This weekend on Gran Canaria: Fiestas del Pino, Nena Daconte and the southern night

The highlight: Teror pulls the island towards it

Anyone going out on Gran Canaria this weekend does so with one ear turned towards Teror. The inland town is celebrating the Fiestas de Nuestra Señora del Pino, the island’s largest patronal festival. Friday to Sunday is the run-up to Monday’s Romería and the Día del Pino on Tuesday — and it carries a programme of its own.

Friday night belongs to the Pinito Fest, Teror’s festival for a younger crowd: from 8.30pm on the Plaza de Sintes with Soge Culebra, Bejo, Rodrigo Fénix, Elo Minetti and DJ Airam Vega, opened by Múdate Studios. Before that, from 7pm, Café de Luna plays the Tardeo del Pino in the Parque de Sintes.

Saturday holds the religious core: Santo Rosario at 6.30pm, Eucharist at 7pm, and at 8pm the Bajada, when the image of the Virgin is brought down from her camarín in the Basílica. After that the evening turns musical. At 9pm Samuel Tosso sings a Manuel Carrasco tribute, at 10.30pm Nena Daconte takes the Plaza de Sintes, and from midnight Miss Music Band and Aitamy DJ take over.

Sunday belongs to folklore. At 8.30pm the 34th Encuentro Folclórico de Gran Canaria fills the Plaza de Sintes with groups from all eight Canary Islands; at 8pm, before it, a poetic offering to the Virgin in the Basílica. At 11pm the «La Previa» street dance follows with La Combinación. The name is the point: on Monday the Romería walks from the Castañero Gordo to the Plaza del Pino, with carts and groups from all 21 municipalities.

The weather asks for some care this time. AEMET has issued a warning for high temperatures on Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 8pm on both days, covering the summits and the eastern, southern and western slopes of the island. The reference figure is 35 degrees, with up to 37 possible locally — in the Tejeda basin, in the medianías and in the lower ground facing south and west. Las Palmas and Teror stay around 28. On top of that the calima pre-alert remains in force: Saharan dust is sitting over the island and visibility drops in places. Isolated storms with a few fat drops are not ruled out on Saturday, most likely on the higher ground and in the first half of the day; Sunday turns mostly clear. And the nights barely cool down, with minimums holding at 24 to 26 degrees in the affected zones. Anyone driving up to Teror for the street dance needs water more than long sleeves.

Friday 4 September

Teror. Tardeo del Pino from 7pm in the Parque de Sintes with Café de Luna, then Pinito Fest from 8.30pm on the Plaza de Sintes. Free entry.

Las Palmas. The capital’s big Friday date is the Caribe Mix Festival on the Plaza de la Música beside the Centro Comercial Las Arenas: from 9pm, with Soraya, Las Chuches and other names from the series, tickets from around 19 euros. The format mixes reggaeton, Latin pop, merengue, salsa and eurodance, and aims at several generations at once. A size smaller: Magdalena Padilla and Rayko León play the CAAM in Vegueta from 8 to 9.30pm, and El Rincón del Bolero starts «Boleros con Rumba» at 9pm, 10 euros on the door.

Arinaga and Agüimes. From 4 to 10pm the High Tides Festival takes over the Parque Urbano de Arinaga with a calisthenics championship, a skate exhibition, a battle of musical talents and a gaming zone. At 10.30pm the Plaza de Arinaga hosts a salsa night with Trovadores de Asieta and Son de Caney.

Valsequillo. The International Clown Festival marks its 20th year; Batata Session plays the Plaza Tifariti at 10pm.

The south. Café Mozart 2 at CC Anexo II runs a triple bill: Pimentón Hernández with saxophone and his «Sonido Latino» at 6pm, Modesto Frómeta Bravo at 8pm, and from 10pm the Blues Hunters, built around Oliver Sieler on harmonica and guitar. At Bar De Lantaarn, Christopher Burke is on at 9pm. On the Holiday World site in Sonnenland, the El Patio terrace opens 6pm to midnight with house and disco, over-19s only.

La Aldea, San Mateo and Gáldar. In La Aldea de San Nicolás a tribute to Javier Solís starts at 9.30pm on the Plaza del Proyecto de Desarrollo Comunitario. In Vega de San Mateo the opening speech by María del Carmen Naranjo Santana launches the fiestas at 8.30pm on the Plaza Nuestra Señora del Pino, followed by the music programme. And at the Parque Don Juan Aguiar in Puerto de Sardina, Street Nomads opens from 5pm with food trucks and local labels right by the water.

