There are traditions in Tenerife that are about much more than simply marking a date on the calendar.
The annual traditional cereal harvest in Icod El Alto, in Los Realejos, is one of them. It brings families and neighbours together around an agricultural tradition that has been passed down through generations, while also remembering those who spent their lives working the land.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Diego Pérez Traditional Harvest Festival, an event supported by Los Realejos Town Council, the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Tenerife Rural Foundation.
Despite the mist and rain, the harvest went ahead.
A tradition passed from one generation to the next
Among those taking part were Erasma González and Gloria Rodríguez, whose late husbands had played an important role in the area’s wheat-growing tradition.
Their sons, Andrés Hernández and Fernando Torres, have now taken on those responsibilities, continuing work that had previously been carried out by their fathers.
It’s a simple but powerful reminder that agricultural traditions don’t survive because someone puts them in a museum. They survive because somebody keeps doing the work.
The future of farming is the real concern
The harvest also highlighted one of the biggest challenges facing traditional agriculture in Tenerife.
Farmers and participants spoke openly about the difficulties of keeping farming alive, particularly as fewer young people are choosing agriculture as a career.
Lifelong farmer Vicente Suárez Llano pointed to the low yields from today’s crops, while young folklore singer Mateo Felipe said he remains determined to continue farming.
His message was straightforward. Local cultivation needs to be maintained, even when making a living from it isn’t easy.
And that’s probably the bigger story behind events like this.
The harvest is not simply about looking back at how things were done in the past. It’s about asking whether there will be anyone left to do them in the future.
Food, folklore and a bit of Tenerife history
The event ended, as these things often should, around a table.
Traditional food including potatoes, gofio, salted fish and wine brought the community together after the work in the fields.
Icod El Alto continues to preserve a piece of Tenerife’s rural identity that is becoming harder to find elsewhere.
The cereal harvest is a celebration, certainly. But it’s also a reminder that the island’s agricultural heritage depends on people willing to keep the traditions going.
Because once those skills disappear, they aren’t quite as easy to bring back as an old photograph.
📍 Where: Icod El Alto, Los Realejos, Tenerife
📅 When: August 2026
🎟️ Event: 20th Diego Pérez Traditional Harvest Festival