Agüimes celebrates San Sebastián with music, traditional gatherings, and historic rituals between 12-26 January 2024. Among the main scheduled events, there are folkloric meetings, a livestock fair, the Caracol Gastronomic Days (the finest snail dishes, traditionally eaten in the area) and various popular concerts including the likes of Vocal Siete and the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra stand out.
The municipality of Agüimes hosts festivities in honour of San Sebastián, a celebration that has its origins in 1487, when the island was first formally incorporated into the Crown of Castile, by royal decree, officially inaugurating the Episcopal Lordship of Agüimes, then overseen by the catholic church and the bishopric seat of Gran Canaria. Since then, the date has been marked on the calendar as the festival that commemorates the origin of the first town officially recorded in the Southeast of Gran Canaria, while the saint went on to become the full patron saint of this municipality.
537 years later, Agüimes once again remembers its founding with a program of events, which includes recreational and cultural activities for all tastes, including folklore and traditional workshops, musical events, a livestock fair and the 13th edition of the “Gastronomic Days of the Snail”.
13th Caracol Gastronomic Days | 18-21 January
Gastronomy afficionados also have a place in the patron saint’s festivities with the 13th edition of the Snail Gastronomic Days, from Thursday the 18th to Sunday the 21st. As usual, the days will feature the participation of several establishments in the historic town centre, which will offer in their facilities the best traditional recipes and new, priced to encourage popular participation. The establishments involved will be the El Populacho gastrobar, the La Esquina bar, the San Antón bar, the Ca Migue cafeteria bar, the Atis Tirma restaurant, the El Guanchinche restaurant and the Magec Café & Burger Bar establishment.
Friday 19 January:
20:00 the evening will be infused with music, first with a meeting of boleros and South American songs, ‘Historias de un amor’, which will take place at the Agüimes Municipal Theatre
at 22:30 a festive evening in Plaza del Rosario led by Grupo Mambo and Línea DJ.
Saturday, 20 January: Feast Day of San Sebastián
10:00 Livestock fair on the esplanade of the Agüimes Auditorium Theatre.
11:30 Eucharist, followed by a religious procession with the images of San Sebastián and Ntra. Sra. del Rosario
23:00 The great celebration in Plaza del Rosario with a DJ Event Music festival.
Sunday 21 January:
11:00 The morning will be dedicated to the little ones, with a children’s play park at the plaza.
20:00 the Municipal Theater of Agüimes will host the 13th Parranda del Lejío Solidarity Gala, with performances by the organizing group, Parranda Pal Ingenio and the singer Juan Pablo Vega. Admission to the gala will be free of charge, although attendees will be asked to provide non-perishable food and hygiene or cleaning products, which will be allocated to the people most in need through Cáritas Agüimes.
