Colors of La Palma Island - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

The inhabitants of the island, as the rest of the people of the Canary Islands, have different mentality from the Spanish. There are two most important words on archipelago: tranquilo and mañana. The first one can be translated as “serenity” or “calmness”, and the second one means “tomorrow, not today”. The travelers, who are used to the fast rhythm of life, should remember that these are the words that describe the life of the local people, so you shouldn’t expect them to be punctual or be fast decision makers. From the other side, the travelers easily except this tranquility and cohabit with the islanders in harmony.

It is common for the locals to be late for half an hour or more. If you have been waiting for a person for an hour and decided to tell him everything you think about this situation, you will only hear “tranquilo” in response – “relax, take it easy”. The lack of punctuality does not come from the selfishness, but from the path of life of the Canary Island. There is practically no season change, and the crops do not need much of attention. That is why the motto of the islanders is “everything you can postpone till the midday, you can do tomorrow”. By the way, the people of the Canary Islands do not consider themselves Spanish, and sometimes they like to discuss how good the life was before the Spanish came to the island. But there is not a sign of separatism here. The people of the Canary Islands are very peaceful, generous, and mild.

The siesta in La Palma, as on the other islands of the archipelago, is highly cherished. Most of the shops, cafes, souvenir shops, banks, and other places are closed from 1 p.m. till 4 p.m. For the people of the Canary Islands siesta is divided into hours – for food, love, and sleep. Despite of a small percentage of passionate Christians, the tradition for not working on Sundays, which was brought by the Spanish, is widely spread. That is why a Sunday is not the best day for shopping, because almost everything will be closed. By the way, if you speak Spanish, be ready that in La Palma they speak more mild dialect, using a lot of unique phrases, typical only for the Canary Islands. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Here, as well as in mainland Spain, people raise their voice and gesture a lot when they are talking. Despite of all the heat, it almost never comes to fights. First of all, the people of the Canary Islands are peaceful, and second of all, the punishment is quite harsh even for minor injuries. That is why you should restrain yourself and remember that high voices and gestures are just a normal situation for the locals. Moreover, the people of the Canary Island love holidays probably even more than the Spanish do.

The biggest and the most colorful event in La Palma is definitely the Carnival. They still have a tradition to dust each other with talk during the procession. Presumably, it came from emigrants, who came back to the island, bragging with their slaves, money, and jewelry. Once, a bag of flour became a boasting object. As a joke, the locals started to dust each other with it. The traditions of the Carnival differ from town to town, but the amount of color and passion you can feel everywhere.

In La Palma they celebrate Corpus Christi Day, and Candlemas, and all the settlements, even the small ones, have parades on the days of their patron Saints. Once every three years they celebrate The Pine of the Virgin feast, and once every five years – The Virgin of the Snow. During the latter one, all the participants put on evening gowns or traditional folk costumes and take part in a rich cultural program. They also widely celebrate the day of the harvest. In La Palma they also have art festivals, and the locals like the Canarian wrestling, a unique local kind of sport, and football.