Santa Cruz de Tenerife Adjusts Holy Week Procession Routes Amid City Construction
Santa Cruz de Tenerife has adjusted several Holy Week procession routes to accommodate ongoing urban construction while integrating new cultural highlights into the city's traditional religious calendar.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is preparing for this year’s Holy Week with several changes to traditional procession routes. The city council has adjusted the plans to better integrate religious events with the city’s historic architecture and to accommodate ongoing construction projects in the city center.
The most significant change affects the Señor de las Tribulaciones procession, which must be rerouted due to construction on Calle La Rosa. Departing at 8:15 p.m. from the Church of San Francisco, the new route will travel through Villalba Hervás, Valentín Sanz, Suárez Guerra, Puerto Escondido, San Clemente, Santiago, San Francisco Javier, San Miguel, and Señor de las Tribulaciones streets before returning to the church via La Rosa.
This year’s official program highlights a recently restored 1900 carving of Mary Magdalene. The opening proclamation, delivered by retired professor María Cristina Llanos, will take place on March 25 at 8:30 p.m. For the first time, this event will be held at the Church of El Pilar, where the sculpture is housed.
The religious calendar, described by Vicar Juan Manuel Yanes and Archpriest Sixto Valentín Pérez as a time for community connection, begins on March 22 at 5:30 p.m. with the Archpriest’s Stations of the Cross in García Sanabria Park. Events will take place across all five of the capital's districts and will be accompanied by a series of sacred music performances coordinated by the Professional Conservatory of Music of Santa Cruz.
Other logistical updates include the March 28 procession, which leaves the Anchieta parish in Residencial Anaga at 11:00 a.m., traveling along Carlos JR Hamilton, Rambla de Santa Cruz, and Méndez Núñez before concluding at the parish of San José. Additionally, the Macarena procession on April 2 will now depart from the Church of La Concepción at 9:00 p.m. These adjustments reflect the city's ongoing efforts to preserve its traditions while adapting to a changing urban landscape.