Older residents launch Puerto del Rosario’s festivities with a proclamation steeped in memories, words and traditions

Ángel Mari Domínguez and María Juliana Armas, alongside their grandchildren and members of the Puerto del Rosario Senior Citizens’ Centre, opened the Fiestas de Nuestra Señora del Rosario with a journey through the memories and customs of another era.

Puerto del Rosario’s past took centre stage on Friday at the proclamation marking the start of the 2026 Fiestas de Nuestra Señora del Rosario.

Ángel Mari Domínguez and María Juliana Armas, accompanied by their grandchildren and members of the Puerto del Rosario Senior Citizens’ Centre, symbolically opened the chest of memories, bringing back objects, words, customs and everyday scenes from a Puerto del Rosario very different from today.

An iron, Lagarto soap and bathing facilities that would be unlikely to pass any health inspection today helped recreate, with a blend of memories and humour, an era shaped by a different way of living and socialising.

Above all, however, the proclamation recalled the importance the Fiestas de Nuestra Señora del Rosario once held. They were the biggest festivities of the year, and their arrival meant days of preparations, nerves and anticipation for families in Fuerteventura’s capital.

A puchero stew full of memories

It all revolved around one of the evening’s great symbols: the traditional puchero stew.

Far more than a meal, on stage it became an image of hands at work, a mother preparing food, family members coming through the door and everyone gathering around the same table.

Dancing also accompanied the proclamation, as the older residents showed they had plenty to say. This time, they were in the spotlight, with an audience ready to listen.

Words such as “magua”, “albiar” and “almanaque” shared the stage with terms more closely associated with younger generations, such as “random”, “outfit” and “bro”. The meeting of generations showed how language changes without necessarily losing what those who came before have passed down.

An inheritance that goes far beyond a house

One of the ideas that shaped the proclamation was the notion of inheritance. As its speakers recalled, an inheritance is not just a house or material possessions.

It also includes plants, recipes, words, customs, family stories and all the little things passed from one generation to the next that eventually become part of a community’s identity.

The older residents’ message was clear: memories are kept alive not only by remembering, but also by telling stories. Sharing them allows younger people to learn how their parents and grandparents lived, and to make that legacy their own.

“Let memory dance, and let the present dance too” was one of the lines that summed up the spirit of an evening in which different generations shared the stage.

With the proclamation, Puerto del Rosario officially opens its main festivities in honour of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, bringing collective memories back to the fore as the celebrations begin. They remain alive for as long as they are passed from older to younger generations.

Long live the Virgin of the Rosary! The festivities in Puerto del Rosario begin.