2025 is a year of festivities in Garachico. From July 23rd to August 3rd, our town will once again be filled with color and joy to celebrate the Festivities of the Holy Christ of Mercy — the only lustral festivities in Tenerife. A deeply rooted religious and cultural celebration in Garachico, where the entire town takes part, from children to the elderly.
For months, the people of Garachico devote themselves selflessly to the preparations, so that their streets and squares burst with color. Keep reading and discover these truly special festivities.
The Miraculous Christ of Mercy
The Festivities in honor of the Christ of Mercy are the most important celebrations of our town, Garachico, and the only lustral festivities on the island of Tenerife. They are held every five years, although the pandemic prevented their celebration in 2020, so the last edition took place in 2015.
For a whole week, Garachico’s streets and squares are adorned with lanterns and flowers to venerate the Christ of Mercy and commemorate an episode that marked the history of our town.
The origin of this festival dates back to 1706, after the eruption of the Trevejo volcano, which destroyed part of the town and Garachico’s port. According to tradition, the faithful took the Christ of Mercy out in a procession, and a miracle happened. The fury of the volcano subsided, and the lava flows stopped, putting an end to the destruction that plagued the town.
Since then, this festival has been celebrated, with only the date and frequency changing over time. Originally held in October, it was moved decades ago to summer due to bad weather affecting the festivities and to coincide with the celebrations of Saint Anne and Saint Roch.
Devotion and History
During Garachico’s Lustral Festivities, tribute is paid to the Christ of Mercy, while remembering one of the most tragic and decisive moments in Garachico’s history — the eruption of the Trevejo volcano, which ended the economic prosperity the town and port enjoyed during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Yet, despite recalling the devastating power of nature, the Lustral Festivities are full of joy, color, and art. Religious ceremonies blend with popular celebrations that reflect the creativity and dedication of our people, who put their hearts into building colorful floats and decorating squares and façades with cheerful flowers and handcrafted paper lanterns.
A Community United by Its Festivities
The Festivities of the Holy Christ of Mercy come to life thanks to the involvement of the entire town. Children, adults, and the elderly — everyone contributes their part to make the celebration possible.
Months in advance, in homes, neighborhood associations, and senior centers, the paper flowers that will decorate façades, streets, squares, and floats begin to take shape. Thousands of colorful flowers, carefully handcrafted, become part of the decorations designed by those in charge of adorning the squares and the floats — ideas that are brought to life by everyone and kept secret until the festivities begin.
Manolo and Berni are just two of the many neighbors who take part in preparing the festivities. He has lived them since he was a child — it’s in his blood — growing up making flowers and helping his parents in any way he could. She, originally from Icod, got involved over 25 years ago when they moved to the town.
They recall how, back in 2015, they would gather with other neighbors in their garage to make the flowers. They spent hours chatting, sharing homemade cakes and coffee, while threading wire through the paper and shaping the flowers. As the days passed, they ended up surrounded by flowers, colorful paper balls, and ribbons. Tourists walking by were amazed by the vibrant scene and would often ask if they could come in and take a look.
This year, the Town Hall has provided each group with a space where they can work and store all the materials that will become part of the decorations: wood, cardboard, paper, paint… There, they also keep boxes of paper flowers and materials that were left unused in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Berni and her friends are currently making white flowers for Manolo’s project to decorate the door of the Church of Santa Ana, through which the Christ will pass during the procession.
More than 25 years ago, Manolo Baute volunteered to adorn the church door for the feast of San Roque, and this year he wants to create something special for the Christ. A decoration that will rise over 20 meters high — a design he keeps secret.
Until the festivities begin, they will continue crafting the flowers and elements needed to bring to life the vision of Miguel Velázquez, who is in charge of decorating Plaza de la Libertad, or Plaza de Arriba. About forty-five people make up this working group, including Minguín — a true all-rounder who helps with everything.
Other groups of neighbors will be responsible for decorating La Glorieta, Plaza de la Cruz Roja, Plaza de Abajo — next to Siux bar — and Plaza del Muelle. In each square, the creative mind behind the design works hand in hand with a group of neighbors who create the elements and assemble everything to bring it to life. A great team effort.
In addition to the squares, the streets are also beautifully decorated for the occasion. Every neighbor takes care of decorating their own façade with flowers and lanterns, making Garachico even more beautiful.
The Floats of Garachico
The Lustral Festivities are unique on the island, especially because of their floats. Unlike the traditional ox-drawn carts seen in local pilgrimages, Garachico’s floats are motorized and decorated with allegorical themes that transport us to fantastic worlds, distant cultures, or the classical world.
