Enjoy Dia de Canarias 2026

Today it's Dia de Canarias day once again, the Canarian 'national' holiday when the inhabitants of the Canaries are allowed to proudly say ''Soy Canario'' (I'm Canarian) and celebrate their feeling of national identity under Spanish colonial rule. Towns and villages enjoy one of the region’s biggest annual cultural celebrations with all things considered typically Canarian. The public holiday is the anniversary of the first session of the Canary Islands Parliament in 1983 and is celebrated every year with traditional music, dancing, food, concerts and many other local events across all of the islands. Wherever you are in the Canaries you will find local events, some also before and after the actual day itself. Below is the poster for the main event in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, which starts at 2 pm in the harbour of Vueltas and continues all day until the early hours of Sunday morning:

Canary Islands Day 2025

The Canary Islands celebrate their national holiday Dia de Canarias every year on the 30th of May with lots of activities, concerts and celebrations, read more about it here...

The 2025 programme for Valle Gran Rey (above) has lots of local and Canarian folk music and more and will take place behind the bus station (where the Sunday market is situated) and begins at 1pm.

Don't call them Spanish: Canary Islands Day

Canary Islands Day - ''For the (Spanish) government from the Canaries'' says the 2nd poster

Thursday May 30th is Dia de Canarias, the Canarian 'national' holiday when the inhabitants of the Canaries are allowed to proudly say ''Soy Canario'' (I'm Canarian) and celebrate their national identity under Spanish colonial rule. 

It is the annual celebration of all things that make the Canaries and their people so unique and different from their Spanish colonial masters and for some it also means remembering the victims of the Spanish conquest during which much of the aboriginal population was brutally and heinously exterminated. So please don't call the locals 'Spanish' when here on holidays. Most will quietly forgive your ignorance and keep smiling, but they'd much prefer to be called ''Canarios''. The Spanish are called ''Godos'' (Goths) in the Canaries, all other foreigners, especially fair-skinned ones, are ''Guiris''.

There are many events in virtually all towns and villages that pay homage to the rich history, vibrant culture, and unique traditions of the Canary Islands to mark May 30th. On this day in 1983, the archipelago was granted autonomous community status within the Kingdom of Spain, same as other regions e.g. Catalonia previously, recognising a distinct culture and granting self-governance in some respects, but with little real autonomy. 

The annual celebrations began this weekend and continue until the next, peaking during the Canaries' national holiday on Thursday. Below the programme for Valle Gran Rey where the main event takes place behind the bus station from noon on May 30th:

Happy Dia de Canarias

Today is Dia de Canarias, the Canary Islands' celebration of all things that make the Canaries and their people so unique and different from their Spanish colonial masters. There were many events in virtually all towns and villages over the past few days to mark the occasion and celebrations continue today during the Canaries' national holiday.

Canary Islands celebrate

Today is Dia de Canarias, the Canary Islands' celebration of all things that make the Canaries so unique and different from their Spanish colonial masters. 

There are many events taken place in virtually all towns and villages this weekend, so make sure to  enquire locally for further information, but probably you couldn't miss the main festivities anyway.

Snapshots of some events around Dia de Canarias

Live show 'En busca de Valentina' in Valle Gran Rey:

Rally of vintage and classic cars stopping over in Vueltas, V.G.R.:

Short video of band 'Ni 1 Pelo de Tonto' rocking San Sebastian de La Gomera:

Ni 1 Pelo de Tonto aka N1P really got the  large crowd going and were enjoying themselves, too.

Dia de Canarias: Live show in Valle Gran Rey tonight plus all-night dancing to three bands tomorrow night

Today is Dia de Canarias, the Canarian 'national' holiday when the inhabitants of the Canaries are allowed to proudly say ''Soy Canario'' (I'm Canarian) and celebrate their national identity under Spanish colonial rule.

A major spectacle and concert will be staged in Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera called 'En busca de Valentina' by a troupe of musicians and dancers from various islands in the Canarian archipelago under the heading  Mestesay y Taburiente. Local musicians and dancers from Valle Gran Rey and from the rest of La Gomera will also perform as part of the show, as will the traditional Chacaras y Tambores.

The show has been touring these islands for quite some time and the performances have earned the highest of praise from spectators and press. 
Tonight's performance will be staged open-air at Plaza San Pedro in La Playa, V.G.R., from about 9:00 pm and admission is free of charge.

The following night of Saturday 31st of May three salsa-pop bands will invite revellers to dance the night away at the same location until dawn, beginning from about 10 pm.

UPDATE:

While it is a bit breezy here in Valle Gran Rey this morning, the sun is shining and it should be a pleasant but windy bank holiday. However it is a totally different picture up in the mountains where the wind is very strong and gusty accompanied by fog and outbreaks of drizzle. All festivities planned for Dia de Canarias in the mountain village of Chipude had to be cancelled after some of the decorations and parts of the stage were blown down early this morning. The events in V.G.R. and in other parts of La Gomera are to be staged as planned.

Pop-rock concert tonight

As part of the celebrations around Dia de Canarias, the Canarian 'national' holiday, the well-known Canarian five-piece band Ni 1 Pelo de Tonto will play in La Gomera's capital San Sebastian on the main square tonight Thursday at 10:30 pm.

Ni 1 Pelo deTonto