by with the Eucharist to bless everyone. They did so by creating vivid tapestries completely out of local flowers. Every year afterwards, the town came together to make flower carpets in the streets and town square, developing into one of the island’s most beloved traditions. But instead of just sticking to religious themes, the flower carpets have taken on their own personalities in accordance with their designers. In addition to flowers, some have chosen to utilise sand and volcanic soil to create their masterpieces which vary from religious imagery to landscape scenes. The festival became so famous that it even attracted the attention of the infamous Francisco Franco.

The Carnival – The Biggest Tenerife Festival of the Year

And the biggest festival of the year? It’s not Christmas or Easter or even the Day of the Canary Islands. It’s Carnival. Tenerife’s festival culture is a dichotomy. On one hand, individual towns host beautiful processions and special festivities in line with their patron saints while other parts of the year focus on wild parties and raves. Somehow, religiosity and secularism exist side by side. Tenerife Carnival is often quoted as the second largest or most popular after Rio. Instead of just a few days of festivities, Carnival pushes party-goers to the limits with a whopping 15 days of revelry. 

There is no one size fits all or rules to play by. You just play. Carnival’s costumes closely resemble the risqué beaded bikinis in Brazil but for those opting for something more conservative, you’re free to wear whatever you like. Each town celebrates Carnival in their own way, but the capital is where all the action is. The parades that hold all of Santa Cruz de Tenerife hostage include revellers dressed head to toe in all things that sparkle and jangle. You no longer see the asphalt road ahead of you but rather an onslaught of colour; beads, sequins, patterns, feathers, confetti, banners and masks. Those who wish to compete for the coveted King or Queen titles need to kick things up a notch. The costumes need to be bigger, bolder, innovative and shocking, with some measuring over five metres tall and a weight of almost 200 pounds. The winner takes home the title and an undoubted notoriety for having the most outrageous and impressive work of art strapped to their bodies.

The Authors Conclusion

As the journey through Tenerife comes to an end, what can we take away? One thing I have learned is that this island is definitely not a place you can put into a box. I went in blind; a blank canvas or clean sheet of paper with no prior knowledge except an occasional ad from EasyJet. I had no choice but to dive in and submerge myself in this small society which chose to liberate themselves from the worries of the world. And I know it was the right choice.