la graciosa canary islands anthem

La Graciosa officially added to Canary Islands anthem

Historic day in the Canary Islands Parliament

“A historic day in the Canary Islands Parliament,” declared its president, Astrid Pérez, this Tuesday. The reason? The Canary Islands now sings to all eight of its islands. La Graciosa, recognised as the archipelago’s eighth inhabited island in the 2018 Statute of Autonomy, is being added to the official anthem of the autonomous community. The change, which parliamentary groups defended as an act of symbolic justice, historical reparation, and collective affirmation, is brief in formal terms but loaded with political and emotional significance. The line about “the pulse of my soul beating” will no longer refer to “seven rocks” but to “eight rocks”.

New verse to debut on Canary Islands Day

The new reference to La Graciosa will be unveiled this Saturday, on Canary Islands Day, when the anthem incorporates the eighth island into one of its verses for the first time, set to the music of the lullaby from Teobaldo Power’s Cantos Canarios and lyrics by Benito Cabrera. Raúl Acosta, MP for the Agrupación Herreña Independiente, summed up the political and emotional scope of the reform by stating that it is not about adding “one more rock” to the lyrics, but about adding “one more rock to the construction of our autonomous community”. “Today we are a more complete Canary Islands than yesterday,” he argued.

Identity and belonging

Along the same lines, Melodie Mendoza (ASG) argued that the change is not just about institutional recognition but about “identity and belonging”. In her view, this step “is something bigger than a legislative amendment”: it is the expression of a Canary Islands that “moves forward united”. From NC, Yone Caraballo emphasised the uniqueness of La Graciosa, describing it as “a refuge where the air feels different and where you remember what silence sounds like”. For Caraballo, the island “is more than a number” and more than “an eighth rock in an anthem”. She therefore also called for the symbolic recognition to be accompanied by greater autonomy and decision-making power for its residents, through a delegated council within the Teguise Town Hall on Lanzarote.

Correcting a historical absence

PP MP Rebeca Paniagua stressed that the Canary Islands is not “modifying a verse” but “correcting a historical absence”: “When a people names something, they integrate it. The Canary Islands now names itself complete.” David Toledo (CC) defended the reform as a matter of dignity and right. “We are only borrowing our time in this world, but the land remains in the heart,” he said. Toledo highlighted that the recognition of La Graciosa should have no “political colours” and welcomed the fact that Parliament has once again risen “to the occasion”. He also warned that there are still symbols to be updated so that the eighth island is fully recognised. “One heart beating over the same sea,” he concluded.

Socialists back the move, Vox sounds a note of caution

The PSOE, through Marcos Bergaz, recalled the cultural and historical value of the anthem and explained that the eighth island will be included in a verse of the official composition. Bergaz highlighted the importance of hearing La Graciosa in the anthem for the first time on the upcoming Canary Islands Day, a day expected to carry special symbolic weight. The dissenting note came from Vox. Nicasio Galván admitted that “gestures are very important, even more so in politics”, but warned against a possible cascade of changes to other official symbols. “Let us hope they do not try to change the flag or coat of arms,” he said, arguing that the residents of La Graciosa would prefer public funds to be spent on improving their services. In his view, opening that door would be “a waste”.

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