The Cunning Canary

Gran Canaria is the gay capital of Europe and the Yumbo Centre and gay-friendly environment attract many people over from various countries. The main parades are centered around the Yumbo area of Playa del Ingles. Gay Pride 2008 is from 5th to 11th May - a whole week of partying!

You can expect to see floats and the most outrageous costumes ever. I went to the one last year and it was about 40ºC so don’t forget to take plenty of water because the crowds are huge and it can be hard to find a shady spot!

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Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) is a fascinating festival! This takes place at the beginning of March and there are processions through the streets. Some of the outfits are pretty scary. I watched it this year in Arguineguín. At the end of the procession, everyone congregates on the beach to watch the fireworks which were brilliant this year - lots of oohing and aahing from the crowd!

Photo By Dsevilla

The main part of the festival is the burial of the sardine itself although they blew it up this year - there was a loud BOOM, then loads of bits of ashes floating through the air! Very unusual!

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Heineken Campus Rock 2008 is going to be great fun. In Gran Canaria, it was on 23rd September 2007 so next year it will be around the same time. This event is also celebrated on some of the other Canary Islands, and there is usually a big event in Tenerife.

Tickets are only 13 euros bought in advance or 15 euros if you buy when you get there.  You can get tickets in the record shop chain Discos Noda and the event is held in Heineken Plaza, in the Monopol Shopping Centre, which is in Las Palmas. Groups this year included Amaral, M-Clan, The Sunday Drivers, Fábula y Toom Pak. And lots of other Spanish groups.

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This fiesta is great fun and I’ve taken part in several!

Decorated boats travel up and down the coast, carrying statues of the Virgin Mary on board.

There is plenty of beer drinking and eating on the boats and there is a great atmosphere in the harbours. The fiesta actually goes (in the South) from Mogan to Arguineguin then back again the following week. Since I work in Puerto Escala (one of the harbours in Puerto Rico) I get the boat from there.

 
Photo By RumboSur

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Dia de los Reyes is on January 6th and is when the Canarian children finally get their Christmas presents! There are lots of ex pats on Gran Canaria now so they do get some on 24th or 25th December, so they can show their non-Canarian friends what Santa brought! Actually, that isn’t strictly true because the three wise men bring the gifts here, not Santa (he’s probably glad of the help!)

This is a Gran Canarian sand sculpture of the three wise men:

Photo By Roshnii

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Pilgrims from all over Gran Canaria meet in Teror and offer fresh produce to la Virgen del Pino, or in English the Virgin of the Pine (the patron saint of the island). This festival takes place between 6th and 8th September. This is the biggest religious festival in Gran Canaria. There is a big procession at this festival and a lot to do, combining religious rituals with other fun events.

Photo By PhotoSpain

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The Fiesta de la Naval 2007 takes place on 6 October 2007 and mainly consists of maritime processions to commemorate the Spanish victory over a British invasion in the sixteenth century. There are processions from all the main harbours but the biggest one goes from La Isleta in Las Palmas. There are also fireworks, impressive flower decorations and reenactments.

Photo By FJDP III

The festival is normally on the second Saturday in October (sometimes the first one!) because the original battle against Francis Drake was won on 6 October 1595, so they try to keep near the date (and Saturday is good because everyone can nurse their hangovers on the Sunday!)

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The Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario 2007 (Festival of Our Lady of the Rosary) takes place between September 21st and October 8th. There are usually all kinds of things to do and see, including plough-pulling, wrestling and stick fighting (a traditional Canarian sport) and battles with flowers. There is also lots of singing and folk dancing and gofio and water is scattered, as an offering to the Virgen del Rosario. Gofio is a type of flour made from roasted corn and other grains. It is used plentifully in Canarian cooking.

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If you are visiting Gran Canaria in September, the International Festival of 3 Continents (Encuentro Teatral Tres Continentes) is a great fiesta. This festival is held in Aguimes and there are performances by European, Latin American and African groups. This is a friendly, cultural festival and lasts for 1 or 2 weeks, depending on the schedule. This year, however, the festival ran from 15th to 24th July (the Canarians like to change dates at the last minute!) – so you will have to wait for the next one in 2008 if you missed it! There have been eighteen of these theatre festivals to date.

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Christmas (Navidad) in Gran Canaria is interesting because it’s very different to being at home! The Canarians eat their traditional dinner on the evening of 24th December and 25th is a bank holiday here. There are plenty of places if you want a traditional British Christmas dinner but it’s best to book in advance because a lot of restaurants get full early on.

If you go to Veneguera on Christmas evening (about 5 euros in a taxi from Mogán) you can see a Nativity play. It’ll be in Español but I’m sure you already know the jist of the story!! There is a procession on 5th January which is fun for the kids (probably because they know they’ll be getting prezzies the next day!)

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