Adeje prepares for one of its biggest traditions: The Festival of San Sebastián
Adeje Town Hall has confirmed that everything is ready for one of the municipality’s most traditional and popular celebrations: the Festival of San Sebastián, taking place this Tuesday, 20th January.
Thousands of residents and visitors are expected to attend, drawn each year by the unique spectacle of horses and other animals bathing at La Enramada beach in La Caleta de Adeje, one of the most recognisable and symbolic moments of the festival.
The festivities begin the evening before, Monday (19th January), with a mass in honour of San Sebastián Mártir at 7.30pm, accompanied by the group Mesturao. At 8.30pm, the statue of the saint will be carried in a short procession, accompanied by the Adeje Patronal Band.
Upon returning to the church, a traditional fireworks display will take place, followed at 9.00pm by a performance from Parranda Chasnera.
Main Day on Tuesday
Tuesday (20th January) is the main day of the celebration. The programme starts at 12 noon with a mass in honour of San Sebastián Mártir, sung by Boleros de Armeñime. The statue will then be taken on its traditional procession route, led by riders and animals as far as La Enramada beach, where the famous bathing ritual takes place as they await the arrival of the saint.
Shortly before the statue returns to the church, another cherished tradition takes place: the blessing of the animals. The day concludes with a final mass at 6:00pm.
A Festival with Centuries of History
The Festival of San Sebastián is one of Adeje’s oldest and most deeply rooted traditions, closely tied to the municipality’s historical and spiritual identity and its relationship with the sea.
Since the late 16th century, San Sebastián has been venerated as a protector against epidemics and contagious diseases, a devotion shared by many coastal communities across the Canaries.
In Adeje, this veneration became centred around the Hermitage of the Encarnación, situated near the old port at La Enramada, an area historically exposed to outside contact and therefore more vulnerable to disease.
A key turning point came with the arrival of the current statue of San Sebastián on 20th January 1916, reinforcing a devotion already firmly embedded in the community. Since then, the celebration has been held every year without interruption, becoming one of the strongest expressions of Adeje’s identity.
One of the festival’s most distinctive traditions is its association with the protection of animals, which for generations formed the backbone of Adeje’s agricultural and livestock-based economy. From this heritage emerged the ritual of blessing and bathing the animals in the sea, a symbolic act representing faith, promises, and purification. Today, it remains one of the most eagerly awaited moments of the festival.
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