Stop for a moment and listen. Beneath the steady trade winds and the distant echo of the Atlantic, the Canary Islands hold their own distinctive soundscape, shaped over centuries by the countryside, the sea and the blend of cultures that formed the archipelago. From your home at Abama, this musical landscape is not something confined to tourist guides, but something that is present all around you: in the parrandas that bring life to local festivals, in the timples being tuned before a romería, in the voices that for generations have kept alive the songs and dances most closely associated with the islands.
Canarian folk music does not come from a single source, but from layers of history built up over time. The earliest influence comes from the music of the indigenous Guanche people, over which was added the musical tradition brought by Castilian and Portuguese settlers during conquest and colonisation. Later came Caribbean influences, carried back to the islands by Canarian emigrants returning from the Americas. Over time, further elements were introduced through contact with Genoese, Jewish, Flemish and British traders, creating a constant meeting point between Europe, Africa and the Americas.
This mix of influences is also heard in the instruments. The most emblematic is the timple, a small five-stringed instrument with a rounded body, of uncertain origin but firmly rooted in the Canary Islands. Traditionally it has been used to provide rhythmic accompaniment in parrandas, although in recent decades it has also become established as a solo instrument. Alongside it, the guitar, lute and bandurria provide the harmonic and melodic foundation of much of the traditional Canarian music. The violin, introduced from Europe in the eighteenth century, and the double bass, added more recently, complete the modern ensemble.
Isas, folías and malagueñas
The richness of the Teno-Rasca Marine Area lies below the surface. Shaped by Tenerife's volcanic origins, the seabed is a dramatic landscape of rocky reefs, deep underwater valleys and hidden caves that create one of the most varied marine environments in Europe.
Closer to the surface, where sunlight reaches the seabed, forests of Cystoseira and Sargassum algae sway with the currents. Nearby, broad seagrass meadows of Cymodocea nodosa provide shelter, breeding grounds and food for countless fish and invertebrates, making them one of the most important habitats in the local ecosystem.
Further below, where daylight fades, submerged volcanic caves reveal a completely different world. Sponges, corals and other marine invertebrates thrive on their walls, while crustaceans and nocturnal fish retreat here during the day before emerging after dark.
Three musical styles define the rhythmic identity of the islands: isas, folías and malagueñas. The isa is probably the most recognisable dance in the archipelago. Lively and rhythmic, it is traditionally performed in groups, usually opening romerías and setting the festive tone for popular gatherings. It can be heard in many variations at local festivals across the islands. There is no single isa, as each island preserves its own version, from the Isa del Uno in Lanzarote to the Isa majorera in Fuerteventura, as well as versions in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, with variations that can differ even between neighbouring towns.
The folía has a slower character. It is a piece intended more for listening than for dancing and is often performed as a form of tribute or dedication. Traditionally, dancers were accompanied by chácaras, giving the folía its distinctive, measured rhythm, almost ceremonial in tone compared with the rest of the repertoire.
The malagueña, with origins in songs that arrived from mainland Spain and were reinterpreted in the islands, completes this musical trio with a rhythm that sits between the isa and the folía. In the western islands it remains more vigorous in character, while elsewhere it has generally softened over time. In Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and some more remote parts of Tenerife, however, it still fast-paced and energetic.
These three musical styles coexist in every Canarian festival, performed with instruments such as the timple, guitar, lute and traditional percussion, and form the foundation of much of the islands’ musical identity. What makes this folk tradition particularly significant is that it has not remained fixed in the past. It has influenced, in different ways, some of the most well-known Canarian artists in Spain and beyond.
Pedro Guerra, born in Güímar in Tenerife, built much of his career within the New Canarian Song movement, which in the 1980s reinterpreted local musical tradition through singer songwriter styles, producing songs later performed by artists such as Ana Belén. Rosana, from Arrecife in Lanzarote, brought Canarian music into millions of homes with El Talismán, combining island sensibility with broad popular appeal. More recently, Quevedo, raised in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, has shown that urban music can also emerge from the islands, reaching international audiences while retaining an identity rooted in the same cultural foundations as the isa and the folía: the need to express identity through music.
Enjoying the tranquillity of your home at Abama also means having this cultural richness close at hand. The next time a parranda brings life to a nearby romería, or a guitar begins a traditional folía, stop, listen and remember that this same soundscape, shaped over centuries, forms part of the landscape in which you have chosen to make your home.
Photographic credit: Hola Islas Canarias
