San Pedro Ribbon Dance Boycotts Pilgrimage Over Parade Route Snub

Twelve ribbons weave around a central pole, moving to the slow beat of the Tajaraste music. They cross, tighten, and loosen, appearing to "dress" and "undress" the pole. This dance represents the community, faith, and shared history of two neighborhoods.

This year, the San Pedro Ribbon Dance will not take part in the San Antonio Abad pilgrimage, held today in Güímar. The San Pedro Abajo association, which was meant to lead the procession this year, made this decision after failing to agree with the local Town Council on where the dance would be positioned in the parade route.

Güímar has a system where the two historic neighborhoods take turns performing the dance: San Pedro Abajo performs in odd years, and San Pedro Arriba in even years. This changeover is made official in June and lasts until the next time the saint is brought out.

Blas García, president of the group, told this newspaper that they refused to participate because they lost their traditional spot next to the saint's image, which he felt pushed them into "a secondary role." García explained they were told that a dance from El Hierro island would take the preferred position in front of the Banner this year. The San Pedro Ribbon Dance, on the other hand, could be placed "at any other point along the route," without a specific spot. After waiting for the decision to be changed, which didn't happen, the group "chose to withdraw from the pilgrimage."

García emphasized that as a ritual dance, its specific placement is "a characteristic condition of this type of dance and inherent to the essence of our festivities." The group also stressed that their decision "does not mean they reject other traditions," but rather that they are defending the historical importance of the San Pedro Ribbon Dance.

The dance is performed during the patron saint festivities, alternating between the two neighborhoods each year. Every two years, the associations from both neighborhoods take part in three specific celebrations: Saint Peter the Apostle, the Bajada del Socorro, and Saint Anthony the Abbot. During each festive cycle, the dance is a vibrant part of neighborhood life, involving rehearsals and community organization that brings together both young and old.

This tradition brings the neighborhood to life, as residents once again hear the familiar sound of castanets. It's a significant tradition, being one of the oldest documented ritual performances in the Canary Islands.

A document from 1788, kept in the Parish Archive of Saint Peter the Apostle, shows that residents requested permission from the Royal Judge to create a dance specifically to walk in front of the saint during processions.

The dance centers around a 5-meter-tall central pole with twelve ribbons extending from it. The pole itself is painted with red and green spirals and topped with a bouquet of yellow everlasting flowers, a round bread roll, and a Spanish flag.

The dance involves four contratercios, four tercios, and four guíos. A single musician accompanies them, playing both the flute and the drum to set the slow tajaraste rhythm, typical of Tenerife. The twelve dancers are children aged 5 to 12. They wear white shirts with a silk band tied at the waist, featuring a large bow with embroidered ends. Their costume colors vary by role: the pole bearer wears green; the contratercios wear white; the tercios wear yellow; and the guíos wear pink.

The choreography involves braiding the ribbons up to the middle of the pole, then unbraiding them until the pole is bare, and finally bowing to the saint's image. When entering the church, the pole must be presented with all ribbons extended, creating a colorful display, rather than rolled up.

This dance has been a regular part of the San Antonio Abad pilgrimage since the 1950s.

Today, the San Pedro Abajo Ribbon Dance group has 26 members, including adults and children. The association highlights the challenge of keeping the tradition alive for future generations. "It's very hard nowadays to get a child away from a screen and into rehearsals. We need incentives," explains the president.

He believes that decisions like this year's affect the long-term survival of these events. "For the first time in many years, these children will not take part in the pilgrimage," he added.

García stressed that his comments are about defending the municipality's heritage. "We've tried to find a compromise, but it's hard to understand why an institution would abandon its own traditions. The question is: would any town council in El Hierro move its traditional dances from their preferred spots so that we could dance before the Virgen de los Reyes?" he asked.