Category Archives: tijarafe

Tijarafe Museum

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The devil's costume, Casa del Maestro, Tijarafe, La Palma

The devil's costume

La Casa Del Maestro means “The Teacher’s House” and that’s exactly what this museum is – it used to be the village teacher’s house, with the classroom just inside the front door: one end is now display cases with things like old school books, and the other displays the devil costume, used for the village’s main fiesta. The house is built around central courtyard, with a tank for storing rainwater, called an aljibe.

The courtyard, Casa del Maestro, Tijarafe, La Palma

The central courtyard

The kitchen is very old-fashioned. It even has an old handmill, presumably for grinding roasted grains into gofio for breakfast.

The handmill in the kitchen at the Casa del Maestro museum, Tijarafe

The hand-operated grinding wheel in the kitchen

The other rooms hold other displays. One is replicas of pre-Hispanic ceramics found on the island, made in the workshop in Mazo, and others are full of old photographs documents, bric-a-brac and craft work.

Old Spansih school books, from about 1950. Casa del Maestro, Tijarafe, La PalmaOld school books

Sadly the museum no longer has regular opening hours, due to the cutbacks, but if you go to the Town Hall and ask nicely, they’ll open it for you if someone’s available to go with you, and it’s free.

Old black and while photo of a toddler, Casa Del Maestro museum, Tijarafe, La Palma

I'd love to know who she was.

“Goodbye Street”, Tijarafe

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Goodbye Street, Tijarafe, La Palma island

Goodbye Street, Tijarafe,

This is the street in Tijarafe which leads from the church to the Town Hall, where the cemetery used to be. Consequently it has the eloquent and poignant name, “Goodbye Street” (Calle Adios)

This stuck in the mind of a local girl who emigrated to Cuba and became a poet:

“If you come to visit my island, La Palma, do not forget Tijarafe where there is a street called Adios… (…) What kind of secret did it cherish that its memory has endured across a distance, measured by waves, from almost a lifetime ago? We knew it later on. It was neither a shadow of love nor of mystery, it was not an aroma of legend (…) “Adiós” (Goodbye) simply, was the street which led to the cemetery. But I am going to say that it was in an exquisite manner: it was with poetry, something which scarcely exists in municipalities, or rather in any subject matter.
I do not think that it was named by councillors: it was the village, a tiny village, which got used to calling it that, or it was born with its name, which was private, innate, exact. Hence the grace, the delicacy which could not be forgotten by those who looked at it when they were children.
The street goes down a slope, cut on a rock; the village is located above it, with a handful of houses on the verge of the ravine. But going down, and on the slope which descends vertically, on a fold of the rock, the cemetery, put there as if it were a bunch of lemon blossoms on the mountain’s chest.
It is well understood that it is difficult to reach that place, even for the children of this rugged countryside, experienced in crossing over ravines. This was the origin of the custom of stopping at the opening where the street was broken up by a series of gullies running downhill.
This used to be the threshold of the farewells: companions would remain there for a while, watching a small group of people go down. There, in a touched silence, the friend gave the leaving friend the last greeting, brothers to brothers…Afterwards they went up the street in silence and the street, impregnated with sighs, rich in goodbyes without exit, could have just one name: and it was called Adios (Goodbye)”.
Extract from the book of Dulce María Loynaz, “Un verano en Tenerife”, Aguilar, Madrid, 1958

The Devil in Tijarafe

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The devil's fiesta at Tijarafe, La Palma island

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, La Palma island

The devil's fiesta at Tijarafe

El Time Viewpoint

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View from El Time

La Palma has lots of spectacular viewpoints, (mirador in Spanish). Most people’s favourite is the at El Time, which is perched on the northern edge of the Angustias ravine in Tijarafe.

It’s easy to find. Coming from Los Llanos, you drive down and down and down, round some pretty steep bends. After you cross the river, almost at sea-level, you drive up and up and up and up and up, until you’re seventeen hundred feet up (535 m). There’s a small car park on each side of the road.

You get a spectacular view, all the way from El Paso to the coast. Even better, there’s a bar right on the edge. Weather permitting, you can admire the view while you sip your coffee and eat cake (rather good cake, too). There’s a craft shop beside the bar. And if you’re not thirsty, you can admire the view without going into either.

It’s particularly spectacular at sunset.

Where’s the village gone?

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Map of La Palma municipalities

Tourists sometimes go nuts trying to find the village of Breña Baja, or Fuencaliente.

