The eagerly-awaited return of La Palma’s biggest celebrations after almost a decade has lived up to expectations, with tens of thousands of locals and visitors flocking to the fiestas.
The island is internationally famous for its festivities in honour of its patron saint, the Virgin of the Snows, whose statue is taken out of its permanent home in its hillside shrine once every five years and carried to the capital, Santa Cruz.
Known as the Descent of the Virgin, the religious tradition which dates back to the late 17th century is marked by almost a month of celebrations either side of the actual carriage of the statue. This year’s celebrations have been particularly important as Covid prevented them from being held in 2020.
The programme features a host of spectacular events and performances, including the elegant Minuet performed in period costume, but there can be no doubt that the traditional Dance of the Dwarves remains the centrepiece and the return of the curious characters for their carefully-rehearsed routine did not disappoint.
There was added expectation this year as it marked the first ever appearance of women as part of the thirty-strong troupe of dancers.
Secrecy continues to surround how the dancers, who perform the popular routine – to the rhythm of a polka – seven times throughout the day, insert themselves into the curious outfits and how they manage to suddenly appear on stage as enanos (dwarves) through an ingenious costume change.
The celebrations continue over the weekend in Santa Cruz with parades, religious ceremonies and concerts, including a star appearance by Puerto Rican singing idol Luis Fonsi.
Coinciding with this year’s festivities, the Canarian government has announced that it has set in motion the process to secure recognition of the centuries-old Descent of the Virgin celebrations as part of Unesco’s world cultural heritage.