Manolo Baute recalls how, during his childhood around 70 years ago, an event took place that remains in the town’s memory as a true example of the solidarity and dedication of Garachico’s people. The day before the parade, part of the flower float being built by the Benítez family caught fire while it was being welded. The entire town of Garachico — even the cloistered nuns — came together to help. In just one day, they crafted new paper flowers to rebuild the float, and it was able to parade as planned.
The float parade is one of the most important moments of these festivities. Every edition, groups of friends, clubs, or associations create the five or six floats that make up the parade — each one designed around a free theme, with one float made entirely from paper flowers. It is a true showcase of the town’s creativity, artistry, and dedication to its celebration.
Every five years, the float designers face the challenge of impressing the thousands of people who fill the streets with their designs and themes. For months, they keep their creations secret, assigning tasks to team members without revealing the final design, which only becomes known when the float is assembled just days before the parade.
In the last edition, held in 2015, a very young designer, Raul Pérez, surprised everyone with his first creation, The Most Powerful Night, inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia. Another designer, Rubén González, amazed the crowd with a float created using the art of origami.
In addition to the adults who design and build the floats, children and young people also play a fundamental role in the parade, becoming the main characters who bring these creations to life. Tere, the accountant at our hotel, took part in the parade twice, riding on one of the floats — an unforgettable experience that, years later, her children also got to live.
She remembers how her mother made her a beautiful traditional dress from Panama. The families of the participants had to cover the cost of fabrics and accessories and make the costumes — a task often carried out at home, thanks to the sewing skills of many women in the town.
Program of the Lustral Festivities
This year, the Lustral Festivities will take place from July 23rd to August 3rd, with a program of activities that includes religious celebrations, cultural events, and folklore performances. We recommend checking the Town Hall’s website for the latest updates on the schedule.
The main events will be concentrated on the weekend of August 2nd and 3rd: the float parade and the procession of the Christ of Mercy, which will conclude with a unique fireworks display recreating the volcanic eruption. But throughout the week, visitors can enjoy exhibitions, concerts, open-air dances, children’s activities, and an extensive religious program.
The Lustral Festivities are framed between the Feast of Santa Ana and San Joaquín and the celebration of San Roque, making Garachico one big celebration throughout July and August.
The Allegorical Float Parade
One of the highlights of these festivities is the allegorical float parade, which takes place in two moments: on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
This year, five floats will participate: the floral float, the children’s float, and three others featuring different allegories.
The first parade is held on Saturday night and concludes with an open-air dance at La Glorieta, right in front of the hotel.
To fully enjoy the floats in daylight and appreciate every detail, we’ll have to wait until Sunday afternoon, when they will once again parade through the main streets of the historic center, accompanied by the town’s marching band.
Procession of the Christ of Mercy
The image of the Christ of Mercy is one of the treasures preserved in the Church of Santa Ana, located just a few steps from La Quinta Roja and one of the most venerated images in the town. It dates back to 1547 and was crafted from corn paste by the Tarascan indigenous people of Michoacán, Mexico.
It is a very lightweight image because it is hollow inside. According to legend, this type of figure was used to hide gold and valuable objects, which were smuggled from the New World.
As part of the festivities held in His honor, the Christ is carried in procession through the town on Sunday morning and again in the afternoon, ending at the bay, where a spectacular display of natural and artificial fireworks takes place, marking the grand finale of the celebrations.
The Risco and La Atalaya Fire Spectacle
The volcanic eruption that devastated Garachico in 1706 is reenacted every five years with the launch of fireballs from the cliffs of La Culata and a pyromusical show set in Garachico’s bay as the Christ of Mercy arrives at the pier after the procession.
The spectacle begins with the launch of huge fireballs from the top of the cliff, recreating the lava flows of Garachico’s volcanic eruption and the tongues of fire that reached the bay.
Today, these fireballs are made with burlap sacks soaked in kerosene, but in the past, wooden barrels once used for storing salted fish were used. Along the bay, sacks filled with pinecones and drenched in kerosene are also placed.
The sight of the fireballs bouncing down the cliffside sends shivers through the crowd watching from the pier. Behind this impressive scene is the hard work of another group of neighbors who, days before, climb up the cliff to prepare the fireballs — and on the night itself, light and launch them, pushing them down with iron hooks.
Once the natural fire show ends, the fireworks set to music take over this natural amphitheater. A pyromusical spectacle that serves as the grand finale of the Festivities of the Holy Christ of Mercy. And so, the countdown begins for the next Lustral Festivities.
The Christ bids farewell, making way for Saint Roch. It’s summer, and Garachico is in full celebration!
