La Rama`s party in Agaete

If we search among the popular festivals of Canary Islands, we can find many related to bouquets. For example, the Corpus with their carpets, the Palmitos de Santa Ana and the May Crosses among others.

Without doubts, the main event is Fiesta de la Rama in Agaete, that belongs to the popular celebrations about the Virgen de las Nieves.

When is it celebrated?

The fiesta de la Rama takes place around August the 5th, when the Virgen de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves is celebrated.

What does the fiesta de la Rama consist of?

The aim of the party is to decorate the town with branches: both religious buildings and the main streets of the town.

In the past, the party was on August the 4th. Early in the morning, the inhabitants of Agaete use to go to the forest of Tamadaba in order to collect the necessary branches to decorate the town. Then, the repository organized the distribution of the branches, depositing them in the street of La Rama, so that to better control and organize everything.

Nowadays on August the 4th, a part of the branches, visitors can enjoy parades and popular dances in Agaete. Dancers go around the village following the rythm of the music and waving in the air the branches they carry.

With them there are the famous papagüevos. They are a kind of giants with big heads that represent popular characters of Agaete.

At the end of the dance, the party ends with the offer of the branches to the Virgin.

It is on August the 5th when the famous pilgrimage takes place, in which people moves the Virgen de las Nieves from her hermitage to the church Nuestra Señora de la Concepción in Agaete. A couple of weeks later, the statue will return to its usual hermitage.

The origin of the celebration

Even if there’s no a precise date abot the origin of the celebrations, there are documents in Agaete that mention the XIX century.  They describe elements such as dances, music bands, ventorrillos, papagüevos, etc. Since then, the celebration changed and it followed its evolution until now.

Someone think that the party was created to invoke the rains during the dry season. In fact, remembering those ancient rites, there is people going closer to the sea with the branches, hitting the water simulating the rain.

A very popular celebration

With the years, the party became very popular and it has been declared as Celebration of National touristic intererest, the 20th of October 1972.

The event is so famous that thousands of people come close to the Villa de Agaete to participate. The estimation is around  20.000 and 30.000 people.

The museum of the party

Since the year 2010 the party has its own museum. There visitors can learn more about the origin of the party, its evolutions during the years etc.

Plan your visit to the Fiesta de la Rama

If you come to Gran Canaria during the celebration in Agaete, plan your visit in advance so that to avoid to miss your place.

As Canarian Transfer  we offer transfers  from the airport to your accomodation. And also the best excursions to make your trip to Gran Canaria unforgettable.