The first time you set foot in San Sebastián de La Gomera, it feels as though time has paused. Cobbled streets, the stone tower watching over the park, the church where sailors and explorers once prayed before heading out to sea… everything whispers the same secret: this is where one of the most momentous adventures in human history began. It was from this small bay, framed by mountains and palms, that on 6 September 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail towards a New World.
Every September, that chapter is brought back to life with La Gomera’s Columbian Festival, an event that is far more than celebration or ceremony: it is a journey in itself. A bridge between past and present, memory and future, the island’s traditions and its bonds with the Americas.
An island that made the voyage of 1492 possible
Columbus reached La Gomera after leaving Palos de la Frontera in Huelva. In the town — then known as Villa de Palmas, for the vast palm grove surrounding the harbour — he found the perfect haven to prepare for his crossing. Here his ships were replenished with fresh water from the Pozo de la Aguada, stocked with provisions and timber, and reinforced with skilled Canarian seafarers. And here too, the chronicles say, began his romance with Beatriz de Bobadilla, the island’s feudal lady, a relationship that may have been as influential as the supplies in his decision to return in 1493 and 1498.
Without La Gomera, the story of the Discovery might have unfolded differently. That certainty inspired the first Columbian Week in 1961, the seed of today’s Festival. Over time, the celebration grew, each edition dedicated to a Latin American country, strengthening cultural ties between the Canary Islands and the Americas. The Fifth Centenary in 1992 marked a turning point: new cultural venues were opened and the Festival took on an international dimension.
Now, more than sixty editions later, the Columbian Festival is still going strong. In 2024, it even broke with tradition by focusing not on a single country, but on the theme of migration, a reminder that the Atlantic has not only been a route of discovery, but remains a stage for human challenges today.
September: a month to step back in time
Each September, La Gomera dresses for the occasion. From the first days of the month, the island’s six municipalities — San Sebastián, Hermigua, Agulo, Vallehermoso, Valle Gran Rey and Alajeró — fill with activity. But at the heart of it all lies 6 September, when the main institutional ceremony takes place in the Parque de la Torre del Conde.
On that day, local and regional authorities, joined by representatives of the guest nation or theme, pay tribute with a deeply symbolic act: casting a laurel wreath into the sea, in memory of the sailors who never returned and the emigrants who left the island in search of a future. Music, flags in the wind and the solemn setting turn the moment into a collective surge of emotion.
Culture, music and tradition
The Columbian Festival is not a single event, but a mosaic of experiences open to all.
Talks and exhibitions recalling the historic ties between the Canary Islands and the Americas, often organised in collaboration with the UNED’s Canarias–América Chair.
Concerts and festivals filling squares and auditoriums with Canarian folk music, Latin American rhythms, décima and punto cubano, or classical piano recitals.
Theatre, comedy and magic, because the Festival is also about joy and entertainment for all ages.
Food and crafts, with tastings of almogrote, palm honey or local wines, and displays of traditional pottery honouring the famed loceras of El Cercado.
Sport and the sea, with the Veterans’ Columbian Football Tournament and the Palos–La Gomera Regatta, which retraces the original route from Huelva.
The Seniors’ Gathering, a heartfelt day dedicated to the island’s older generations, with activities, music and shared meals.
Parades and children’s workshops, ensuring that the youngest also experience the Festival as their own.
The magic lies in how all these threads intertwine: history and remembrance, but also music under the stars, the aroma of traditional dishes, family laughter, and the murmur of the ocean reminding us that from here set sail a voyage that changed the world.
Experiencing the Festival from the heart of San Sebastián
To live the Columbian Festival is to feel history first-hand. And there is no better place to do so than by staying opposite the park where the Torre del Conde still stands, silent witness to Columbus’s time on the island.
The Hotel Torre del Conde, in the very centre of San Sebastián, offers the perfect location to immerse yourself in the celebrations, just steps away from the main stages. From your room you can wake up overlooking the park where the most iconic events unfold, and wander within minutes to streets alive with music, flavours and colour throughout September.
Book your stay at Hotel Torre del Conde
Don’t miss the chance to experience one of the Canary Islands’ most remarkable events from its very epicentre. Book your stay at the Hotel Torre del Conde, facing the historic park that gives the hotel its name, and discover how La Gomera turns memory into living present at the Columbian Festival.