This weekend on Gran Canaria: Somos Latinos, the Trumpet Festival and the club night

The highlight of the weekend: María Becerra, the Big Band and the Faro

Two festivals overlap this weekend, and both come to a head on Saturday night. In the capital, the Somos Latinos festival brings María Becerra, Ke Personajes, Bacilos, Nacho and Las K-Narias to the Anexo of the Estadio de Gran Canaria — cumbia, reggaeton, salsa and bachata for a crowd that comes to dance.

In the south, the Maspalomas International Trumpet Festival answers with an open-air concert: the Gran Canaria Big Band plays on Saturday at 8.30pm with Swedish trumpeter Peter Asplund on the esplanade of the Faro de Maspalomas, free of charge and with the lighthouse behind. Two very different nights, the same warm, dry July air — and in between, the clubs that only really start after midnight.

Friday 10 July

Mnozil Brass — Expomeloneras. The Austrian brass ensemble Mnozil Brass opens the festival weekend with its show «Jubelei – 30 Jahre», a thirtieth-anniversary programme that runs between virtuosity and stage comedy. The venue is Expomeloneras in the south.

Eric Alexander Jazz Syndicate — Teatro Guiniguada, Las Palmas, 8pm. As part of the Canarias Jazz & Más festival, the American tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander plays the capital with his Syndicate — hard bop for the Friday evening.

Escalanifi Vol. 5 — Sala Faro, Las Palmas, from 7pm. Sala Faro hosts the fifth edition of its Escalanifi party with Delnü — a night out rather than a seated concert, running until midnight, entry 10 euros.

«La Reina del Flow» — Auditorio de San Juan, Telde, 9pm. The Latin show stops in Telde, halfway between the capital and the south. Tickets via ticketmaster.es.

Fiestas de Santiago Apóstol — Tunte, 8.30pm. In the mountain village of Tunte, in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, the patron-saint festival in honour of Santiago the Apostle opens on Friday: the pregón proclamation at 8.30pm sets the fiestas going, followed by a Noche de Tapas through the historic centre. The festivities run until 26 July — with the romería on the 18th and the Fiesta Blanca on the 25th as the high points; this weekend is the opening, in the south and away from the coast.

After that the club night begins: the bars in Vegueta fill up, the Moma Club gets going by Playa de las Canteras, and in the south the drag shows run at the Yumbo. The addresses are further down.

Saturday 11 July

Somos Latinos — Anexo del Estadio de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas. The big Latin festival with María Becerra, Ke Personajes, Bacilos, Nacho, Las K-Narias and Ráfaga. The highlight of the weekend in the capital (see above).

Gran Canaria Big Band & Peter Asplund — Faro de Maspalomas, 8.30pm, free entry. The Trumpet Festival's open-air concert on the esplanade by the lighthouse.

«Mujeres Canarias del Jazz» — Plaza del Pilar Nuevo, Las Palmas, 8pm. The Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria plays an open-air concert in Vegueta with Esther Ovejero, María Zerpa, Moneiba, Mónica Santana and Olga Sánchez, free of charge.

Aurora with Javier Carballo — El Baladero, El Sebadal, from 3pm. The cultural association El Baladero, in the industrial quarter of El Sebadal, brings Javier Carballo aka TERMS to the decks for its Aurora series, joined by resident Luishock — afternoon until midnight, access via registration at elbaladero.club.

Saturday carries the strongest club night of the week — in Las Palmas and in the Yumbo Centre. Where, is further down.

Sunday 12 July

Ponké & La Ciudad del Jazz — Teatro Guiniguada, Las Palmas. To round off the jazz-festival weekend, a concert that tells the story of jazz playfully and is aimed at families too.

Windsurf World Cup at Pozo Izquierdo — final day. On the east coast the 38th Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup comes to a close: more than 120 riders have been battling the wave at Pozo Izquierdo since 4 July, and Sunday settles the PWA standings — daytime action, free to watch from the beach.

The Trumpet Festival runs on in the south until 15 July, with concerts at Expomeloneras and the Templo Ecuménico El Salvador among others. Otherwise Sunday on Gran Canaria traditionally belongs to the seafront promenade and the chiringuitos — and in the evening to the drag shows at the Yumbo, which take no weekly break.

