Arafo sits up in the hills above the Güímar valley, and it earns its "village of music" reputation on the romeria day, when half a dozen folk bands seem to be playing at once. Oxen pull decorated carts loaded with bread, gofio and wreaths of greenery, and the villagers walking alongside in traditional dress will press a cup of local wine or a hunk of food into your hands as they pass. It is the kind of thing that happens to you rather than something you watch from behind a barrier.
The romeria falls on the Saturday before the last Sunday of August, with the wider patron festivities running through to the end of the month. Expect drums, timple strumming, the smell of wood smoke and roasting meat, and a town that simply opens its doors. Turn up, follow the music, and don't be shy about accepting what's offered.
