La Traída de Palo is one of the standout events at the Fiestas of San Roque de Firgas, in Gran Canaria

The fiestas of San Roque, in Firgas (Gran Canaria), are absolutely priceless. In 1846, the butler of the figure of the Patron Saint spent two and a half silver reales coins on buying a flag to place it at the top of the stick which even today, following an age-old tradition, is brought down from the mountain in amongst the bustle of the crowds who come here every month of August. In 2017, this ancient custom that originated in the hills of the island will be taking place on Saturday, 5th August, from 20.00.

The great firework display at San Lorenzo is one of Gran Canaria’s major summer festivals.

There exists a place in Gran Canaria that emulates a volcano every August. Surrounded by mountains, the neighbourhood of San Lorenzo, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, burns hundreds of kilos of gunpowder to set the night alight, and is famous for its intensity and duration. This particular eruption has several focal points that surround the town, and attracts tens of thousands of people year after year, who come along to experience this vibrant spectacle of light, fire and sound.

The Virgin of Santa María de Guía Fiestas are one of the essential summer attractions in Gran Canaria.

Groucho Marx lives on. Nowadays he a giant who comes alive every month of August in Santa María de Guía, at the north of Gran Canaria. He blends in with the rest of the colourful and crazy looking characters at the Papagüevos street procession, a peculiar collection of giant dummies without which the town’s  Fiestas de la Virgen wouldn’t make proper sense.  These over-sized dummies are really important to the fiestas as they come out every other day onto the streets until 15th August, providing giant-sized fun.  

The fiesta of La Rama de Agaete, in Gran Canaria, provides great fun thanks to an age-old tradition here at this stunning corner of the island.

Just listen. That’s the sound of silence and hushed emotions. Just minutes before five o’clock in the morning, the silvery light of the growing moon is etched over the sea, blending in with the night time shadows that reign over the plunging cliff edges, and –further up- in the pine groves. Down at the village of Agaete, the expectant and murmuring crowds are just waiting for something to happen. What might it be? The answer is La Diana, a firework that rips through the early morning calm at 05.00  to announce the start of the great fiesta day of La Rama de Agaete, in Gran Canaria, as it does every 4th August.

La Pila Verde baptismal font at the Church of Santiago in Gáldar, in Gran Canaria, contains five centuries of stories.

Five centuries of history are squeezed into the Pila Verde baptismal font at the Temple of Santiago de los Caballeros de Gáldar. This piece of pottery was heated in one of the pottery ovens that proliferated all through the 15th century in the Triana neighbourhood in Seville. But it wasn’t done by any old craftsman. Its large size would have us believe it was the work of a true master, one of only a few who could put together objects of such great proportions without running the risk of cracking and therefore fracturing the piece.