This weekend on Gran Canaria: PR X Canarias, Isla Sound and the club night

The highlight of the weekend: PR X Canarias

The night worth going out for this weekend costs nothing: PR X Canarias on Saturday on the Plaza de Santa Ana in Las Palmas. It is part of Culture & Business Pride and builds a bridge between Puerto Rico, the Canaries and the queer culture of both shores. The historic heart of Vegueta becomes an open-air stage, entry is free and the square is step-free.

The biggest draw is Chuwi, the Puerto Rican band playing the Canaries for the first time. They arrive with real momentum: Bad Bunny picked them as an opener on his «Debí tirar más fotos» world tour, and they feature on «Weltita» from the album of the same name. Alongside them Villano Antillano, the rapper from Bayamón who became one of the best-known voices in Latin rap with her «Bzrp Music Session Vol. 51», and whose writing deals with identity, the body and the visibility of trans and non-binary people. And Ptazeta, born Zuleima del Pino González in Arucas — the home player of the evening.

They are joined by This is Drag and La Casita Queer, a queer reworking of the now-familiar little house from the Bad Bunny tour, set up as an open meeting point in the middle of the square. The programme runs from late afternoon until midnight, backed among others by the presidency of the Cabildo, Promotur and the Instituto Canario de Desarrollo Cultural.

The island stays dry. AEMET forecasts 27 degrees in Las Palmas on Saturday under heavy cloud, and 29 degrees with clear skies on Sunday, no rain on either day — the kind of evening where you stay outside instead of retreating into a club.

Friday, 31 July

UB40. Gran Canaria Arena, Las Palmas, 9pm, with Gauchito Club opening from 7pm. The Birmingham band helped shape British reggae-pop in the eighties — «Red Red Wine», «Kingston Town» and «Can’t Help Falling in Love» are familiar even to people who never owned one of their records. The show was part of the European Tour 2026 and opened the weekend.

Vive Fest al Sol. In the south, Friday evening belonged to Campo 1 in Maspalomas: doors at 6pm, then bachata, merengue and salsa in the open air with Grupo Extra, the Juan Luis Guerra tribute of Orquesta La Sabrosa and Pedro Afonso. Around six hours of programme, with tickets most recently at 15 euros.

Smaller and closer in: Son X tres marked its twentieth anniversary at the Centro Cultural CICCA, the Gabinete Literario hosted a Candlelight session at 7.30pm with the music from «The Lord of the Rings» by candlelight, and Doble Zentido played the Buenos Aires Jazz Café at 9pm.

Friday was also the big opening day of the summer fiestas. In San Lorenzo in the north of Las Palmas the fiestas laurentinas began, long recognised as a Fiesta de Interés Turístico de Canarias: the flag raised at noon, a papagüevos parade with the Banda Guiniguada, the pregón by mayor Carolina Darias from 9.30pm and then the «Noche Latina» with La Trova. In Agaete the pregón of the Fiestas de Las Nieves was read at 9pm in front of the Iglesia de la Concepción; the great Bajada de la Rama itself follows on Tuesday 4 August. In Firgas the fiestas of San Roque opened, running until 17 August.

Plus the smaller stages: the Vega de San Mateo brought back its Veranos de La Vega, with a children’s programme from 6pm and Kubacanashe from 9 to 10.30pm on the Rambla de la Constitución. In Telde the third edition of «Noches que saben a Telde» started at 7pm on the Plaza Doña Rafaela, with tapas, Gran Canaria wines and live music until midnight. Santa Brígida entered the final weekend of its Fiestas Patronales, El Carrizal opened the Fiestas del Buen Suceso, and at Playa de Mogán the Fiestas de El Carmen began their last weekend. Free entry throughout.

After the concerts the club night began: the bars of Vegueta and Triana filled up, and in the south the drag shows of the Yumbo Centre got going.

Saturday, 1 August

PR X Canarias. Plaza de Santa Ana, Las Palmas, from late afternoon until midnight, free entry — with Chuwi, Villano Antillano, Ptazeta, This is Drag and La Casita Queer. The highlight of the weekend (see above).

Isla Sound. Saturday in the south belongs to Campo 1 in Maspalomas again, this time with urban, trap and hip-hop. The bill has Reality, Yan Block and Khanngel plus DJs Iván MG and Néstor Ramírez. Doors at 6pm, tickets at 30 to 32 euros general admission and from 50 euros for the VIP area. A young night that carries straight into club hours.

Las Guerreras K-POP. The Gran Canaria Arena hosts the Korean pop tribute show on Saturday — the same hall where UB40 played the night before, with a completely different crowd.

The Buenos Aires Jazz Café in Las Palmas runs a double bill: at 9pm the Torrija Jazz Band plays jazz standards, swing and groove, 8 euros. Straight afterwards, from 11pm, the Karaoke Open Mic takes over with free entry and runs until 1am — the late, unbothered option for anyone not ready to go home.

