12/09/2026
Just in case you’re wondering why it’s a bank holiday on Tuesday, and why many roads around the island will be closed today, as the pilgrimage is taking place today.
My interpretation of the story of Los Dolores (Lady of the Volcanoes) by Joanne Mary Smith
During the incessant volcanic eruptions in 1730’s the islanders were praying for miracles and in 1736 a priest from the Church of San Roque organised a procession in the mountain of Guiguan carrying the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows (Virgin Mother Mary) in Tinajo. Everyone prayed and promised that if the lava stopped, they would build a shrine for the Virgin of Tinajo. (A promise that was later forgotten). They erected a 1m cross at the edge of the river of lava. The lava flowed, but stopped at the foot of the cross and changed direction away from the fertile land and back towards the old petrified stones of previous eruptions. The people were joyous that their prayers had been answered. That cross is still visible today, close to the church in Mancha Blanca, attached to a larger cross dated 16th April 1736.
Several years later in 1774, a lady dressed in mourning approached the 9 year old daughter of the Shepherd Juan Antonio Acosta and Rita Umpiérrez, Juana Rafaela, from Cabreros. She was tending to goats in the mountain of Guiguan. She said “girl, go tell your parents that the neighbours must keep their promise to build the church, otherwise the volcano will erupt again”. Several days later, the lady in black returned to Juana and repeated her message. The girl said that nobody had believed her, so the lady left a purple hand mark on the girl’s shoulder and told her that now she would be believed.
The religious authorities of the day took Juana to a Church and she recognised the image of ‘Nuestra Señora Dolores’ she was taken to Teguise, and presented to all the saints available; when the girl showed them the mark from ‘Our Lady of Sorrows’, everyone instantly believed and built a shrine, as promised, to the Virgin of Los Dolores which took around ten years to complete.
On 31st July 1824, at 7am the volcano erupted again between Tao and Tiagua. The villagers organised a procession from Guiguan towards La Vegueta. They fell to their knees and prayed for Our Lady to not allow the lands to become desolate and destroy the property. The volcano stopped throwing up lava and instead ejected only columns of smoke. After this new miracle by the Virgin of Los Dolores she was proclaimed ‘Señora de los Volcanes’ (Lady of the Volcanoes).
The people of Lanzarote and rest of the islands are very religious and the fiesta of Los Dolores is very close to their hearts. Each September you can see the roads lined with people walking to Mancha Blanca to pay their respects. The ‘Romería of Los Dolores’ takes place around the 14th of September each year and on the allocated day there is the most incredible pilgrimages accompanied by parrandas (folklore music groups) usually playing a small five stringed guitar (timple) and other traditional instruments. Villagers flock from across the island and also other Canary Islands, dressed in their traditional clothing. They share food, generally local cheese, small dry sardines (pejines) and wine.
It is a day of great celebration but is also very serious, as the people believe that if the pilgrimage is not completed, the volcanos could erupt once again. Offerings are given to the Church and there are lots of festivities lasting for several days.
I used to live in the fishing village of La Santa, where they have a very distinct look, for the girls royal blue skirts (usually tucked into underwear) and for the boys royal blue trousers. The village pilgrimage centres around a fishing boat packed with offerings from the sea for the Virgin, as well as plenty of food, wine and rum for the journey. Attached are some of my favourite photographs from years gone by (not all my own photos).
