Photos of El Llanito’s Sardine’s funeral, 2012

Posted on March 12, 2012 by sheila

The sardine on her bier, El Llanito, Breña Alta La Palma island

The sardine on her bier at El Llanito

Here are some photos of the sardine’s funeral at El Llanito. As you can see, the sardine itself is much smaller than the one in Los Sauces, but I love those bee-stung lips!

Some of the widows carrying the bier

Unlike most places, the bier was carried by the sardine’s widows. Like most places, the widows were very tall and muscular.

There’s a long tradition of political protest at carnival. This placard is in support of the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, who was expelled from the judiciary recently, officially for illegal wire-tapping, although it’s widely believed that it had more to do with his investigations of the hundred thousand-or-so people who disappeared under Franco’s rule.

Political protest at the funeral

In general, the costumes were cheaper and more imaginative than the ones at the bigger fiestas. I particularly liked this “old lady”, who kept insisting on more rum in her drink.

Asking for more and more rum in her drink

And of course, the funeral ended with a cremation and fireworks. After that there was a band playing 60s music, but I had to work in the morning, so I went home

Cremating the sardine at El Llanito, Breña Alta.

The Sardine’s Funeral in Santa Cruz de La Palma

Posted on February 26, 2012 by sheila

Santa Cruz de La Palma’s funeral for the sardine is a comparatively quiet affair (note “comparatively” – I think more people went to the costume dance on Saturday). It was still fun.

The procession started with two of the sardine’s widows (posh-looking transvestites) followed by the Batuka (serious percussion) and jugglers, a fire eaters and a man on stilts. Next came the sardine itself, hand-carried by about ten men in costume, which I liked much better than having it on the back of a lorry. Behind that came most of the mourners.

Fire-breather and stilt-walker, the sardine's funeral, Santa Cruz de La Palma, 2012

Fire-breather and stilt-walker at the sardine's funeral.

When the procession reached the sea-front, the organisers pushed the crowd back, set light to the sardine, and lit the fireworks. Lots of fireworks!

Fireworks as the sardine is cremated, Santa Cruz de La Palma

Fireworks as the sardine is cremated in the sea front at Santa Cruz de La Palma

Blessing animals in Fuencaliente

Posted on January 13, 2012 by sheila

Fiesta of St Anthony the Abbot, Fuencaliente, La Palma, Canary Islands
Tuesday 17th is the fiesta of San Antonio Abad (St. Anthony the Abbot) in Fuencaliente, and at midday the priest holds a special, traditional service to bless the animals in the church square. I went a couple of years ago, out of curiosity.

I didn’t know whether to expect pets or farm animals, but there was a charnming selection of both. At twelve promptly, the priest came out, gave a short sermon on looking after your animals, said a prayer, and then sprinkled the animals with holy water.

When the cat got wet, he said something you don’t expect to hear in church, but everyone else seemed happy.

Members of the congregation

Remembering the Dead on La Palma

Posted on November 1, 2011 by sheila

A simple grave, newly decorated

Halloween isn’t much of a fiesta here, although it’s becoming more popular. All Saint’s Day is. Traditionally, it’s when people remember their dead. So they decorate the graves in the morning, and most cemeteries have a special mass.

It’s fascinating to see, but please be sensitive. Some people may be recently bereaved and feeling fragile.

La Palma celebrates St Michael’s day

Posted on September 24, 2011 by sheila

Whirling Fufo horses dance in Tazacorte, La Palma, Canary Islands

Whirling Fufo horses dance in Tazacorte for the fiesta of St Michael

Tazacorte celebrates its main annual fiesta this month, since its patron saint is St Michael the Archangel, who is also the patron saint of La Palma. There’s something happening most days, but the famous bit is the dance of the Fufo horses on Wednesday 28th at 9:30 pm.

While you’re there, you might want to visit the exhibition in a restored mansion called Casa Massieu, which is open from Mondays to Fridays, 10.00-13.30. Unfortunately the web site doesn’t say what the exhibition’s about.

