Hundreds of laguneros and laguneras enjoyed yesterday afternoon the traditional Pandorga and Fire Horses parade, which ran through the main streets of the city center, filling them with color and showiness, despite some occasional drops of rain. This event of the Christ Festival, promoted by the Aguere 70 Scout group, started from Doctor Olivera Square and culminated in the square that shares its name with this festival.
The procession of this parade, which had the collaboration of the La Laguna City Council, was made up, as every year, of the traditional giants and big heads, in addition to the fanfares and fire horses made with cane and paper.
The mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, thanked the involvement of all the people who made this parade possible and highlighted the enthusiasm of the public attending this activity aimed at all ages, but especially the little ones in the house.
The origin of the Pandorga and Fire Horses parade, which was recovered for the Christ Festival in the mid-90s of the last century, could be related to the equestrian ornaments made in the Middle Ages for commemorations and tributes.
This ritual procession was lost in the mid-20th century, due to the danger posed by fire luminaries, but, currently, similar parades are also held in other parts of the Canary Islands and in some Spanish towns and Latin American countries such as Mexico or Venezuela.
Yesterday concluded with the celebration of the Night of Traditions, in the Plaza del Cristo, which on this occasion honored the wrestler Lolo Gutiérrez and which featured performances by Domingo Rodríguez El Colorao, along with Juan Carlos Pérez Brito El Palmero and the voices of Pedro Manuel Afonso and Ayla Rodríguez, and the Achamán group. Once midnight arrived, it was the turn of the traditional Eve Fires that were fired, as always, from El Risco de San Roque.
big day today
And the program continues today with the celebration of the big day of the Fiestas del Cristo. A day that will begin at 7:00 a.m. with the ringing of glory in the Cathedral, continuing, from 10:00 a.m., with the civic-military procession from the Town Hall to the Cathedral and the reception of the official representative of HM King Felipe VI, which this year will be held by the mayor of La Laguna. “It is a true honor for me to be the official representative of the Royal House this year in the big festivals of my city,” said Luis Yeray Gutiérrez.
The day will continue with the traditional procession of return of the image of Christ from the Cathedral, from which it will depart at approximately 12:30 p.m., once the Eucharist is over, to its Royal Sanctuary.
In the afternoon, the atrium of this Royal Sanctuary will host, at 7:00 p.m., the celebration of the campaign mass, with liturgical musical accompaniment. And at its end, the Christ of La Laguna will once again go out in procession through the main streets of the center, visiting the convents of Santa Clara and Santa Catalina. Upon returning to the Plaza del Cristo, around 11:00 p.m., the traditional Fuegos del Risco will close the day, a pyrotechnic display that will be carried out on this occasion by Hermanos Toste, Pirotecnia Jordi, Pirotecnia Gironina and San Miguel Pirotecnia.
To celebrate this day, a holiday in La Laguna, Metrotenerife, the Cabildo’s public transport company, has scheduled special tram services, with frequencies of 6 minutes on Line 1 during the morning, and 7 minutes from 3:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. .
Likewise, after the fireworks, Metrotenerife has scheduled three additional trams that will operate on demand from the Trinidad stop, that is, once these are occupied by passengers they will begin their service to Santa Cruz.
