The patron of Lanzarote is the Virgin of Los Dolores and she will be honoured this weekend on Saturday 13th September in Mancha Blanca, Tinajo.
Every year, thousands of people gather in the village to celebrate this day which hails back to the day Lanzarote celebrates it’s first miracle back in 1736 when during the volcanic eruption, the priest of Mancha Blanca prayed to the virgin for help and to stop the lava reaching the village. The lava stopped and the villagers promised to build a church to honour the virgin but this got forgotten until years later the virgin is said to have visited and approached a young shepherd girl to tell her to remind the people to keep their promise. The church was built, and the image of the virgin helped protect the village from another lava flow in 1836.
From this, every year people celebrate this day by dressing in traditional costumes and many taking part in a pilgrimage and walking from where they live to Macha Blanca.
It’s a large celebration and well worth a visit if you are on the island.