Then the night starts as it always does: the Yumbo fills up late in the evening, the Las Palmas clubs get going around midnight. Addresses are further down.

Saturday 5 September

Teror. The big night of the weekend: the Bajada at 8pm, the Manuel Carrasco tribute with Samuel Tosso at 9pm, Nena Daconte at 10.30pm, then Miss Music Band with Aitamy DJ.

Las Palmas. «SwingStar con alma» plays the Parque Doramas from 8.30 to 10pm, swing and soul in the open air. During the day the city is busy with other things: the second edition of Gran Canaria Experience runs until Sunday at CC Alisios, daily 10am to 8pm, and the Gran Canaria Summer-Con opens on the Infecar site. The Seeds Market at Calle León y Castillo 274 is open 11am to 8pm.

Agüimes. The Festival Nacional de Folclore takes the Plaza de Arinaga at 8.30pm, followed at 11.30pm by a street dance with DJ Ulises Acosta and Aseres.

San Mateo and Tejeda. In Vega de San Mateo the Batalla de Flores fills the Plaza Nuestra Señora del Pino at 9pm, with the main street dance on the Plaza de la Solidaridad at 10.30pm, with Quechimba and Grupo Bomba de Fuerteventura. In Tejeda the dance on the Plaza del Socorro starts at 11pm.

The south. Café Mozart 2: Kelly Marlow and his rock show at 5pm, Roberto and Yona at 8pm, the Blues Hunters at 10pm. At IL MIO CAFFÉ on Avenida de Italia 18, Noelia Vera sings at 8pm. At Restaurante Que Pasa Tío on Avenida de Tirajana 10, karaoke starts at 7pm.

La Aldea and Gáldar. The strongest date outside Teror is in La Aldea de San Nicolás: at 8.30pm the anniversary concert for 25 years of the Banda de Música Aires de La Aldea, with the Banda Tabladitos de Barlovento as guests and Cristina Ramos as soloist. At 11.30pm the street dance on the Plaza La Alameda takes over, with Fórmula V and Grupo Uno Más. In Puerto de Sardina, Street Nomads runs from 9.30am straight through to midnight, with live music and DJ sets by the water in the evening.

Valsequillo, Ingenio and Gáldar. Three fiestas carrying Saturday night away from the big names. Valsequillo’s International Clown Festival continues its 20th edition: 6.30pm «Romero» by Circo Vaya on the Plaza de San Miguel, 7.30pm «El Muro» by Sebas Clown on the Plaza Tifariti, 8.30pm «Wanted» by Teatro Barrio Sésamo at the Teatro Cronista Oficial, ages 12 and up; at 10.30pm Las Papas con Mojo play. In Fagagesto above Gáldar the Fiesta de la Rama walks from the Lomo del Palo down to the village square at 6pm, and from 11pm the street dance takes over with D’Music and Joven Leyenda. And at the AV Chaxiraxi community centre in Ingenio the Fiesta del Cochino runs: D-Belingo from 9.30pm, El Mulato Chico from midnight.

Saturday carries the strongest club night of the week, in Las Palmas as much as at the Yumbo.

Sunday 6 September

Teror. Tardeo del Pino from 7pm, the poetic offering in the Basílica at 8pm, the 34th Encuentro Folclórico de Gran Canaria on the Plaza de Sintes at 8.30pm, and the «La Previa» street dance with La Combinación at 11pm.

Las Palmas. The capital’s Sunday evening belongs to Zhamira: the Venezuelan pop and urban singer Zhamira Zambrano plays the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus at 9pm, on the first Spanish tour behind her album «Curita Para el Corazón». Doors open 45 minutes before the start, tickets through the auditorium. Earlier, from 11am to 4pm, the Plaza de Canarias behind the Parque Santa Catalina hosts Holi Fest: colour powder, a DJ set, Bollywood dancers, a foam party, a craft market and food trucks, run by the Isleta-Puerto-Guanarteme district council. Wear something you do not mind ruining. Quieter, and open all day: the Seeds Market at Calle León y Castillo 274, Sunday from 10am to 7pm.

Mogán and Bandama. The ninth Feria del Mango y Aguacate runs at Playa de Mogán from 8.30am to 5pm, this year along the pedestrian walkway of Avenida de los Marrero rather than the Explanada del Castillete, with direct sales from growers, local cooking and live music. At Bodega Los Lirios in Bandama, «Art and Wine» runs from noon to 8pm.

