What is planned in La Laguna on 13 November?
The Pandorga parade starts at 19:30 on Friday 13 November at the Ermita (chapel) of San Diego. It winds through several streets to the Plaza Lourdes González.
At 21:00 the music show De México a Cuba follows, with Josefina Alemán and her mariachi band, and Yuliet Abreu, stage name La papina de Cuba, and her group. The published programme names no venue for it.
13 November is the feast day of San Diego, the patron saint of the neighbourhood. The Comisión de Fiestas La Cruz de San Diego organises the fiestas, and the Ayuntamiento de La Laguna (town hall) backs them through its fiestas, culture and heritage departments.
What applies to drivers and visitors from the south?
From 18:30 on 13 November nobody may drive on the Pandorga route, according to the Ayuntamiento de La Laguna. Further traffic restrictions apply on 14 and 15 November because of processions.
Affected streets include those around the Ermita, the Avenida de San Diego and the Camino La Cruz. No full list of closed streets is available.
As far as is known, the Ayuntamiento has published no advice on buses or parking. Visitors from the south should allow extra time and avoid parking in the streets around the Ermita.
What is on the programme for 14 and 15 November?
Pepe Benavente and the Orquesta Wamanpy play at the Verbena (open-air dance night) at 22:00 on Saturday 14 November. The programme does not name the venue.
During the day on 14 November, a crafts exhibition and children's activities run from 11:00 to 14:00. A Mass with the Orfeón La Paz choir follows at 20:00.
On Sunday 15 November, the final day opens at 12:30 with a Mass by the Agrupación Folclórica Guantejina. At 15:00 an almuerzo de confraternidad (shared lunch) with Parranderos y Punto follows.
Xente closes the programme at 17:00, a street theatre show by the group The Momento Impro from Galicia. The fiestas end after that.
What has already happened since 29 October?
The fiestas opened on 29 October at 20:00 at the Ermita with the pregón (opening speech) by Carlos García García. The doctor, researcher and writer spoke on La memoria de un pueblo: el alma de Aguere, and Miriam Reyes performed afterwards.
On 30 October the programme listed a talk about the canary at 19:00 in the Centro Ciudadano San Diego. The speaker was Juan Pedro Rodríguez Rodríguez, former president of the Asociación de Canaricultores Pinzón del Teide.
On 6 November the programme listed the premiere of the animated documentary Identidad at the Complejo Deportivo San Diego at 21:00. It tells the story of the neighbourhood through residents' accounts, and Los Sabandeños were due to play there at 22:00.
On 7 November a baile de taifas (traditional dance night) was scheduled from 20:00 with Guarache, San Borondón, El Moral, Tacoremi, Arraigo and the parranda La Cirila. The programme names no venue.
What is known about the Ermita and the Fuga de San Diego?
The Ermita de San Diego del Monte is a former Franciscan convent, but sources disagree on its founding year. La Laguna's tourism website gives 1615 and names Juan de Ayala as founder.
Diario de Avisos reported in 2023 that 1577 refers only to Ayala's wish, and it dates the will of Juan de Ayala Dávila y Zúñiga (Garachico) to 1615. According to a reference website, the Ermita reopened for services on 13 November 2009, the feast day, after long decay.
The Fuga de San Diego dates back to 1919, when the teacher Diego Jiménez de Cisneros y Hervás set exams on his name day, 13 November. According to a 2019 retrospective, pupils of the IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto school skipped them and took pumpkins to San Diego.
No source is available on the origin of the San Diego Pandorga. Readers should not confuse it with the better-known Pandorga of the Fiestas del Cristo in September, a lantern parade.
What is still unclear, and what comes next?
The programme lists no admission prices, and nothing confirms that everything is free. Anyone who wants certainty can ask the Ayuntamiento de La Laguna or the Comisión de Fiestas.
No figures on budget or cost sharing are available either. The Comisión thanks the Ayuntamiento, businesses and private individuals for their support.
The programme ends on 15 November with Xente at 17:00. No further dates are known, and the Verbena on 14 November remains the last evening event.