New in the north: Arucas hosts the CangrejoFest on Saturday and Sunday with concerts and a supporting programme, also free. In Teror, «Música en el Convento» runs from 11.30am to 10.30pm at the Casa de Espiritualidad Dominicas, and in Pozo Izquierdo the «Noches en El Barranquillo» continue, bringing together parranda, sunset chillout and DJ sets on Saturdays through July and August.

In San Lorenzo the 34th Romería-Ofrenda moves from the Casa Pico to the village centre from 6.30pm, followed in the evening by the Noche Canaria with folk groups from across the island — a party that runs deep into the night. In the south, Reynier Mariño and Yolanda Pagés play the Kai Beach Club from 5 to 7pm: live music at the best terrace hour, before the evening tips into the clubs.

In Santa Brígida Saturday is the long day of the Fiestas Patronales. Bells at noon open the Gran Fiesta de la Espuma, and at 6pm the Ofrenda-Romería moves through the town with folk groups and the decorated carts of the districts. From 10.30pm the Verbena del Romero y la Romera plays the Plaza León y Castillo, with Orquesta Star Music and DJs Airán Vega and Juanjo de Pronova.

The longest night in the north, though, is in Agaete: the Festival Nacional de Folklore starts at 8.30pm on the Plaza de la Constitución with Coros y Danzas La Serrana de Piornal from Cáceres and the group Timbayba from Lanzarote. At 11pm the verbena takes over with Estrella Latina and Banda Larga and plays until 2am. Two quieter addresses for anyone avoiding the crowds: La Lechucilla above the Vega de San Mateo holds the verbena of the Santa Teresita fiestas from 10pm to 2am, and Santa María de Guía opens its Fiestas de La Virgen, which continue all through August.

After that the evening belongs to the nightlife — this is the strongest club night of the week, in Las Palmas as much as in the south.

Sunday, 2 August

Moya al Amanecer. The most unusual booking of the weekend falls on Sunday morning: from 7.30am the Quinteto Resonancia plays to the sunrise on the Plaza de la Concordia in Moya, with breakfast and walking theatre. 13 euros, and you have to get up early — or simply not go to bed.

Sunday is the big music day of the Fiestas de San Roque in Firgas: Los Gofiones play at midday and Olga Cerpa y Mestisay in the evening — two names that fill any plaza in the Canaries. The fiesta programme runs until 17 August, with the romería and its fiftieth anniversary on 15 August.

At the other end of the day is the Noche Joven in Agaete: from 10pm Pixie y Safari, Rodrigo Fénix and Aithamy DJ play the Plaza de la Constitución. Before that, at 8pm, the Retreta infantil moves through town beside the parish church with the Banda Guiniguada. It is the only real club night the north offers on a Sunday, and it is free.

During the day Arucas runs the second day of the CangrejoFest, and Teror has a Sunday edition of «Música en el Convento» at 11.30am with a guided visit, chamber concert and aperitif.

In the south, Sunday morning traditionally belongs to the Café Mozart 2 in the CC Anexo II: live music from 11am, food and drink on the promenade terrace, a format that has run here every week for years. At Playa de Mogán the Fiestas de El Carmen close on Sunday, while El Carrizal keeps going.

In San Lorenzo the fiesta programme fills the whole Sunday: the 5th Muestra de Artesanía Tasate at the Mercado Agrícola from 9.30am, with folk performances and a children’s programme in the old centre, and from 9.30pm the 16th Memorial Antonio Martel y Lorenzo Suárez, where the Romero and Romera Mayor are chosen. In Santa Brígida this is the main feast day: the Parranda San Antonio sings the mass at 11am, after which the Banda de Música carries the saint through the town. The ten days close at 8.30pm with the «Escala en Hi-Fi» on the Plaza León y Castillo.

Otherwise Sunday on Gran Canaria belongs to the seafront promenade and the chiringuitos rather than the big stage. In the south the Yumbo Centre takes no weekly break — the drag shows run on Sunday evening too.

Las Palmas: the clubs

Weekend nightlife in Las Palmas spreads across three districts. In Vegueta and Triana, the old town, the bars around Calle Mendizábal, the Plaza de Santa Ana and the Monopol terraces fill from late evening — and this Saturday especially, with the concert on the Plaza de Santa Ana right on the doorstep. The best-known venue in the quarter is The Paper Club on Calle Remedios, a 400-capacity room with a terrace whose programme alternates between indie gigs, tribute bands and DJ nights. Alongside it the big mainstream club Alboroto with indoor and outdoor areas, the Biblioteca Vegueta — a disco in a library setting — and, for a quieter cocktail, the La Azotea de Benito roof terrace on the Plaza de las Ranas.

At the Playa de las Canteras the nightlife happens right on the beach. The Moma Club is the address for electronic music and techno with an alternative crowd, Fridays and Saturdays until morning. For live music, La Guarida and the Mojo Club are worth the walk for blues and band nights; the Sala Faro programmes concerts across genres.

