Yilenia Vega: "This year, our municipality's oxcart reflects the unity of all the towns of San Bartolomé de Tirajana around tradition and devotion."
The Department of Festivities and Events, headed by Yilenia Vega, is coordinating the presence of San Bartolomé de Tirajana at the 2025 Pilgrimage-Ofrenda del Pino, which takes place this Sunday, September 7, in Teror. The municipality is participating in this island event with a cart designed and crafted collectively by more than thirty residents, mainly from El Pajar, San Fernando, El Tablero, and Tunte.
The oxcart will feature 1.000 kilos of non-perishable food as an offering, more than 1.000 handcrafted flowers, and will be accompanied by the rondalla and dance group of the folkloric group "A sentaos y tumbaos," who will provide music and traditional folklore. To ensure public participation, the City Council has provided five buses to transport attendees to Teror.
The cart was designed by artist Manuel Encinoso Quintana "Noli Encinoso" and represents the Virgin of Santa Águeda. The composition is made with more than 10.000 grains of food that symbolize each of the residents of the municipality. Each element of the work reflects fundamental aspects of the life and history of El Pajar: agriculture and fishing; large leaves that, on one side, form the figure of a fish and, on the other, the leaf of a banana tree; flowers that evoke the foam of the ocean; and the visual narrative refers to Santa Águeda, the place where the first masses in Gran Canaria were celebrated.
The representation of San Bartolomé de Tirajana in the Romería del Pino joins the traditional oxcart parade of the municipalities of Gran Canaria and the Island Council, which this year celebrates its 73rd edition since it was launched in 1952 by Néstor Álamo. The municipality will occupy 22nd place in the order of participation of the 22 oxcarts planned, which include the 21 municipalities and the island council. In addition, for the thirteenth consecutive year, the Romería will feature the participation of 52 decimist boys and girls, responsible for opening the way to each island and each oxcart using espinela décimas. Representing San Bartolomé de Tirajana will be young women Alexandra Oliva Mezhuyeva and Olaya Vera Hernández.
The Councilor for Festivities, Yilenia Vega, emphasized that "this year's oxcart is the result of the collaborative work of residents from across the municipality, who have put their effort and care into every detail. The representation of Saint Agatha symbolizes the unity of a diverse community proud of its traditions." For his part, the First Deputy Mayor, Alejandro Marichal, emphasized that "the participation of San Bartolomé de Tirajana in the Romería del Pino reflects our municipality's commitment to one of the most important celebrations in Gran Canaria, uniting devotion, culture, and heritage."
The Pine Pilgrimage-Offering has been declared a Festival of Tourist Interest in Spain since 1965 and a Festival of Tourist Interest in the Canary Islands since 2017. Every year it brings together thousands of pilgrims and participants who gather around the patron saint of Gran Canaria, Our Lady of the Pine. The tradition, suspended only during the pandemic, has established itself as one of the most significant expressions of popular devotion on the island.
San Bartolomé de Tirajana's participation in the 2025 edition reaffirms the goal of strengthening intergenerational ties, highlighting cultural heritage, and encouraging neighborhood involvement in a celebration that transcends religion and becomes a space of shared identity for all of Gran Canaria.
