Bajada de las Hayas - La Guancha

In recent years, the Bajada de las Hayas has become the leading attraction of local festivities in La Guancha, held every second Saturday in August, in honour of their patron saint, Our Lady of Hope. This popular event began as a kind of romería or religious procession when local people and their beasts of burden went into the hills. They went in search of beech-tree branches to decorate the square and streets along the route of the procession. This unusual band would return to the town to a warm welcome from the townsfolk who would invite them to food and wine as they passed on their way to the church square to set up the striking enrame or decorations.
After several years when lorries were used for the bajada or descent, the original form of transport has been reclaimed. Local people, clad in traditional costume and carrying rods decorated with beech branches and paper flowers, accompany the animals and their drivers along the way. Amid singing, wine and local delicacies, the parade wends its way down from the nearby hillside until it reaches the church square, bringing a day of tradition and shared festivities to an end.