The third centre is Santa Catalina and the port area — a dense run of bars, discotecas and clubs that go until dawn. The club Fortuni draws the younger crowd, Thursday to Saturday from 11pm until around half past five; the Chester and the Pacha on Avenida Sargentos Provisionales are among the classics. Few places charge admission — you pay for the drinks.

The south: Yumbo, CC Cita and the lifestyle scene

In the south of Playa del Inglés the Yumbo Centre is the island’s best-known place to go out — four floors, largely LGBTQ+ after sunset but open to everyone. Its signature is the drag shows, every evening and at weekends too: Ricky’s Cabaret Bar plays around 10.30pm, the Sparkles Show Bar runs karaoke from 9pm and its big show from 11pm, alongside 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. After midnight the dance venues take over: Mykonos, the camper Tubos, Coco Loco and finally Mantrix, the largest club, open until six in the morning. The Six Pack Zone on Avenida Estados Unidos adds regular live music. Anyone after commercial dance charts rather than a drag show will find them in the nearby Kasbah Centre.

A few steps further, in the heart of Playa del Inglés, sits the CC Cita — the core of the town’s lifestyle and swinger scene. The biggest name is Swingers Club Secret in the basement: a sprawling venue with reggaeton and Spanish house that holds more than 500 guests on a good night. Fun4all is the more relaxed option, with several playrooms and its own BDSM room. Add HOTSPOT Gran Canaria, the Comeback Bar, Plan B, Tantra and the Majestic GC with its attached Mario’s Bar. Right next door, in the CC Sandía, is the 2x2 Swingers Club. All of these are adults-only clubs with age checks at the door; the rules for couples and singles are set out on each venue’s own website. In the same centre the Café Bolle Jan plays an entirely different card: drag and live music nights with Darcy & Friends, usually from 10pm.

The cruise and darkroom venues form a scene of their own. The Cruise Bar has been going since 1994, joined by Tom’s Cruising Bar, Strong Construction on the ground floor of the Yumbo, NOXON on the first floor with a fetish and cruising programme, The Factory and the Zoo Men’s Cruising Bar. For something quieter, the Sauna Enjoy Maspalomas on Avenida de Tirajana is the counterpart. Here too: adults only, ID at the door.

For live music without the club element, look to the bars along the coast. The Tipsy Hammock Bar on the Paseo Costa Canarias plays until 2am, and the Café Mozart 2 in the CC Anexo II has a programme almost daily — at midday, early evening and again at 10pm. In the same centre That’s AMORE and the Ristorante La Piazza put on live music regularly, usually around 9pm. Add Al’s Bar in the Gran Chaparral Centre, Dunes & Tunes in Maspalomas and the Café del Mar on the Plaza del Faro in Meloneras, where the evening starts with the sunset.

FAQ

Who is the highlight of this weekend?

The biggest night is PR X Canarias on Saturday on the Plaza de Santa Ana in Las Palmas, with free entry: the Puerto Rican band Chuwi playing the Canaries for the first time, plus Villano Antillano, Ptazeta from Arucas, This is Drag and La Casita Queer. UB40 played the Gran Canaria Arena on Friday, and Isla Sound runs in parallel at Campo 1 in Maspalomas on Saturday.

Where do I get tickets for the concerts?

Isla Sound is sold through tomaticket.es, at 30 to 32 euros for general admission and from 50 euros for the VIP area; returns may be available on the door depending on demand. PR X Canarias on the Plaza de Santa Ana, the CangrejoFest in Arucas and the fiestas in San Lorenzo, Agaete, Firgas and Santa Brígida need no ticket — entry is free, as it is in 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 in the morning, and the Moma Club at the Playa de las Canteras plays until morning on Fridays and Saturdays. In the Yumbo Centre in the south the drag shows run all evening and the dance venues until dawn, with Mantrix open until six. The rule across the island: arriving early is not worth it, the night is long.

What is the lifestyle and swinger scene at the CC Cita?

The CC Cita sits in the heart of Playa del Inglés, a few steps from the Yumbo Centre, and is the centre of the town’s lifestyle and swinger scene. It includes Swingers Club Secret in the basement, Fun4all with several playrooms, HOTSPOT Gran Canaria, the Comeback Bar, Plan B, Tantra and the Majestic GC, along with the 2x2 Swingers Club in the neighbouring CC Sandía. These are adults-only clubs with age checks at the door; house rules for couples and singles are published on each venue’s website.

What is on during Sunday without a big stage?

Sunday starts at 7.30am with the sunrise concert on the Plaza de la Concordia in Moya and ends with the Noche Joven in Agaete from 10pm, both in the north. In Firgas, Los Gofiones play at midday and Olga Cerpa y Mestisay in the evening. In the south the Café Mozart 2 runs its late-morning session from 11am, and in the evening the drag stages of the Yumbo Centre take no weekly break.