The municipality of Santiago del Teide stepped back in time this weekend as residents and visitors gathered for the 20th edition of “Al Paso de la Cumbre”, an annual cultural re-enactment celebrating the island’s historic rural traditions and barter system.
The event recreates the journeys once made by farming families who crossed the mountains carrying agricultural produce to exchange for essential goods, reflecting a way of life that sustained many communities across Tenerife during the first half of the 20th century.
A journey through Tenerife’s history
The day’s activities began in San Francisco de La Montañeta (Garachico) before continuing to San José de Los Llanos (El Tanque) and concluding in the main square of Santiago del Teide.
Participants dressed in traditional Canarian clothing portrayed shepherds, farmers, rural women and other figures from the island’s past, recreating scenes from the old trading routes that once linked communities across the northwest of Tenerife.
Traditional music, folk dancing, stick fighting demonstrations, shepherd’s pole displays and historical performances accompanied the procession as it followed the historic Camino Real into the town.
Keeping traditions alive
The initiative was launched two decades ago by Juan Antonio Jorge Peraza, with support from the Fundación Tenerife Rural and the Cabildo de Tenerife, to preserve an important part of the island’s ethnographic heritage.
Along the route, many participants shared personal memories of the old barter system and the seasonal journeys once undertaken by their families, highlighting the event’s strong community roots.
Members of the Santiago del Teide Municipal Folklore School, whose participants range in age from children to adults in their seventies, also took part in the re-enactment alongside several cultural groups from across Tenerife.
Tradition alongside modern events
This year’s event coincided with the MasterChef Challenge taking place nearby at La Casona del Patio, creating a striking contrast between modern culinary entertainment and Tenerife’s traditional rural heritage.
While contestants competed in contemporary cooking challenges, the historic re-enactment focused on the customs, trades and exchanges that once shaped everyday life in the island’s farming communities.
A traditional Canarian ending
The celebration concluded in Santiago del Teide’s main square, where participants and visitors enjoyed a traditional Canarian meal of salted pork ribs, potatoes and corn on the cob (costillas, papas y piñas), bringing the historic journey to a fitting close.
Now in its twentieth edition, Al Paso de la Cumbre continues to preserve one of Tenerife’s most distinctive rural traditions, offering new generations the opportunity to experience an important chapter of the island’s history.