In Spain we love a holiday, a celebration in honour of whatever it is to get together and enjoy with loved ones and not so loved ones. Of course in the Canary Islands we were not going to be any less and we can even consider ourselves leaders when it comes to parties, from the popular ones carnivals o pilgrimagesuntil traditions more exclusive and deep-rooted where the identity of each community or town is expressed.
But among the 88 municipalities that make up the Canary Islands there is one, only one, that holds the title of The most festive town in Spainas the comedian reported Leo Harlem in his monologue ‘Celebrations’, part of the collection entitled Leo Talks, where he parodies motivational talks and speeches. In this monologue, the comedian complains about the number of celebrations we commemorate in Spain and, to prove it, he used this Canary Island town as an example.
This town of partying excellence is located in the north of Tenerife and its more than 36,000 residents have the responsibility of commemorating 80 celebrations in 365 dayswhich is equivalent to celebrating a party, on average, every four or five days. Welcome to The Realejoswhere there is always reason to celebrate.
Endless commemorations
Festivals of the Cross, Carnivals, Saint Vincent the MartyrHoly Week, Small Pilgrimage, Pilgrimage of San Isidro, Corpus Christi, Saint Anthony of Padua, Eve of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter the Apostle, Fiestas del Carmen, Santiago Apostol, Saint Cayetano, Our Lady of the Afflicted, Our Lady of the Good Voyage, Chestnut Cross, Pilgrimage of Saint Anthony or Our Lady of Los Remedios are just some of the festivities that the City Council itself includes on its website.
In addition to the summer months, when most of these festivities are concentrated, the month of May marks the beginning of an intense one with the celebration of the Feast of the Crossin which more than 300 crosses are decorated throughout the municipality and a spectacular fireworks display is held. One of the dates marked on the calendar of the municipality and the entire island is reserved for the last Sunday in May: the pilgrimage in honour of Saint Isidore the Farmer and Saint Mary of the Head.
A promise of more than 400 years
In addition to other more widespread celebrations, such as Kings’ Day, Carnivals or Easter, Los Realejos boasts of commemorating one of the oldest festivals in Tenerife every January 22, with the liturgical feast of San Vicente Deacon and Martyr and the institutional act that, in 2024, commemorated the 415th anniversary of the promise made by the people of Realejos to their co-patron.
The origin of this liturgical celebration dates back to the year 1609 when the municipal councillors with the then parish priest of Nuestra Señora de La Concepción made the solemn promise to go every year to celebrate the anniversary of Saint Vincent, as a gesture of thanksgiving for having freed them from the so-called Landres Plague.
