Alcalá’s fiestas patronales with the famous fireworks display on 15 August

[Janet]

Apart from being the patron saint of Tenerife and of the town of Candelaria itself, the Virgen de Candelaria is also the patron saint of Alcalá on the west coast, and every August, during the town's fiestas patronales there is a fireworks display which has become known as the place to see fireworks in south Tenerife. The fireworks are organized by the Los Realejos Toste brothers who have put on the exhibition, involving hundreds of kilos of gunpowder, for over 80 years. The display is acknowledged as the best on the island after only the famous Los Realejos competition itself.

The fireworks display is part of the fiesta's main religious day – always the 15th August – which starts around 10am. It involves a procession carrying the venerated image of the Virgen to the harbour, a flotilla of boats sailing along the coastine between Playa San Juan and Puerto de Santiago for much of the afternoon, and finally, the fireworks at midnight which always last for at least half an hour. There is always a crowd of many thousands, with a considerable number sailing into the little bay in the evening in order to see the fireworks from the sea: there are also increasingly chartered boat trips being sold for the event. Guía de Isora ayuntamiento always asks people to share cars, or to get to the town by taxi or bus, to avoid traffic congestion as much as possible because the whole area is always jam-packed.

Below is a short video which should give an idea of how incredible this firework display is.

[Janet]

I'm often asked if I have a video of the Alcalá fireworks, and Guía de Isora Ayuntamiento has released the following video of this year's whole display.

[Marion]

Did anyone go this year?