Festival
Fiestas del Pino de Santo Domingo
It takes place in July, when the weather is at its best and the locals meet up again with friends and family beneath a beautiful Canary pine of singular shape and great size, with a trunk 5.20 metres in circumference, a height of 21 metres and boughs that almost brush the ground. It is a strategic spot, at the crossroads of the paths that were used to link the two sides of the island.
It takes place in July, when the weather is at its best and the locals meet up again with friends and family beneath a beautiful Canary pine of singular shape and great size, with a trunk 5.20 metres in circumference, a height of 21 metres and boughs that almost brush the ground. It is a strategic spot, at the crossroads of the paths that were used to link the two sides of the island. Amid the calm and the breeze, at an altitude of 785 metres, it gave shelter to travellers; oral tradition has it that it was planted by a priest from San Miguel de Tazacorte who used to go and celebrate mass at the hermitage of Las Nieves in Santa Cruz de La Palma, and who carried water on his mount to water it both on the way out and on the way back. Its name comes from Santo Domingo de la Calzada, builder of the Way of St James that passes through that beautiful place in the region of La Rioja. It is believed the name was given by the priest who "fathered" it, a good connoisseur of the Saint's story. Since 2011, when the site was restored and a recreational area was created there, the people of Fuencaliente celebrate every 21 July with a communal meal in the shade of the pine, listening to the improvised art of the versadores' singing, just as our ancestors used to do — they well remember walking to the spot, each family bringing its own food, gathering to talk while the children joined in every traditional game; a joyful family festival. It is, without doubt, an opportunity to get to know the traditions of the Canarian people.
