La Palma is an island where you can always find time for fun. Whether in the mountain or coastal municipalities, the festivities on the Isla Bonita are memorable for their music and customs, where visitors can enjoy authentic and entertaining festivities throughout the year. The options are varied and numerous; from events of National Tourist Interest, such as the Dance of the Dwarves on the occasion of the Descent of the Virgin of the Snows (which takes place every five years), to unique festivities such as the Indianos (on Carnival Monday), with their talcum powder.
A different kind of carnival: Los Indianos
Although all the Canary Islands are known for their carnivals, the carnival of La Palma is a particular one, since in all its municipalities, the participants throw talcum powder at each other while they are disguised, and even use cannons located in trucks decorated for this occasion. Los Indianos, on Carnival Monday, is the most anticipated festivity of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de La Palma, both for residents of the island and for those who come from other parts of the world, with an influx of more than 70,000 people. They all dress up as Cubans imitating the Canary Islanders who returned from the Pearl of the Caribbean at the beginning of the 20th century.
Mountain Celebrations: San Antonio del Monte and El Almendro
The Fiesta de San Antonio del Monte, in Garafía, is one of the most anticipated of the year and usually takes place the Saturday closest to the 13th of June. Religion, livestock, verbenas, handicrafts and local food are combined in this celebration, recommended for lovers of popular culture. On that day, the area around the Ermita de San Antonio del Monte is filled with visitors from all over the island who enjoy the animal exhibitions and competitions between cattle from different families.
Also in the municipality of Puntagorda, in the westernmost point of the island, the blossoming of the almond trees, which fill the fields of blue and white pink flowers, is celebrated during the popular Fiesta del Almendro at the end of January, the prelude to the island carnivals. The curious who come to this event will enjoy music, dances and a variety of sweets made with almonds (as well as the first carnival talcum powder).
Festivities with Tradition: El Diablo, the Descent of the Virgin of the Snows and Corpus Christi
With more than half a century of tradition, La Fiesta del Diablo, en Tijarafe, is celebrated in the early morning of 8 September. It is then that the locals unleash El Diablo, a giant being who spits fire.
Another eagerly awaited celebration is Corpus Christi in Villa de Mazo, a festival declared of National Tourist Interest, with its arches and carpets made by the residents of the municipality for months in advance from natural ingredients such as flowers, moss, etc.
A particularly iconic celebration is the Celebration of Virgen de las Nieves, in Santa Cruz de La Palma. Every five years, during the month of July, the whole island gathers to take the Virgin in pilgrimage from the sanctuary of Las Nieves to the town center and the parish Matriz de El Salvador. During these days, visitors can see the famous Dwarves of La Palma dance, after their miraculous transformation from monks to dwarves in a spectacular setting. The expected Minuet Dance, inspired by the French court dances of the 17th and 18th centuries, is also held.
Los Caballos Fufos and Las Cruces
In the festival of Las Cruces, in Santa Cruz de La Palma, Villa de Mazo, Breña Alta and Breña Baja, which has centuries of tradition, the crosses that abound on the roads of the two localities are decorated. Each is decorated with the best of what is in each house, including family jewels. Next to the Crosses, the mayos or rag dolls that represent daily images of the island life or characters of the same are guarding them.
The Caballos Fufos, celebrated in Tazacorte in September, consist of a group of horses with cane structures covered with tissue paper, which dance through the streets to the rhythm of the song "Vuela, Vuela Palomita", under the attentive direction of a giraffe that marks the pace. This dance attracts both residents and visitors due to its color and joy, being the center of the patron saint festivities of this municipality.
The Caballos Fuscos take place in Fuencaliente and dance to the rhythm of a polka during the Grape Harvest Festival (a great tradition in this municipality) in August.
To find out more on the exact date of any festival, you can consult the calendar of festivities in this link and remember that what all of them have in common is that they are a pure manifestation of the idiosyncrasy of the island, in addition to its gastronomy, crafts and folklore.