On December 13th the fiestas in honour of the patron saint, Santa Lucía, are held on Gran Canaria. These fiestas have been declared a tourist attraction, as they manage to combine religious festivals with public sentiment.

Arising from this combination of originality and tradition are events such as the procession of the image of Santa Lucía on December 13th, the crowning of ‘La Lucía’ together with her Swedish namesake, and the Procession of the Day of the Labourer on the following Sunday.

The Day of the Labourer, the fiesta in honour of la Virgen del Rosario, is an event which attracts a large number of visitors. These days it is a procession where thousands of participants gather, dressed in typical costumes: black hat, espadrilles, the Canary Islands knife, the pumpkin full of mejunje (a local liquor), wine, rum or water, and with typical food such as goat cheese, pork crackling, small cakes, a block of gofio and fried sardines.