The south. Café Mozart 2 opens its Frühschoppen brunch session at 11am, Gary Lithgow brings country from 6pm, Yonaiki Calzada plays at 8pm. At That’s AMORE in CC Anexo II, Gio Box is on at 9pm.

Arinaga and Valsequillo. Arinaga’s Fiestas del Pino wind down with a tardeo on the Plaza de Arinaga from 7pm. In Valsequillo the clown festival closes: 6pm «El Arte del Payaso» by Vagamundos Teatro at the Teatro Cronista Oficial, 7pm the presentation of the Premio Entretenimiento 2026.

Sunday night will not fade as early as usual: Monday is Romería day and plenty of people have taken it off. At the Yumbo the programme never takes a night off anyway — the drag stages run on Sundays too.

Las Palmas: the clubs

The capital’s nightlife spreads across three districts. In Vegueta and Triana the bars around Calle Mendizábal and the Plaza de Santa Ana fill up late in the evening. The best-known address is The Paper Club at Calle Remedios 10, built in the rooms that held the first newsroom of the Diario de Las Palmas; its programme moves between indie gigs, tribute bands and DJ nights. Alongside it sit the large Alboroto, indoor and outdoor, open until 5am on Saturdays, the Biblioteca Vegueta at Calle Pelota 21, and Rampage. For a quieter cocktail: the La Azotea de Benito roof terrace at CC Monopol, Fridays and Saturdays 5pm to 2am.

At the Playa de las Canteras, Moma Club is the address for electronic music and techno, with an alternative crowd, Fridays and Saturdays from midnight to 6am. For live music there is La Guarida del Blues at Paseo Las Canteras 77. A little out of the centre, on the Carretera del Rincón beside the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, Mojo Club runs Thursday to Saturday between 10pm and 3am.

The third hub is Santa Catalina and the port area. Chester draws the younger crowd across two floors with a small outdoor terrace and commercial music; Paraninfo Generación X at Calle Canalejas 4 is the district’s karaoke pub. Add the roof terraces El Tendedero de Catalina and the Alis Rooftop Bar at the Hotel Santa Catalina.

For a stage rather than a dance floor: Buenos Aires Jazz Café, with a dense concert programme between 9 and 10.30pm and entry from 6 to 8 euros, El Rincón del Bolero with this weekend’s Friday date, the Sala Canarias en Vivo with its tribute shows, and the El Baladero cultural association in El Sebadal. One observation about this weekend: Resident Advisor lists no electronic date at all for Gran Canaria. The island is looking at Teror. If you want techno, Moma is the answer.

The south: Yumbo, CC Cita and the lifestyle scene

The Yumbo Centre in Playa del Inglés remains the south’s main cluster: four floors, after sunset the best-known strip on the island, largely LGBTQ+ and open to everyone. Its signature is the drag show, and those run every night. At Ricky’s Cabaret Bar, the oldest drag cabaret bar in the centre, the main show starts around 10.30pm; it is open from 8pm to 4am and entry is free. At Sparkles Show Bar on the second floor, karaoke starts at 9pm and the house drag comedy show at 11pm, with Andi Martine, Dinah Might, Daniella Mantrapp and Ginger Rodgers. Add Chez Funny Boy’s, Buddies, Centre Stage and Terry’s.

The evening starts on the terraces: Spartacus, Eiffel, Voulez Vous (daily 6pm to 2.30am), Gran Café Latino and Adonis (from 6.30pm). The Wunderbar keeps a fixed weekly plan with Eurovision Night on Fridays and Retro Night on Saturdays, 8pm to 2am. After midnight the dance venues take over: Mykonos, the camper Tubos (11pm to 3.30am), Coco Loco and finally Mantrix, which runs 2 to 6am and asks for a minimum spend at weekends. There is live music at the Three Sisters Pub and the Six Pack Zone; the big third-floor room, Club Kiki, is programmed by rotating promoters.

