Tías begins its patron saint festivals in honor of Our Lady of Candelaria and San Blas
The municipality of Tías, in Lanzarote, is celebrating its patron saint festivals in honor of Our Lady of Candelaria and Saint Blaise. Last Friday, at 8:00 PM, the Church of Our Lady of Candelaria hosted the proclamation reading, which officially marked the start of these deeply rooted celebrations in the life of the municipality.
The proclamation was delivered by Tías resident Emilio Fernández Batista, in an emotional ceremony that brought together family, neighbors, and friends, filling the permitted capacity of the church.The event began with welcoming words from the Councilor for Festivals of the Tías City Council, Miriam Hernández Kajan, who invited the entire population to participate and enjoy the extensive program of events planned until next February 3. A program designed for all audiences, in which devotion, culture, music, tradition, and coexistence will once again be the main protagonists.Next, the parish priest of Tías, Leonardo Graterol, took the floor, encouraging those present to experience these festivities with faith and devotion to the patron saints. During his speech, he particularly highlighted that this year, starting July 18th, the "230th Anniversary of the Church of Our Lady of Candelaria" will be commemorated, an event of great importance for the entire Catholic community of the municipality, which will feature the celebration of significant commemorative acts.The round of speeches was closed by the mayor of the Tías City Council, José Juan Cruz Saavedra, who also invited residents to actively participate in the scheduled events. The mayor particularly emphasized the significance of the "230th Anniversary of the Church of Our Lady of Candelaria," an emblematic building and a spiritual and heritage symbol of the municipality, a witness to generations of Tías inhabitants over more than two centuries. He also gave a brief account of the town crier, highlighting his personal and emotional connection to the townImmediately after, Emilio Fernández Batista took the floor, visibly moved and grateful for having been chosen as the herald for the 2026 festivals of Our Lady of Candelaria and San Blas, an honor he received with great humility, which has always characterized him.
Emilio was born in Tías in 1966, in the neighborhood known as "Hoyo del Agua," into a humble and hardworking family. He grew up surrounded by the affection of his parents and siblings. His childhood, although marked by the scarcity of the time, was happy, like that of many children his age, enjoying games around his house and on dirt paths, sharing experiences with boys his age, and helping his father with agricultural tasks. He recalled harvesting tomatoes, onions, and potatoes, as well as the hard work of plowing the land and clearing it to sow again.
From a very young age, he maintained a strong commitment to the church, even serving as an altar boy for several years, a connection that, albeit in a different way, he continues to maintain todayThroughout his working life, he has held numerous jobs, including waiter, kitchen assistant, taxi driver, delivery driver, truck driver, and currently, maintenance worker for the Tías City Council. Among his great hobbies are literature and folklore, fields in which he has been closely involved since the 1970s, as part of the Gaida Folklore Group of Tías, and later with the now-defunct San Antonio Folklore Group of Tías in the early 1980s.Literature and folklore have marked his life. He currently has nine published literary works, a facet he never imagined when, as a young man, he worked the land, and which has led him to sit in an editor's office to see his books publishedDuring the opening speech, he shared numerous experiences and anecdotes that drew many smiles and applause from the audience. Emilio was very supported by his family and friends on a very special day for him.At the end, the mayor and the councilwoman for Festivals presented him with a wooden sculpture, a replica of the facade of the Church of Our Lady of Candelaria, as a memento of the event.
The musical note of this opening day was provided by the timple player Domingo Rodríguez "El Colorao", one of the great references of Canarian folklore, accompanied on the guitar by the virtuoso Javier Cerpa, who were joined by the renowned voice of traditional and popular Canarian music, Fabiola Socas. The complicity between the artists offered a broad and varied repertoire that was widely applauded by those present.
With the protocol photos, an event that will undoubtedly become part of Tías' recent history came to a close.