Adeje council is making the final preparations for the celebration of one of the borough’s patron saints, San Sebastián, one of the best-loved celebrations in the borough and over the island of Tenerife. The main event is taking place this Friday, January 20th, with mass in the San Sebastián church in La Caleta at 12 noon followed by the traditional procession to the La Enramada beach. There will also be events the previous evening from 7pm.
People who would like to attend the festivities with their animals (horses, camels, donkeys, goats, sheep, etc.), should have completed the requisite registration at the Adeje cultural centre before Thursday January 19th (details in www.adeje.es). The organisers have also engaged a qualified vet to be on hand on the day to ensure the well-being of all animals.
The series of celebratory events begin on Thursday January 19th with a sung mass (Parranda El Mesturao) in the San Sebastián church, followed by a short procession with the statue of San Sebastián, accompanied by the Adeje patronal band. From 9.30pm there will be a folklore musical event with the Asociación Imoque, La Diata, and the Adeje folklore group all performing.
On Friday January 20th there will be mass at 12 noon, sung by the Santa Úrsula parish choir, and this will be transmitted live on the council’s social networks. Following mass there is the traditional procession with the statue and the parade of mounts and riders to the sea. Outside the church there is also an agricultural showing of farm animals including oxen, goats, sheep, etc.
Visitors will notice improvement to the plaza San Sebastián and surrounds by the church, which have opened up the lateral parts of the square. As well as extending the zone, there are more green areas, better drainage and sustainable lighting as well as improved access for those with mobility difficulties. At the back of the plaza the designers have created a garden area which also provides a viewing point to the sea. Access to the sea from the beach has also been improved with ramps, all part of recent council upgrades to the area.
Origins of the celebrations
The festival of San Sebastián has been celebrated locally since the early years of the 16th century, by farmers in Adeje, with religious devotion to the patron saint to whom local miracles have been attributed. Even now many who come to the celebrations do so to ask a favour of the saint or fulfil a commitment made. Today though the celebrations are more than religious, and seen as a festival that brings together the people of the borough and beyond.
The statue of San Sebastián, normally resident in the hermitage which bears his name, was made in the Bririllo studio in Valencia and was brought to Adeje in 1916 according to a newspaper article published in the Gaceta de Tenerife in January of that year.
