Festivals, rites and history

Folk dance of the romería, in traditional dress

A folk dance linked to the romería: the participants, often still in traditional dress, dance in the square to the music of the parrandas.

The 1740 battles against English corsairs

In the autumn of 1740 English corsairs landed in the south of Fuerteventura and pushed inland. The islanders, with few firearms and plenty of farm tools, beat them first at El Cuchillete and then at the foot of Tamasite mountain. Tuineje remembers those days every year with costumed re-enactments during the Fiestas Juradas.

Decorated float in the romería

A cart or trailer decorated with plants, farm produce and objects from rural life, pulled by a tractor or by animals, that parades in the romería. Wine and food are often handed out from the floats to the people walking alongside.

The volunteers who organise the festivities

A group of residents, almost always volunteers, who organise the village festivities: programme, bands, decorations and fundraising.

Decorating the streets and square before the festival

Engalanamiento is the phase in which residents decorate the village's streets and square with decorations, banners and lights in the days before the fiesta officially begins.

Small country church or chapel

A small church or chapel, often standing alone in the countryside or in a hamlet without a parish. Many romerías make their way to an ermita.

Festivities vowed by oath, in Tuineje for San Miguel

«Sworn festivities»: celebrations a village vowed to hold every year. Tuineje's date back to 1740, when the islanders drove off English corsairs at the battles of El Cuchillete and Tamasite and credited the victory to San Miguel Arcángel. Every October the landing and the battle are re-enacted, with a romería and a procession.

The village's patron saint festivities

Every village in Fuerteventura, and often every hamlet, celebrates its patron saint or its Virgin with several days of festivities. Religious acts, such as the solemn mass and the procession, alternate with popular ones: verbenas, games, traditional sports, contests and dances. They are the heart of the island's calendar.

All Saints' evening when the dead are remembered

On the evening of All Saints' Day, 1 November, Canarian families gather to remember their dead, the «finados»: they eat roast chestnuts, nuts and figs, drink wine or anise, and tell stories about those who are gone. It is an old custom that town councils and schools have revived in recent years.

Bonfire, in the Canarian word

Fogalera is the Canarian word for bonfire, from fogal, the three-stone hearth used for cooking. At the Tuineje fiestas the Fogaleras accompany the image of San Miguel at night, lighting the streets after the romería.

Fireworks

Fireworks. A «gran quema de fuegos artificiales» is the fireworks display, usually at the end of the procession or on the main night of the festival.

Solemn mass on the feast day

The función religiosa is the solemn Mass on the feast day in honour of the patron saint, usually followed by a procession carrying the image through the village streets.

Traditional women's shawl over head and shoulders

The mantilla canaria is the traditional women's shawl, usually white wool or cloth, covering head and shoulders; it is worn in the most solemn processions.

Carnival group singing satirical songs in costume

A murga is a Canarian carnival group that sings satirical songs about current events, in costume, backed by drums and whistles. During the year murgas also run fundraisers such as bingo nights and markets.

Offering of produce and gifts to the patron saint

The ofrenda is the offering to the Virgin or patron saint: people process, often in traditional dress and with decorated carts, bringing produce, flowers and gifts. It is usually part of the romería.

Giant papier-mâché heads worn in parades

Papahuevos are large papier-mâché heads worn as costumes, a Canarian festive tradition related to the gigantes y cabezudos found throughout Spain.

Speech that officially opens the festival

The pregón is the speech that officially opens the fiestas, usually given by someone with ties to the village: it symbolically marks the start of the celebrations.

Religious procession with the saint's statue

The statue of the patron saint or of the Virgin leaves the church and is carried through the village streets on a shoulder-borne float, followed by the faithful, the band and local officials. It is the central moment of the festival's main day; anyone can join in at the back.

Procession at sea, with the statue on a boat

In seaside villages the statue of the Virgin or the saint is taken on board a boat and sails around the bay, escorted by boats decked out with flags and flowers, then returns to land in procession. It is closely tied to fishing communities.

Group that sings for the souls of the dead

A group of singers and musicians who, with guitars, timple, tambourines (panderos) and sword-shaped rattles (espadas), sing verses for the souls in purgatory, traditionally in the season that opens with All Saints' Day, collecting alms for masses for the dead. In Fuerteventura the best-known active ones are those of Tiscamanita and Valsequillo.

Day of food and music for the Banda de San Miguel

The Rebotallo de San Miguel is the day the Banda de San Miguel of Tuineje raises funds for instruments and uniforms: traditional food (grilled goat, asadero, paella) and non-stop music in the Plaza de San Miguel.

Festive ringing of the church bells

The long, joyful ringing of the church bells: it opens the patron saint festivities, announces the procession or greets the morning on festival days.

Narrative ballad of the oral tradition, recited from memory

A narrative ballad in eight-syllable lines, handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation: it tells stories of love, betrayal, saints and Moors. It arrived with the Castilian settlers and survived in Fuerteventura's rural households; those who recite it from memory are called romanceadores.

Popular procession with carts and traditional dress

The romería is a popular procession, often with decorated carts and participants in traditional dress, carrying produce from the land or a sacred image to the village church as an act of devotion.

Folk healer who cures with prayers and the sign of the cross

A healer of folk medicine: she treats the evil eye, «empacho» (indigestion) and other ailments by «santiguar», that is with whispered prayers and signs of the cross, often holding a sprig of a herb such as rue or rosemary. The knowledge is passed on by word of mouth, usually from woman to woman.

The traditional Canarian costume worn at romerías

For romerías and folk dances many people wear the traditional costume, based on the clothes of the old-time farmers, the «magos». Women wear a long skirt, petticoat, blouse, bodice and headscarf or hat; men a white shirt, waistcoat, trousers and a sash. «Ir ataviado» means going dressed this way: it is appreciated, not required.