A few steps from the Yumbo, in the heart of Playa del Inglés, sits CC Cita — the core of the south’s lifestyle and swinger scene. In the basement at Avenida de Alemania 20 is Swingers Club Secret, the largest lifestyle club in the south, reggaeton and Spanish house, more than 500 guests on a strong night. Fun4all, also in the basement, is calmer, with several playrooms and its own BDSM room. Lux Club opens daily except Mondays, 11pm to 4am, and the Tantra Sauna Swinger Club daily from 9pm to 4am. As meeting points without playrooms there are HOTSPOT Gran Canaria on the second floor (daily 8pm to 2am, no entry fee) and the Comeback Bar on the first floor from 8pm. Then Plan B, Temptation, Gold Lips, Full Swap, Majestic GC with Mario’s Bar, and TImE oFF on the first floor, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays 9pm to 3am with a strict dress code. In the neighbouring CC Sandia, Infinity SW Club has just ended its summer break in the former 2x2 rooms: «Hot and Thirsty Friday» on Fridays, «Indulge in the Night» on Saturdays, both 9pm to 4am, Sundays until 3am. Proof of age applies everywhere, and the venues insist on it.

The cruise and fetish scene keeps its own addresses. Inside the Yumbo: Cruise Bar on level 2, running since 1994, daily 10pm to 4am; Tom’s Cruising Bar from 8.30 or 10pm until 4am, free entry; Strong Construction on the ground floor, daily 10pm to 6am, 10 euros; The Box on the second floor, daily 10pm to 4am; and NOXON on the first floor with a fetish programme and a narrow admission window between 9 and 11pm. Behind the Yumbo, at Avenida Alféreces Provisionales 31, is The Factory. Zoo Men’s Cruising Bar runs «All Fetish» on Fridays and Saturdays and «Simply Naked» on Sundays, daily 10pm to 4am, 10 euros. In CC Jardín del Sol, about seven minutes from the Yumbo, are The Hole and Hell Club; Reds Cruising Club in the Apartamentos Barbados on Avenida de Tirajana opens daily 8pm to 2.30am, 10 euros including one drink. The south’s only sauna is Sauna Enjoy Maspalomas at Avenida de Tirajana 17, opened in 2026, daily 2 to 10pm.

If you want live music rather than a dance floor, the south has its own circuit. The Tipsy Hammock Bar on the Paseo Costa Canarias is a roof terrace with a house saxophonist and a DJ until 2am. Café Mozart 2 plays almost continuously this weekend, and Al’s Bar at the Gran Chaparral Centre mixes live music, karaoke and sport. Dunes and Tunes in Maspalomas fills from 6 or 7pm and is one of the busiest doors on the street once it is dark. On the Plaza del Faro in Meloneras, Café del Mar plays live open air early in the evening before the DJs take over; next door in the KopaZ centre, Mamajuana Club books international house names through the summer, usually from midnight.

And if you want commercial dance charts rather than a drag show, they are further east at the Kasbah Centre in San Agustín.

FAQ

What is the key date this weekend?

The Fiestas de Nuestra Señora del Pino in Teror. Pinito Fest from 8.30pm on Friday, the Bajada of the Virgen at 8pm on Saturday followed by Nena Daconte at 10.30pm, and on Sunday the 34th Encuentro Folclórico from 8.30pm and the «La Previa» street dance. All on the Plaza de Sintes and in the Basílica, free entry.

How late do the clubs stay open?

In Las Palmas, Moma Club runs until 6am and Alboroto until 5am on Saturdays, Mojo Club until 3am. In the south the Yumbo terraces open from 6pm, the drag shows start between 10.30 and 11pm, the dance venues after midnight, and Mantrix keeps going until 6am. Arriving early is never worth it — the night is long.

What is on in the south without an entry fee?

The drag shows at Ricky’s Cabaret Bar are free, as are Tom’s Cruising Bar and HOTSPOT at CC Cita. The live music at Café Mozart 2, Bar De Lantaarn and IL MIO CAFFÉ, and the karaoke night at Que Pasa Tío, cost nothing at the door either — you pay for drinks.

Is Sunday night worth it when Monday is the Romería?

Yes, precisely because of that. With many people taking Monday off for the Romería, Sunday runs later than usual. In Teror the «La Previa» street dance starts at 11pm, at the Yumbo the drag stages work like any other night, and Zoo Men’s Cruising Bar runs its own Sunday format.

What is the weather doing?

Hot. AEMET is warning of high temperatures on Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 8pm each day, on the summits and the eastern, southern and western slopes: a reference figure of 35 degrees, locally up to 37, above all in the Tejeda basin and the medianías. Las Palmas and Teror stay around 28. The calima pre-alert also remains in force. Nights stay warm at 24 to 26 degrees — for the street dance in Teror you will want water rather than a jacket.