Arrecife en Vivo celebrates thirteen years of free street culture with a program of concerts and talks that focuses on local culture, a variety of musical styles, and public space interaction.
Q. Arrecife en Vivo returns to its original itinerary and continues to offer free concerts. How do you achieve this?
A. We have been organizing free concerts in the streets and squares for thirteen years, and this would be impossible without the support of public institutions. We have been backed by government teams of all political stripes. I believe they highly value that Arrecife en Vivo is a different kind of festival: without the barrier of a paid ticket, capable of bringing together diverse people and creating new audiences.
“Few festivals bet on local talent like Arrecife en Vivo”
Q. Why is it important to support these types of initiatives? What does this festival give back to the citizens?
A. Anyone in Lanzarote can enjoy the live music offered by Arrecife en Vivo, regardless of how much money they have in their pocket. Our audience is not confined to a venue; the profits from the bars are shared with local businesses in Arrecife. Here you can have a drink at the surrounding bars, many of which set up bars in front of their businesses, or you can eat at the restaurants along the route during the concerts, or even bring your own food from home. We are a cultural production that generates local employment and always works with the goal of everyone benefiting.
Q. There is a formula that the public immediately identifies with Arrecife en Vivo. What makes it different?
A. There are major festivals in Lanzarote that receive public support and also operate with paid entry. Our model is different: Arrecife en Vivo is free. It's a bit like the quirky sibling, an absolutely different festival. We have a pedestrian circuit of just over 2 km with four stages and a parade that leads the audience from one place to another, guided by Buli with his yellow pointing finger, which has become an icon of the festival. Buli has been with us for many years and is a very important part of Arrecife en Vivo. The artists are amazed when they see the crowd arrive, they say they've never seen anything so fun in their lives. On the lineup, you'll find rock, punk, pop, fusion... It's a mix.
“We must respect the rest of the people who do not want to come to the concerts”
Q. Although Arrecife en Vivo was the first, there are more and more events in public spaces. How is coexistence managed?
Some people lump us in with any concert held outdoors, but most don't. The street is the stage for our concerts, but first and foremost it is the public space where we live. That is a great responsibility, so we have to take care of everything to the fullest: cleaning, setup, dialogue with neighbors... The public can enter and leave the festival, mixing with the city. When you organize a concert in the city center the way Arrecife en Vivo does, everything is spontaneous: suddenly you find a man coming from the supermarket, he hears the music and decides to stay, or a little girl appears with her family and discovers she wants to learn to play the drums. You don't have that magic in an enclosed venue.
A. Arrecife en Vivo doesn't just program concerts: it works with Lanzarote's music schools, supporting grassroots culture, which isn't common...
Yes, in fact, they are headliners and we love to open with them. We want to give those who are starting out the opportunity to get on stage to foster the emergence of top-level artists born in Lanzarote. We always say the same thing: they will be the producers, artists, and audience of the future. We have to educate them and give them spaces to rehearse. Dana, the singer from Sin Salida who performed in 2025, was a kid who came with her father to watch the concerts. That's very nice. In a way, sponsors value this and believe that this festival is of general interest.
Q. Why is it important for a festival to also get involved in what's happening around it?
A. We collaborate with collectives on the island and hold talks about problems that affect us as a society. We have had an agreement with Adislan since 2018 for their users to work at the festival, and we love how they do it. They are incredible workers. We also collaborate with various social collectives, including: +Oportunidades, Asociación Canaria para la Intervención y Mediación Familiar, Educativa y Psicosocial +Familia, the LGTBI+ Collectives of the island, Asociación Mararía, the Inclusion and Social Intervention Service of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, and El Cribo, with whom this year we will hold a conference dedicated to mental health. Music is also that: an opportunity to share the same brain frequency, to feel things, and to stop and think about how the world is going.
Q. The route ends up moving away from residential areas to reach the Cruise Terminal. What's behind that decision?
A. We are also residents of Arrecife. We have to respect the rest of the people who don't want to come to the concerts. We have met with the 'Arrecife against noise' platform and we know that it is a relief for them to know that it is only for an hour and then we leave. We also really like the walk along the pier, that industrial-port vibe, and having the ability to transform a parking lot into a stage. It also has its magic.
Q. What does a band need to have to fit into Arrecife en Vivo?
A. We champion local and Canarian talent, emerging bands that will be known in a few years. It happened with La Plazuela and it will happen with Hermana Furia. Ultraligera is another example: they have had a "boom" this year. Arrecife en Vivo has a lot of innovative spirit. We also program classics, but we look a lot to the future and the lineup always includes bands that are just starting out. We try to avoid the mainstream.
Q. This year you announce a return to the center. What new features will the public find in this edition?
We are returning to the center: we are starting the concert routes with street performances in La Plazuela. The Islote de Fermina was a beautiful space, but it disconnected us from neighborhood life. This year there will be no paid concerts. We will produce a very special day on Mental Health Day, October 10th, in collaboration with the Social Welfare area of the Cabildo de Lanzarote and El Cribo. In October we will have a meeting with victims from the Patronato de la Mujer and we will repeat the colloquium with LGTBI+ collectives. It is very important for us that this festival builds community.
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