There’s a really simple reason why they can’t find them. They don’t exist. Breña Baja and Fuencaliente are municipalities, and their town halls are in the villages of San Jose and Los Canarios, respectively. It like driving all over the south east of England, looking for the town of Sussex.

The map shows the 14 municipalities (in blue) , with their administrative seats (in pink). Where
there’s no name in pink, the municipalities are named after their chief villages, which makes things simpler. Just to keep things interesting, one, San Andrés y Sauces, is named after the two biggest villages. The town hall is in Los Sauces, which is much bigger and on the main road.

That’s easy to find.

The Devil in Tijarafe

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The devil's fiesta at Tijarafe, La Palma island

The devil's fiesta at Tijarafe

Drat! I missed the fiesta del diabolo in Tijarafe.

Every year, right in the middle of the annual village fiesta, the devil turns up at Tijarafe in the early hours of September 8th.

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 year.

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, La Palma island

The devil's fiesta at Tijarafe

El Time Viewpoint

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The view from El Time, Tijarafe, La Palma island

The amazing view from El Time, Tijarafe

The viewpoint (or mirador) at El Time is perched on the northern edge of the Angustias ravine. Coming from Los Llanos, you drive down and down and down, round some pretty steep bends. After you cross the river, almost at sea-level, you drive up and up and up and up and up, until you’re seventeen hundred feet up (535 m). There’s a small car park on each side of the road.

The view is spectacular, all the way from El Paso to the coast. Even better, there’s a bar right on the edge. Weather permitting, you can admire the view while you sip your coffee and eat cake (rather good cake, too). There’s a craft shop beside the bar. And you can admire the view without going into either, if you’re not thirsty.

A word of warning, though: the toilets are down steps. This isn’t a problem for most people, but four years ago I had a broken shoulder and broken ankle at the same time, and I needed a lot of help to get down there. It’s times like that when you really appreciate your friends!

Fit people can walk from here to the highest point on the island, at el Roque de los Muchachos. Since most of the path goes along the Caldera rim, the views are amazing. But it takes at least 6 hours.

Fiestas in Early September

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There are two nice fiestas coming up at the beginning of September.

In El Paso, the statue of the Virgin of the Pine was carried in procession from the hermitage up in the mountain down to the village. On September 6th, there will be another procession to carry it back.


The Devil’s dance, Tijarafe, 2007.

In Tijarafe in the early hours of September 8th, the devil will join the dance. This is a man in a suit covered with lit fireworks, and no, I don’t think it’s entirely safe. On the other hand, I’ve never heard of any bad accidents, and it’s certainly memorable and great fun. The party starts the night before, of course, with the usual music, dancing, and mobile bars.

The Best Baroque Altarpieces in the Canary Islands

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The

This is the main altarpiece in The church of Our Lady of Candelaria (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Candelaria) in Tijarafe. According to the books, it’s the best baroque altarpiece in the Canary Islands. It’s certainly gorgeous, and huge.

It was made by Antonio de Orbarán, and he worked on it from 1626 to 1628. It cleverly combines niches with statues and painted panels.

The church itself was built around 1530, but various enlargements and renovations went on from 1571 until the start of the 18th century.

Mass is held on Fridays, Sundays and public holidays at 17.30 (in summer, at 18.30) but the church seems to be open most of the time. Take the main road around the north of the island, detour into the centre of Tijarafe (just above the main road) and you’ll find the church easily.

The Virgin of Fatima in La Punta

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Mass for the Virgin of Fatima, La Punta, la palma
Mass for the Virgin of Fatima, La Punta

Last night I went to the fiesta for The Virgin of Fatima in La Punta, in the municipality of Tijarafe. Things didn’t go according to plan (see my personal blog, but I had a good time.

Procession for the Virgin of Fatima, La Punta, la palma
Procession

La Punta is just a hamlet. Like most small villages, the main annual fiesta is the saint’s day of the village’s patron saint. Practically all such fiestas include a special mass and a procession with the statue of the saint, and so did this one.

Living Picture for the Virgin of Fatima, La Punta, la palma
Living Picture

Most fiestas include something else, which varies from village to village. Tijarafe town all told me that there wasn’t anything else at La Punta, but they had a living picture, which someone gave a short speech in honour of the Virgin.

Fireworks for the Virgin of Fatima, La Punta, la palma
Fireworks

And then we had fireworks. Rather good ones in my opinion, considering the size of the place.

Dance for the Virgin of Fatima, La Punta, la palma
The Dance Floor

And the dance was just getting started as I left. I had to get up this morning. Since they have today off work they probably partied until 2 am at least.