By promise, by faith, by habit or novelty, hundreds of pilgrims travel Tenerife in the evening of August 14 until reaching the Basilica of Candelaria. It is one of the tRadiations framed in the religious field most popular of all that take place on the Island and that has not lost followers over the years.
In fact, it is common to see pilgrims walking to Candelaria at any time of the year, but it is this eve of the Patron Saint of Canary Islands when this act becomes crowded. The objective is to pay homage to La Morenita, although the path is not always easy.
This year, moreover, as a result of the heat wave that suffocates the Canary Islandsyes, the Council of Tenerife has prohibited walking on the trailsor as it is popularly known, by the mountain, in relation to the Camino Viejo.
Although the options are reduced, the truth is that the pilgrimage along the so-called old road or the highway are traditionally those used by devotees. But do you know how far they have to travel to see the Patron? These are the most used routes:
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife – Candelaria: The route is 20 kilometers.
- San Cristobal de La Laguna – Candelaria: The route is 20 kilometers.
- La Victoria – Candelaria: The route is 30 kilometers.
- The Slaughter – Candelaria: The route is 30 kilometers.
- El Sauzal – Candelaria: The route is 25 kilometers.
- Tegueste – Candelaria: The route is 25 kilometers.
- Tacoronte – Candelaria: The route is 22 kilometers.
- El Rosario – Candelaria: The route is 15 kilometers.
Where does the tradition come from?
The festivities in honor of the Virgin of Candelaria have Guanche roots. The second date originated in the 18th century and was financed by donations from the town, commemorating the appearance of the Virgin to the aborigines of Tenerife.
Fray Alonso de Espinosa (1594) mentions that the Cueva de San Blas, known today as this, was a pilgrimage site for the Guanches of Tenerife, where they venerated Chaxiraxi (the name given by the Guanches to the Virgin). This pilgrimage occurred during the August moon or Beñesmen, a agricultural festival in the Guanche calendar in which food such as gofio, goat meat, milk and cereals were offered to Chaxiraxi. This turns the Candelaria Pilgrimage into a vestige of the old Guanche Beñesmen, practiced even by the menceyes.
The Pilgrimage to Candelaria laid the foundations for a tradition deeply rooted in the Canary Islands: visiting the insular patron saint of each island on foot. Among them, the Pilgrimage to the Virgen del Pino de Teror in Gran Canaria, and those of the Virgen de la Peña in Fuerteventura and the Virgen de los Dolores in Lanzarote stand out. These celebrations reflect the historical and cultural connection of the Canarians with their roots, and the devotion through generations.