And if you missed the devil dancing in Tijarafe, he’ll turn up at the smaller fiesta in the hamlet of San Miguelin Breña Alta.

The devil, spouting lit fireworks at San Miguel, Brena Alta, La Palma

The devil, spouting fire at San Miguel, Brena Alta

The Devil in Tijarafe

Posted on September 3, 2011 by sheila

The devil's fiesta at Tijarafe

La Palma has several fiestas where the devil appears. He’ll visit Tijarafe in the early hours of September 8th for the annual fiesta del diabolo. This is the night of Wednesday to Thursday

It starts off like most fiestas. The village centre is off the main road, and on the way in, you pass the usual mobile bars, blasting out music at full volume. In the main square, higher up, people dance to the salsa band.

Something I always notice at Palmeran fiestas – a lot of the younger people are pretty drunk, but it’s very rare to see a fight. In fact I don’t think I saw as much as a rude gesture last time I went.

Finally, at about 3:30 am, the giants and big heads appeared. These are standard carnival characters, and they wouldn’t excite adults normally, but they’re a sign that the devil will appear any minute.

The band launches into the traditional song, which goes something like, “Tra-la-la-la, the devil’s coming soon.” And then, sure enough, he appears.

The Devil’s dance, Tijarafe, 2007.

It’s a man wearing a metal suit covered with lit fireworks, and he heads straight for the middle of the crowd. Most of the jet is directed upwards, and I don’t think you’d get serious burns if you got too close, but most people try to get away. (I wouldn’t wear your best clothes to this fiesta. I really wouldn’t.) Of course some people farther away try to get closer, so the result is a lot of pushing and shoving. (Don’t take small children either!)

Meanwhile the band is singing, “Tra-la-la-la, the devil’s here now,” and “Tra-la-la-la, the party’s not over yet.”

After about five to ten minutes of this chaos, the devil runs out of fireworks and goes away. The Virgin Mary’s defeated him again! And then the crowd thins out pretty rapidly as people go home. Boring normality is restored for another year.

The devil's fiesta at Tijarafe

Events on La Palma this weekend

Posted on August 12, 2011 by sheila

Silk exhibition at La Palma's craft fair, 2010

Silk exhibition at last year's craft fair

Friday night is the best meteor shower of the year, the Perseids. Of course it should be visible all over the planet, but La Palma’s astronomical viewpoints will probably be a particularly good place to see shooting stars. Unfotunately the full moon will spoil the show quite a bit. Astrotour will be in La Polvacera bsketball court from 9 pm – 11:30 pm with telescopes.

This year, the island’s annual craft fair will be in San Pedro, Breña Alta, from yesterday until Tuesday. There are 179 different exhibitors, showing 40 different crafts, so there should be something for everybody. The fair is in a big marquee in the Parque los Alamos just north of San Pedro, beside the tobacco museum. It will be open from 5 pm to 9 pm Friday, Saturday and Wednesday, and 11 am – 9 pm on Sunday and Monday.

Puntagorda is celebrating its annual fiesta, of St Maurus the Abbot. On Saturday there’s a romería (something between a religious procession and a party) from the village centre to the old church, followed by a special mass, shared picnic and dance.

There are other fiestas in Concepción, Fuencaliente, Barlovento, and Argual.

Monday is a national holiday, and most shops will be shut, although most food shops will open at least briefly.

Las Nieves Fiesta

Posted on August 4, 2011 by sheila

Las Nieves will be holding its annual fiesta starting on Friday at about 1 am. It’s quite a big fiesta as Our Lady of the Snows (the Virgin Mary) is the patron saint of the island. The church holds a statue of the her in painted terracotta, from the 15th century, standing on a marble throne covered with silver.

Las Nieves is a pretty hamlet, in the municipality of Santa Cruz, but about 2 km outside it as the crow flies. Normally it’s quiet, but it’ll be jam packed on Friday and all weekend, with mobile bars and stalls selling cheap toys. The secular party goes on all day, with lots of special masses and processions in between.

