Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Every September, the small Fuerteventura hamlet of Vega de Río Palmas becomes the beating heart of the island as thousands of pilgrims converge on the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Peña, the island’s patron. Behind the celebration lies one of the most enduring legends in the Canary Islands — a story of lost friars, mysterious lights and a tiny image found hidden inside a rock.
The legend of the Virgen de la Peña
One spring night, Father Fray Juan de San Torcaz left the convent in search of medicinal herbs. As the hours passed and he failed to return, San Diego de Alcalá grew worried and set out impatiently to look for him. Along the way he asked some shepherds whether they had seen the friar, but none could tell him where he was.
Suddenly, lights of an extraordinary brightness, moving through the Barranco de Malpaso, guided his steps to Father San Torcaz’s hat. The friar was hiding at the bottom of a pool of water beneath a steep crag. Beside the hat lay the religious, kneeling with his rosary around his neck. One of the shepherds dived into the water and managed to pull him out unharmed and completely dry.
Then something even more mysterious happened. Heavenly music and intense beams of light that seemed to come from a nearby rock caught their attention. Intrigued by that glow, they began to strike the rock until they managed to break it open. Inside they found a small white image depicting the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms.
That, so the legend goes, is how devotion to the Virgen de la Peña was born — an image that over the centuries would become one of the island’s most cherished religious symbols.
What the documents tell us
But as with many stories passed down from generation to generation, legend and documented history do not match exactly. The documents place devotion to the Virgen de la Peña as far back as the 15th century. The image was kept in the old Malpaso chapel before reaching its current sanctuary in Vega de Río Palmas. Some writings also indicate that it was brought to Fuerteventura by the Norman conquerors of Juan de Béthencourt around 1402.
Today, Fuerteventura’s little patron occupies the central niche of the main altarpiece in the church of Vega de Río Palmas. She stands on a gilded pedestal framed by a silver-gilt crescent moon that already existed in 1679.
And small is precisely one of the words that best defines her. La Peñita, as she is affectionately known in Fuerteventura, measures barely 23 centimetres in height, with the baby Jesus seated on her lap. She is the smallest of the Canary Islands’ patron images and is also considered one of the oldest Marian images in the archipelago, behind only the Virgen de las Nieves in La Palma.
For a long time it was believed that the image had been carved according to French Gothic canons. Tradition, however, links its arrival on the island to Juan de Béthencourt and the Franciscan friars San Diego de Alcalá and Fray Juan de Santorcaz, who lived in the convent of Betancuria.
A pilgrimage at the heart of Fuerteventura’s identity
Every year, on the third Saturday of September, thousands of faithful from Fuerteventura and other islands set off for Vega de Río Palmas. Many make the journey on foot, following the trails that lead to the sanctuary, in one of the most significant pilgrimages in the Canary Islands.
The pilgrimage turns Vega de Río Palmas and the municipality of Betancuria into the centre of the celebration for those few days. Religious tradition blends with folklore, music, dancing and gatherings of families and neighbours, keeping alive a fiesta that forms part of Fuerteventura’s identity. The Romería de la Virgen de la Peña was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) in 2008, a recognition that highlights the importance of this celebration and of the traditions linked to the island’s patron.
Fiestas de la Virgen de la Peña 2026: the programme
Vega de Río Palmas once again becomes the centre of the celebrations in honour of Nuestra Señora de La Peña, patron of Fuerteventura, with a programme combining tradition, culture, music, family activities, traditional Canarian sports and religious acts. The Fiestas de la Virgen de la Peña 2026 will run until Sunday 20 September, with Friday 18 and Saturday 19 as the main festive days.
The programme, driven by the Culture Department of the Cabildo de Fuerteventura under Rayco León, begins this Thursday 17 September and will have the traditional Romería-Ofrenda in honour of the Virgen de La Peña as one of its highlights.
Thursday 17 September: the pregón
The festive programme begins this Thursday at 8.30pm with the pregón, or opening speech, delivered by the labour lawyer, social graduate and folklorist Antonio Ravelo Umpiérrez. The event will take place in the square next to the church of Vega de Río Palmas.
Friday 18 September: the great Romería-Ofrenda
Friday will be one of the central days of the Fiestas de La Peña 2026, with activities throughout the day. At 12.00pm, the Plaza de Nuestra Señora de La Peña will host the family show La Circoneta de Tot el Payaso. Then, at 1.00pm, it will be the turn of the group Los Salvapantallas.
In the afternoon comes one of the most eagerly awaited events of the fiestas. At 4.30pm the gathering of pilgrims, folk groups and rondallas is scheduled in the area behind the Local Police cordon, where the procession will be organised. The Romería-Ofrenda in honour of Nuestra Señora de La Peña will then set off towards the Sanctuary of Vega de Río Palmas. The festive programme sets its start at 5.00pm, while the religious programme sets it at 6.00pm, so it is advisable to check with the organisers regarding this time difference.
The day continues with music in the square. At 8.30pm the orchestra Son de Aquí y Allá will perform, with a repertoire based on salsa, Cuban son, Latin jazz and other Caribbean rhythms. At 10.00pm it is the turn of the group Aseres, whose performance will culminate at 12.30am with a fireworks display. The big street party will begin at 1.00am with Tonny Tun Tun and his orchestra, alongside Orquesta Banda Nueva and Grupo Bomba. The programme continues into the early hours with a parade by the Banda de Agaete, scheduled for 5.00am.
18 September is also dedicated to Pilgrim’s Day. The temple will remain open from 9.00am and will host a Eucharist at 12.00pm. The religious programme includes the Romería-Ofrenda at 6.00pm, as well as Eucharists at 8.00pm, 10.00pm and midnight. The church will stay open as long as pilgrims continue to arrive.
Saturday 19 September: the Solemn Feast
Saturday 19 brings the day dedicated to the Solemn Feast of Nuestra Señora de La Peña, with a programme that again combines religious acts with traditions and popular music. At 12.00pm the image of the Virgin will be carried in procession to the Plaza de Nuestra Señora de La Peña, followed by the solemn concelebrated Eucharist, presided over by the Bishop of the Diocese of the Canaries.
At 2.00pm the traditional tasting of Canarian puchero will be held, accompanied by a performance from the popular music group Tabajoste. In the afternoon, at 5.00pm, there will be a gathering with Fuerteventura’s senior citizens’ centres, accompanied by the orchestra Jacomar. Half an hour later, at 5.30pm, the Bola Canaria will be played in honour of the island’s patron. Music continues at 7.30pm with a meeting of soloists, and in the evening, at 10.00pm, the street party begins with N-Klave. The temple will remain open from 9.00am to 8.00pm.
The religious day will begin with the Eucharist at 10.00am. At 12.00pm the procession of the image of the Virgin to the square will take place, followed by the solemn concelebrated Eucharist. At 7.00pm there will be a Eucharist with the senior citizens.
Sunday 20 September: the final day
The programme of the Fiestas de la Virgen de la Peña 2026 reaches its final day on Sunday 20 September. At 11.00am, the Plaza de Nuestra Señora de La Peña will host the Canarian wrestling match in honour of the Virgen de La Peña 2026, one of the traditional events that will close the festive programme. On the religious side, the temple will remain open from 10.00am to 8.00pm. At 12.00pm the Eucharist will be celebrated and the Virgin will be returned to her niche.
The Fiestas de La Peña 2026 will thus bring together once again in Vega de Río Palmas, over several days, residents, pilgrims and visitors around a celebration that combines devotion to Fuerteventura’s patron with some of the island’s foremost expressions of culture and tradition.
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