Shaped by the trade winds and mild temperatures and formed between dark volcanic soil and the white salt of the sea, Canarian identity is a blend of cultures that has evolved without losing what makes it unique. This vibrant and colourful way of life comes to life especially in summer, when dozens of festivals and gatherings take place across the islands. If you have a home at Abama, you can plan your days at the resort around some of the many traditional celebrations that take place in July and August. Tenerife is inseparable from its romerías, bailes de magos and patron saint festivities, traditions that transform every municipality into a stage for music, dance, traditional dress and communal celebration.
If you would like to experience a romería without travelling far from Abama, July offers two nearby events in neighbouring municipalities. On 4 July, Arona celebrates the Buzanada Baile de Magos, an evening of folklore and local dress held close to the resort. On 12 July, Adeje hosts the Romería de Los Olivos, one of the most anticipated celebrations in the south of the island, where decorated carts, animals and traditional costumes fill the streets to the sound of music and local parrandas. Although many of these celebrations have Christian origins, among all the summer festivities in the Canary Islands, the Embarkation of the Virgen del Carmen in Puerto de la Cruz holds a particularly special place. Scheduled for 14 July, it is one of the largest religious and maritime events in the archipelago, attracting tens of thousands of visitors each year. Local fishermen carry the carved images of the Virgen del Carmen and San Telmo from the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia to the fishing harbour, where they are placed on boats and taken around the bay, accompanied by sirens, music and crowds along the seafront. Although Puerto de la Cruz lies in the north of the island and some distance from Abama, it is a worthwhile excursion for those wishing to experience one of Tenerife’s most deeply rooted maritime traditions at its most spectacular.
However, if there is one date worth marking in the calendar, it is 21 and 22 August, when Guía de Isora, the municipality where our resort is located, hosts the Chiguergue Baile de Magos and, the following day, its romería, both taking place practically on your doorstep. Chiguergue is a small rural village in the midlands of Guía de Isora, situated at over 600 metres above sea level among vineyards, almond groves and Canary Island pine forests. It is here that one of the most authentic and heartfelt romerías in the south of Tenerife takes place. In the afternoon, decorated carts pulled by oxen, pilgrims dressed in traditional mago attire, and parrandas performing isas, folías and malagueñas fill the streets, sharing Canarian food and drink with residents and visitors as they move through the village.
The mago costume: an identity that varies from place to place
Across all these celebrations, from small local gatherings to the largest romerías, there is one defining element: traditional mago dress. These garments, rooted in the traditional clothing of the island’s rural communities, are worn today during romerías, bailes de magos and on Canary Islands Day. Each island, and even individual towns such as La Orotava or areas of Gran Canaria, preserves its own variations in design, colour and fabric. The term mago historically refers to rural inhabitants or farmers, and dressing in these clothes during a romería is a way of paying tribute to the agricultural and rural identity that remains very present in Tenerife.
For those spending a season at Abama, attending one of these festivals and seeing these costumes firsthand is one of the most direct ways to connect with the island's soul, far beyond the landscape and climate you already know.
Between the Buzanada Baile de Magos, the Romería de Los Olivos in Adeje, the grand Embarkation of the Virgen del Carmen in Puerto de la Cruz and, above all, the Chiguergue celebrations in Guía de Isora itself, the Canary Islands summer offers, near your home in Abama, a calendar of tradition and folklore well worth noting in your agenda. Check the dates, organise your stay and let yourself be carried away by one of the most authentic experiences Tenerife has to offer, just a step from your front door.
