The Tacoronte Town Hall, the Cattle Drag Federation, and the collective Agate have decided to suspend, due to the increase in cases of Covid-19, most of the program of events on the occasion of the feast of San Antonio Abad, except for the dragging, which changes location, and the blessing of the animals, which will be carried out in private in the livestock farms of the town.
The Councilor for Agriculture and Livestock, Carmela Díaz Vilela (SSP), explains that the evolution of the pandemic in this sixth wave “has had such an impact that it has been impossible to carry out the planned programming, which prevents us from organizing, for example, the livestock fair.” The councilor acknowledges that initially the postponement of the festive calendar was raised, “but in conversations with the parish priest of San Juan, a neighborhood that has hosted the celebrations for decades, the suspension was decided, since the dates would shift a lot in the religious calendar.
In general, the programming is suspended, but it is planned to keep some appointments “that are not multitudinous”, such as the blessing of cattle, changing the popular act that concentrated animals from the entire municipality, “for a blessing of the animals of those farmers of the municipality who request it, to be carried out by the parish priest around the date of celebration of Saint Anthony Abbot».
Cattle dragging is maintained, as it is a federated sport, but it will be “held on January 22 with controlled capacity in the Cattleman’s House, in the neighboring municipality of The lagoon, as it happened last year ». Yes, the ring race on horseback and the traditional plowing demonstration are suspended, “for which another date of celebration could be sought throughout the year,” according to the councilor. For the mayor of Tacoronte, José Daniel Díaz (NC), “The epidemiological situation and the measures it entails mean that these popular events cannot be celebrated either.”
