Few locations in the Canary Islands boast such a remarkable connection to mystery and the transcendent backdrop of La Tejita beach, alongside its iconic Montaña Roja and the nearby areas of El Médano and the Cueva del Hermano Pedro. It is awe-inspiring to contemplate that this site, now safeguarded and a focal point of ongoing debate in recent times, was once divided millions of years ago by a stretch of ocean.
It may be difficult to envisage, but that was indeed the case, as the mountain, also referred to as Mole Mountain, had no link to the shore. A gradual process of forming a fossil dune compacted the site, presenting us with the familiar vista.
The prominence it holds on the marine skyline, standing at 171 metres above sea level, coupled with the maritime conditions that provide a natural harbour, ensured that Montaña Roja became one of the primary geographical markers of Tenerife since the Conquest at the close of the 15th century. Friar Abreu Galindo noted this in his description of the island as a “triangle with three points, named Punta de Anaga, Punta de Teno, and Punta del Camisón, or Montaña Roja.” Similarly, Friar Alonso de Espinosa also articulated this notion: “The island’s shape is almost triangular, consisting of three capes or points: Punta de Anaga to the Northeast, Punta de Teno to the West-Southwest, and Montaña Roja to the South-Southwest.”
This coastline has been the site of various commercial and piracy incursions, and it is recorded in the annals of navigation history as one of the initial stops for the expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano on their journey to circumnavigate the globe for the first time. Allegedly, this stop—which some viewed as technical, while others considered it a necessity owing to an attack by pirates—took place on October 1, 1519, and continued for two days. A half-century later, during the spring of 1571, another significant event unfolded when English admiral Sir William Winter landed upon this coast, perhaps to strategise for an attack on another section of the island. According to chronicles, he was thwarted by a fierce Baltasar Soler, who at that time commanded the infantry company of Abona and Vilaflor, tragically putting to death the dozen men who had landed, Winter possibly included among them.
Southern chronicler Octavio Delgado once unearthed a narrative about this fascinating locale by journalist and writer Romualdo García de Paredes. This fictional tale, inspired as it is by what “the wizards of the South recounted to him,” was published on October 30, 1919, in Gaceta de Tenerife. Titled La Montaña Roja (The Red Mountain), it attempts to elucidate the origin of this volcano’s colour. The story captures the imagination and is worth reading for its evocative prose, evident in passages such as: “When the morning sun illuminates it, it seems as though a volcanic influence has turned it red with fire; when the midday sun shines upon it, it appears as though a colossal ruby reveals its purple glimmers; when, at sunset, it lies weary on the mountain, it seems as if a clot of blood rises above the vast sea.”
The narrative recounts the saga of three Guanche brothers, Ivna, Nausú, and Vaguá, who, after a fierce storm, stumble upon a sunken, gleaming chest made of ebony wood and adorned with gold, silver, and precious gems on La Tejita shore, mere metres from the sea. This treasure had been cast away into the waves by an old Indian prince who had plunged into the water with it during the tempest.
This prince was aboard a caravel named Texis with his young, beautiful wife, a princess sporting golden hair. To their horror, upon opening the chest, the boys discovered the head of the princess, evidently the victim of her husband’s jealousy.
After debating what to do with her, Nausú, who had instantly fallen for the decapitated maiden, fatally attacked his brother Ivna while their sister Vaguá fled. The young man ascended Montaña Roja to inter the chest and the head at its summit and then went higher to bury his deceased brother. At that moment, blood began to ooze from the volcano, cascading down the slope, staining all in its path and engulfing Nausú and the chest itself. The mountain’s red hue is attributed to the blood shed, while on tranquil days, amidst a calm sea, one can spot the chest shimmering beneath the waters beside Montaña Roja.
This captivating story serves to further enhance the mystical aura traditionally ascribed to a location that, during the 1970s, garnered notable national attention. This was prompted by the esteemed journalist Francisco Padrón Hernández, who was associated with DIARIO DE AVISOS for decades and was a trailblazer in the Canary Islands for investigating and disseminating enigmas of all kinds. In May and October of 1975, he, along with others, encountered numerous sightings and close encounters with UFOs that dramatically altered his life.
During the first event, which occurred with Emilio Bourgon and José Manuel Santos on the night of June 9, 1975, they ventured to the site to observe some peculiar lights a few metres from the shore at around 11 pm, initially mistaking them for a ship. Shortly thereafter, an intense spotlight illuminated them entirely, ending the conscious part of their experience. Through hypnosis, he later realised that this spotlight had drawn him into a supposed extraterrestrial vessel, where Paco and Emilio underwent various medical “checks” and an organic adjustment. From that moment onward, La Tejita became a nexus for Paco Padrón, a site of contact with UFO phenomena, connection to the transcendent, and a sanctuary away from the rest of the world.
However, Padrón was not the first nor the sole individual to encounter the UFO mystery in this region. For over a century, there had been tales of mystical lights—soul lights—meandering along the coast, and even sightings of “flying lambs” observed in broad daylight, a term coined by a goatherd grazing nearby to describe the peculiar disc-shaped object he had witnessed soaring over Montaña Roja.
A PLACE OF POWER
The history of UFO sightings in this area is far-reaching. In the 1980s, a technician associated with an official agency came across a visual document that charted the seabed around La Tejita. Just offshore from Montaña Roja, a colossal submerged circular structure was identified, one that “should not exist.” This complete anomaly resulted in requests for him to remain reticent when he reported his findings. Close by, in El Médano, during the mid-1970s, numerous witnesses observed a disc-shaped object several metres in diameter descending just metres from the square, nearly grazing the ground. This occurred one September evening, and after a few moments, it ascended and returned towards its original point, Montaña Roja.
According to anthropologist Fernando Hernández, with whom we have crafted a journey through the history and mysteries of La Tejita that has already astonished numerous individuals, “La Tejita and its immediate vicinity are undoubtedly a place of power. The luminous phenomena reported there and the UFO encounters experienced by people provide clues regarding its anomalous nature, but there are more accounts. These include strange sightings of figures that appear and vanish as if by enchantment or the tradition surrounding Brother Pedro himself, who identifies this locale as a site of spiritual transformation.”
This final aspect is of significant importance, as it is in this area that Pedro de San José Betancur spent part of his formative years, often engaging in long stretches of solitude and contemplation while tending to his goats. Numerous miracles are attributed to him, likely apocryphal, including his ability to evade pirates when they invaded the area seeking slaves. What appears evident is that it was during this period and in this locale that he felt a calling, marking the beginning of his spiritual awakening.
Could it be that this place—and perhaps the observation and interpretation of certain peculiar phenomena—triggered his own special hierophany? Who can say? What is undeniable is that La Tejita and its enduring relationship with mystery leave an indelible impression on those who resonate with its enchantment.
On each of our visits there, new accounts are shared by participants. There are few locations where one senses that the unknown looms so close.
