The launching of flyers along with bell ringing at 7:00 AM during the Novenas de Dolores in Tegueste, a tradition of the municipality, has sparked a video circulating on WhatsApp where some residents express their distress. “They are going to kill the dogs!” can be heard from the recording.
Néstor Alonso, 38, is the neighbour who raised the concern. He lives near the church of San Marcos Evangelista and claims to be overwhelmed by the situation. In the footage, he is seen walking with his dog in the square when the bell ringing starts. “You can see how the animal gets restless with the fireworks,” says Alonso as he calls his dog, Duna, towards him.
Quite affected, he explains to this newspaper that his distress is due to the harm to animals, pointing out that the issue is not the bells but the fireworks. “The bells, fine… but not these loud bangs, come on!” he notes in the video. Another person walking a dog also shares his sentiments.
“I am recording this for the media and then I will file a complaint,” Alonso tells his interlocutor. “This is not normal. And on top of that, I went to talk to the priest yesterday and he told me: ‘You have a month left like this’,” he adds. The complainant states that the issue has been happening “definitely” for the past four or five days.
The Priest’s Version
The parish priest, José Manuel García Matos, offers a different perspective. “The ringing of the bells and fireworks are part of the Novenas de Dolores throughout this week. They started on Tuesday. The comment that there is a month left is incorrect and not mine, but of another neighbour who was also in the square,” explains the priest from La Palma.
“I can’t recall if there are fireworks during Easter since that doesn’t fall under the parish but rather the local traditions of the town,” continues García Matos, who has been in charge of San Marcos Evangelista since 2020. “Regarding the bells, we have considered turning them off at night, but a large number of residents express that they are not only not bothered but they represent an identity of the town that they do not want to lose,” he expresses.
Matos also states: “The morning fireworks started on Tuesday with the Novenas; therefore, yesterday [referring to Wednesday] it was the second day, so the notion of several days is not entirely accurate.” And he concludes: “When that neighbour approached me in the square yesterday, he didn’t even understand what he was referring to, much like the other people present with me.”
This newspaper reached out to the Tegueste Town Hall to gather their perspective on the events and on Néstor Alonso’s reported difficulty in filing a complaint with the Local Police, but their version on this case where the right to a noise-free environment and animal welfare clash with local tradition, remains unknown.
