September has always been the quintessential month for La Laguna. This is reflected in the various programmes, newspapers, magazines, and chroniclers consulted.
Continued Traditions
The tradition was not even interrupted during the republican period, as the “Círculo Mercantil ‘El Porvenir'” took charge of organising these celebrations. In the name of the healthiest local patriotism, they aimed to prevent what was once the pride and fame of our city from being neglected (…) and to take on the formidable task of ensuring that our centre fully embraced its responsibility to hold La Laguna’s traditional September festivities.
– In 1933, among the numerous events, on Sunday the 10th there was also an “extraordinary promenade in Calle de la Carrera, accompanied by musical bands,” along with a special programme for the San Miguel festivities.
– A similar situation occurred in 1934, with various events including the original “four-peseta costume ball” held on Friday the 7th at the Teatro Leal. On Friday the 14th, a “musical concert in the Plaza de San Francisco” took place, followed by a “promenade and music in the same plaza” on Friday the 21st.
Impact of the Civil War
In contrast, the Civil War meant that September only saw religious events taking place, exclusively in honour of the Blessed Christ of La Laguna, as recorded in the programmes from those years.
Changes in 1940
However, the festivities of 1940 brought two major changes: celebrations in honour of the Virgin of Remedies were no longer held, and concerts were moved to the Teatro Leal – “Grand concert by the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Chamber Orchestra, organised by the local Traditionalist Spanish Falange” – or to the Sanctuary. The “eve promenade in the Plaza del Adelantado” continued in honour of the San Miguel festivities.
Procession of the Return. 1952
Revival of Concerts in 1944
– In 1944, concerts were restored in the Plaza del Adelantado “by the Municipal Band of this city” on Sunday the 3rd at 10 in the evening, alongside events in honour of Our Lady of Remedies. A concert was also held in the Plaza de la Concepción on Sunday the 10th, “by the Band of the General Command,” and another on the 29th in the Plaza del Adelantado.
Decline of Tradition in the 1970s
In the following years, the passage of time brought the decline of this pleasant and cherished tradition, as clearly evidenced in the festival programmes from the 1970s. The 1972 programme featured an intriguing event pertinent to our discussion: “At three in the afternoon on this day, the children will evoke the long-gone ‘Three o’clock Promenade.’ All children who wish to participate will do so dressed in period costumes.”
Among the popular events, we cannot overlook the “parade or pandorga,” of which we find an interesting description in the festival programme of 1923.
“[Wednesday the 12th] At eight in the evening, a parade or pandorga, where in addition to various floats and groups of ‘giant heads’, several attractive novelties will be presented, showcasing illuminations, with different bands of music, cornets, and drums participating. Starting from the Plaza de San Francisco, the parade will traverse the streets of Tabares de Cala, Alfonso XIII, the Squares of Dr. Olivera and Concepción, the streets of Nava and Grimón, San Agustín, Ascanio and Nieves, Obispo Rey Redondo, the Cathedral Square, and streets of Juan de Vera and Quintín Benito, returning to the Plaza de San Francisco. The festival commission requests that all residents, especially those on the streets the parade will pass through, illuminate the facades of their houses.”
Parade for the Christ Festivities 1923. Calle de La Carrera, La Laguna.
1928 and Beyond
And another in 1928.
“[Sunday the 9th] At ten in the evening, a traditional Pandorga featuring artistic floats presented by the Ateneo de La Laguna, Mountain Artillery, Círculo Mercantil, Explorers, Committee of the Fiesta del Socorro, a group of young artists, and several from the governing board of the Brotherhood; giants and big heads, band of cornets and drums from the Artillery and Infantry Regiments of Tenerife, Red Cross and Scouts; musical bands from the Infantry Regiment, the municipal band of La Laguna, ‘La Fe’, and a few others.”
