What Is Dia De Canarias?

Dia de Canarias

 

What is Dia de Canarias?

Dia de Canarias is one of the most important celebrations here in The Canaries and it takes place each year on 30th May, which is the anniversary of the first session of The Autonomous Canarian Government in May 1983.

Dia de Canarias is a public holiday throughout the islands, and celebrations can take place the day before, the day after, or even over an adjacent weekend.

All of the island’s towns and villages will have some sort of cultural events and you can check out what’s on in your area here: What’s On.

Something you should look out for is a Baile de Magos – a Canarian dance, with all the participants dressed in traditional Canarian costume.

Also look out for displays of Lucha de Canarias, Canarian wrestling, and loads of live music, including timple playing, and even some batucada drum bands.

You may also see Jolateros – these are small boats, home made from oil drums, in which children race around a circuit, paddling with their hands, and with the objective of catching strings hanging over the water – always great fun and with lots of sinking and capsizing.

In terms of gastronomy, you’ll find Dia de Canarias is all about gofio, the versatile local flour, which can be used as a dessert, to thicken stews, and much more.

Dia de Canarias is also a day for various sporting events – including sailing races, boules tournaments, padel competitions, and usually at least one open water swim race. You’ll also find it’s the day when local classic car and motorcycle enthusiasts meet up to tour around the island, so look out for them.

We love Dia de Canarias – it’s about celebrating being Canarian, and it doesn’t have any kind of commercial spin placed on it. Just a nice day for families to enjoy some fun and each other’s company.

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