Las Palmas: the clubs of the weekend

Las Palmas weekend nightlife spreads across three districts. In Vegueta and Triana, the old town, the bars around Calle Mendizábal and Plaza de Santa Ana fill up from late evening. The best-known venue is The Paper Club on Calle Remedios — a 400-capacity hall with a terrace and a programme between indie gigs, tribute bands and DJ nights. Alongside it the big Alboroto with indoor and outdoor floors, La Biblioteca Vegueta, a club set in a library, and, for the quieter cocktail, the rooftop La Azotea de Benito.

Along Playa de las Canteras, the night runs by the beach. The Moma Club is the address for electronic music and techno with an alternative crowd, open until 6am on Fridays and Saturdays; add the terrace bars along the promenade and the open-air Tao terrace at the port, with a pool and commercial music. For live music there is the Mojo Club, and for blues, La Guarida.

The third hub is Santa Catalina and the port area — a dense run of bars and clubs that go until dawn. Fortuni draws the younger crowd, Thursday to Saturday from 11pm to half past five, alongside venues such as Chester and Pacha. This weekend the street becomes a stage too: on Saturday the Banda Sinfónica plays Plaza del Pilar Nuevo free of charge, and the Anexo of the stadium hosts the big Latin night of Somos Latinos. Few venues charge entry — you pay for the drinks.

The south: Yumbo, the CC Cita and the night in Playa del Inglés

In the south the night revolves around Playa del Inglés, and the largest centre is the Yumbo Centre: four storeys, after sunset the island's best-known going-out hub, in large part LGBTQ+ and open to everyone. Its signature is the drag shows, on every night, weekend included — at Ricky's Cabaret Bar around 10.30pm, at the Sparkles Show Bar with karaoke from 9pm and the show at 11pm, plus Chez Funny Boy's, Buddies, Centre Stage and Terry's. The evening starts on the terraces — Spartacus, Eiffel, Voulez Vous, Gran Café Latino or Adonis — and after midnight the dance venues take over: Mykonos, the campier Tubos, Coco Loco and finally Mantrix, the biggest club, open until 6am. For commercial dance charts, they are a few steps away in the Kasbah Centre.

A few steps from the Yumbo, in the heart of Playa del Inglés, sits the CC Cita — the centre of the resort's lifestyle and swinger scene. The largest venue is the Swingers Club Secret in the basement, where more than 500 guests come at weekends to reggaeton and Spanish house; things are more relaxed at Fun4all, which has several playrooms and a BDSM room. Add HOTSPOT Gran Canaria, the Comeback Bar, Plan B, Tantra and Majestic GC with its adjoining Mario's Bar. In the neighbouring CC Sandía is the 2x2 Swingers Club. For all of these, entry is adults only and proof of age is required.

The night in the south also takes in the cruise and fetish scene, spread mainly in and around the Yumbo Centre. The Cruise Bar has been running since 1994, joined by Tom's Cruising Bar, Strong Construction on the Yumbo's ground floor, NOXON on the first floor with a fetish and cruising programme, The Factory and the Zoo Men's Cruising Bar. For a sauna there is Sauna Enjoy Maspalomas on Avenida de Tirajana. Here too, entry is adults only.

For live music rather than a club night, the south has its own small scene. The Tipsy Hammock Bar on Paseo Costa Canarias plays until 2am, in the Gran Chaparral Centre the Café Mozart 2 and Al's Bar share the crowd, and on the coast are Dunes & Tunes in Maspalomas and Café del Mar Meloneras on Plaza del Faro — the quieter finish with a view of the sea.

FAQ

Where do I get concert tickets?

Somos Latinos and the indoor concerts of the Trumpet and jazz festivals run through tomaticket.es and the venues' box offices. The open-air concerts at the Faro de Maspalomas and on Plaza del Pilar Nuevo are free, as is entry to most clubs and bars.

How late are the clubs open?

In Las Palmas, clubs such as Fortuni run from 11pm until around half past five; the bars in Vegueta fill up from late evening. At the Yumbo Centre the drag shows run all evening and the dance venues until dawn, with Mantrix open until 6am. Arriving early is pointless anywhere — the night is long.

What works with family and without entry?

The open-air concerts of the Trumpet and jazz festivals — on Saturday the Big Band at the Faro de Maspalomas and the Banda Sinfónica on Plaza del Pilar Nuevo — are free and open to all. On Sunday, Ponké & La Ciudad del Jazz at the Teatro Guiniguada is aimed at children too.

What is the CC Cita?

The CC Cita is a shopping centre in the heart of Playa del Inglés, a few steps from the Yumbo, and the centre of the resort's lifestyle and swinger scene. Its clubs are for adults only and proof of age is required.