Fiesta de Santana in San Jose (Brena Baja)

Posted on July 17, 2011 by sheila

San Jose in Breña Baja is celebrating its annual fiesta.

Tonight, Sunday 17th
6pm is the Old Folks’ festival, followed by a public dance in front of the town hall.

Tuesday 19th
5pm – 7 pm Bouncy castles in front of the town hall.

9:30 pm . Open-air cinema “Harry Potter y Las Reliquias de la Muerte.” In the football stadium

Wednesday 20th
6:30 pm PASACALLES DISNEY along the main street of San José, accompanied by the Batucada (serious percussion) group Klan Aborígen followed by a Disney festival. “Share a world of dreams with your favourite Disney characters.”
In front of the town hall.

9:30 pm . Open-air cinema “El Discurso del Rey.”
In the football stadium

Thursday 21st
5pm – 7 pm Bouncy castles in front of the town hall.

7 pm. Petanca (bowls) tournament beside the Bar Travesía (on the main street). If you want to take part, sign up at the bar.

8 pm. Helena Turbo Teatro performs “ROMANCERO CANARIO”, a theatrical spectacle for all the family based on Canarian oral history
In front of the town hall.

Friday 22nd
7pm Petanca (bowls) tournament beside the Bar Travesía (on the main street).

7pm. Concert by the town band in the parish hall (beside the new church)

9pm. Performance by the AWARA choir with the musical spectacle “Voces de la emigración”. (Voices of emigration) A musical journey through the sounds that surround an ocean, where the Canary Islands have been a meeting place for cultures.
In front of the town hall.

11pm. Big Fiesta Dj “SUMMER PARTY” organized by Abora Conexión.
In front of the town hall.

The Sacred Heart fiesta in El Paso

Posted on July 3, 2011 by sheila

Stencilling designs onto salt for the Sacred Heart fiesta

It’s El Paso’s main fiesta, The Sacred Heart (El Corazon Sagrado). Like Mazo and San José, they make archways and carpets, but they’re slightly different.

In San José, they dye the salt, and then put the colours together to make the picture. In El Paso, they start by putting down white salt –kilos and kilos of it from the salt pans in the southern tip of the island. They carefully put a stencil on top, and spray on the various colours until the design’s complete. In this case, they added a table on top with a statue of the Virgin, and then this man started retouching.

A nearly-finished carpet and altar

The salt carpets aren’t the only thing. They also make wonderful archways, similar to those in Mazo.

Panels for the Sacred Heart fiesta in El Paso

Well, as you can see, these days some of them aren’t arches. In this case the carpet is leaves from tree-heathers, laid down with a garden sieve. Like the ones in Mazo, they’re decorated with seeds and flowers.

Flower detail made with maize and other seeds

Unlike the ones in Mazo, a lot of the fine detail is done with crushed and dyed eggshells.

Picture of a traditional Canarian house made with crushed eggshells, Sacred heart archway, El Paso, La Palma island

Fine detail made with crushed eggshells

They have lots of religious processions on La Palma, where they take the statue out of the church and around the neighbourhood streets, with music provided by the town band. A lot of the statues are beautiful, but if you see a lot of these processions, they do get a bit samey.

The Sacred Heart procession starts much like all the others, only on the salt carpet. But when they get halfway along the first carpet, the statue stops and brightly coloured bits of paper and bougainvillea petals start raining down from a nearby rooftop, which is very pretty indeed. (The papers had “The promises of the Sacred Heart” printed on them – at least twelve different ones.) And the kids scramble to collect the papers while they release some doves.

At the end of the first carpet, the procession stops again, beside the old church, where the choir sings about “The Source of Love” – and sing it very well, too.

Then the procession carries on round the back streets.

Last year the procession started at 7 pm.

Procession for the Sacred Heart fiesta, El Paso

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