Las Nieves is a pretty hamlet, in the municipality of Santa Cruz, but about 2 km outside it as the crow flies. If you’re fairly fit, there’s a pretty (but rough and steep) footpath between the two. More importantly, Las Nieves has the most gorgeous church on the island. It’s also one of the oldest, dating from at least 1423 (they had missionaries here before the conquest in 1493). The…
Fiesta de La Cruz is a major festival in Santa Cruz de La Palma, Breña Alta, and Breña Baja. On the night of May 2nd, practically all the roadside crosses in Santa Cruz, Breña Baja and Breña Alta will be decorated, most of them gorgeously. The people who worked on them sit close all night, usually making a party of it and setting off lots of fire-crackers. This is partly…
It’s Holy Week, and in this Catholic country, a lot of people take it very seriously. The bigger churches hold processions, which look very exotic to my English eyes. Do try to see at least one. It’s not so much that they take the obviously-heavy statues along the street – most churches do that on the respective saint’s days. It’s the costumes. They remind me of the Klu Klux…
This famous Art Deco advert for Chilean nitrate has been standing at the beginning of the Calle Real since 1929. It was designed by López-Durán Lozano, who was a student of architecture at the time, although he went on to become a professor at the School of Architecture of Madrid. The tiles were made by the Valencian firm Ramon Castello. Chilean nitrate was a fertilizer made of sodium nitrate (NaNO3),…
Santa Cruz de La Palma‘s programme is here. (The actual programme starts on page 7) Los Llanos‘s programme is here The programme for Los Sauces is here I’ve just found out that some places (El Paso, Garafía, Tijarafe, Fuencaliente and Puntallana) held their carnival early, presumably so as not to compete with the bigger places. Barlovento‘s is here. Breña Alta had their parade yesterday Breña Baja will have parrandas in…
There are three good photography exhibitions in Santa Cruz de La Palma. The winning entries and runners up of the 5th International Astrophotography Competition are on display in the island’s museum until March 17th. They are jaw-droppingly good. The museum (and the exhibition) is open from 10 am – 8 pm Monday – Saturday, and 10 am – 2 pm on Sundays. From Monday Jan 20th to Feb 3rd, the…