The Beñesmer Festival 2026 wrapped up its most ambitious edition this Saturday at Plaza Mr. Leacock in Gáldar, featuring a concert by Raquel Molina. For three days, the municipality served as a meeting point for Canarian culture and heritage, consolidating the initiative organized by the Gáldar City Council through the Identity Department. The edition was marked by successful participation and the incorporation of the La Guancha Interpretation Center into the festival's circuit.
This year, the festival has reinforced its commitment to the Archipelago with a strong inter-island focus. Collectives, artisans, researchers, and artists from all islands gathered in Gáldar. A symbolic milestone was the Great Encounter of Canarian Stick Game, which brought together masters and schools from El Hierro, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura at Plaza Mr. Leacock, showcasing the diversity of styles of this discipline declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC).
The inclusion of the La Guancha Interpretation Center as a new venue gave rise to ‘Beñesmer Chinijo’. This space is designed for younger generations to connect with the aboriginal legacy through workshops on wool, natural pigment painting, storytelling, and recreational activities. The initiative has been very well received by families, underscoring the festival's commitment to generational heritage transmission.
The program, which combined culture, reflection, and tradition, included the inauguration on Thursday with a talk by researcher Rumén Sosa and music by Generación del 21. Friday featured the podcast ‘Solo Palique de Beñesmer’ and an astronomical visit to La Guancha. Saturday was the most intense day, with the Craft Fair, workshops on Amazigh writing and Canarian whistling language, a demonstration of Levantamiento del Arado by Juanfra Santana, the Tagoror 15′ on colonialism, a Canarian ball game exhibition, ancestral sounds, shepherd music and dance by the collective Tambor de Cabra, literary presentations by Teresa Gubern, comedy by David García, and the concert by Raquel Molina.
The Councilor for Identity, Carlos Ruiz Moreno, highlighted the festival's maturity, calling it «the consolidation of a collective dream that has opened its arms to the entire Archipelago». He emphasized the importance of generational transmission: «Heritage that is not passed down is lost; and we are here to ensure that not a single one of our identity markers is lost». He thanked the participating collectives, artisans, researchers, and the audience.
With this second edition under direct municipal organization, Beñesmer is now a fixture on the cultural agenda of Gáldar and the Archipelago. Researcher Rumén Sosa noted at the inauguration that the festival is «an exercise in historical memory so we do not forget that we are a people with very deep roots and that, facing the winds of the present and future, we cannot lose our identity».
