A board, a steep street and a lot of adrenaline are enough for the people of Icodense to have a good time. Its neighbors in La Guancha and San Juan de la Rambla are satisfied with the same, although with less intensity. At least on the eve and the festival of San Andrés, on November 29 and 30, a popular celebration in which they take advantage of the steep slopes to slide on a wooden board that can reach up to 30 kilometers per hour, braking at the end. from the road by a large mountain of tires and which attracts thousands of people to the Ciudad del Drago every year.
This year they started earlier, taking advantage of the weekend, but that did not prevent the people of Icodense from living yesterday one of the most anticipated days to share a tradition that survives over time, is transmitted from generation to generation, and in which there is no distinction of sexes or ages.
There was a desire to party and drag and it showed. Especially in Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, the favorite of the youngest because of its steep slope, and other nearby ones, such as San Sebastián, El Sol and Los Franceses, the one dedicated to children who went with their boards in those that were stamped Winnie the Pooh, and other children’s characters.
From the early hours of the morning, the streets of the town were prepared not only with tires piled up at the end of the road but also with stalls selling chestnuts and roast meat, wine, and hot dogs that gave off a smell that late in the afternoon overlapped the tan characteristic of burnt rubber.
The terraces of bars, restaurants and cafeterias were packed with people and the staff kept coming and going with drinks and plates of food.
The atmosphere was dominated by groups of teenagers, most of them dressed in rigorous black, like Nayara Abreu, a 14-year-old girl from the El Amparo neighborhood, who won the applause of the public by starring in one of the most spectacular falls in the Plan street.
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
Antonio González street, popularly known as El Plano, was once again the one chosen by adolescents to jump down its steep slope without this not implying a good bang against the disused tires that were piled up at the end of the street and that slow down the descent. Fran Pallero
She was accompanied by her friend Laura. It was she who taught him to throw herself because she has done it since she was little, living on Hercules street, one of her favorites. Her father built the methacrylate table for her but since it was very long she cut it and took the opportunity to paint a giant letter E on it. It is to always remember her brother Eduardo of hers, who lives in the Peninsula and whom she misses very much.
But there were also parents with children, couples, and the most daring shared a large plank between four of them, even though that meant having a good bang against the disused tires piled up at the end of the road that Omar, Lucas, Acoidan and Cristian, whom their friends call Chololo, meticulously accommodated.
There were between 300 and 400, according to them, a lower number than in previous years, “but they are exploited and not replaced,” said the latter.
The most daring filmed themselves, made turns on the board after passing the speed bump that is in the middle of the road, and even went with a cigarette in their mouths. Quite a challenge.
As every year, Los Tea Negra could not be missing with their red shirts that would climb the steep slope non-stop to throw themselves over and over again.
The warning given by the Association of Pediatrics of Primary Care of the Canary Islands warning of the serious injuries that this practice can cause and requesting that security measures be implemented, was forgotten yesterday. There were many family members who encouraged their children to jump and celebrated victoriously when they arrived and jumped against the tires.
Civil Protection personnel were there to deal with any incident that might arise. The troops from Icod de los Vinos were joined by colleagues from Candelaria and Garachico.
Meanwhile, the tourists were astonished and crowded together to immortalize with their cameras or mobile phones a never-before-seen spectacle, colored by the sparks that the boards give off, and which seems unalterable over time.
It is difficult to get away from the adrenaline generated by this tradition, one of the favorites in the Ciudad del Drago. Faces that reflected bewilderment, some fear, some expressions of panic, but above all a lot of laughter and celebration when they heard the cry of “Long live San Andrés”, in a day that many will repeat today but with less intensity.
