All eyes were on the mountain of Teguise on Saturday, next to the Peñas del Chache, the highest point on the island of Lanzarote. The pilgrims had come to honor the Virgen de Las Nieves. Some walked from Teguise, others from Los Valles and the nearest towns, and most by car.
They arrived around 6:00 p.m. to participate in the Holy Mass, presided over by the parish priest of Teguise, Alejando Santana, assisted by the seminarian Nicanor Bermúdez. Once the Holy Mass was over, all those present expected the image of Nuestra Señora de Las Nieves to go in procession to the barbican of the sanctuary to receive the offering of non-perishable products from the pilgrims.
The folk groups of the municipality of Teguise also hoped to be able to dedicate typical songs and dances to the Virgin. However, this year it could not be. The strong wind was blowing on the mountain of Teguise and prevented the image from descending to the barbican. Thus, it could only go out to the portico of the Sanctuary to prevent the image from being damaged.
What the strong wind did not prevent was the celebration of the pilgrimage-offering. The pilgrims received the Virgen de Las Nieves with a warm round of applause when she arrived at the portico of the Sanctuary. Immediately afterwards, they began to leave products that they had brought from their homes and deposited them next to her throne.
The same could not be done by the folk groups of the Third Age of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and Guagime, who had to sing and dance from the barbican, from where they received applause from the public. Once the pilgrimage-offering was over, the image of Nuestra Señora de Las Nieves returned to its usual place inside the Sanctuary, amid the applause and cheers of the pilgrims.
