Carnival of Arrecife: the sailors of Los Buches, inflated fish stomachs and a sardine on Ash Wednesday
Monday, six o'clock in the evening, Arrecife, the Cruz Roja roundabout. The Gran Coso, the big parade, is setting off, but the floats aren't at the front. At the front marches a sailors' parranda, in costumes designed by César Manrique, holding inflated fish stomachs, buches. They are Los Buches, and if you only want to see one thing at the Arrecife carnival, make it them.
When it usually happens
Arrecife follows the traditional carnival calendar. It lasts about two weeks and ends exactly on Ash Wednesday, with the burial of the sardine (Entierro de la Sardina). The pattern:
On the morning of the first Saturday, the traditional carnival, led by Los Buches.
Over the two weeks, galas and contests: murgas, the carnival's satirical singing groups, the election of the Queen and the Children's Queen, the drag gala.
On Carnival Monday, two days before Ash Wednesday, the Gran Coso at six in the evening.
On Ash Wednesday, the burial of the sardine, which closes the carnival.
What this looks like in practice: in 2024 the Coso was on 12 February and the burial of the sardine on the 14th. In 2025 the opening proclamation was on 21 February, and the sardine was buried on 5 March. In 2026 the carnival ran from 6 to 18 February, with the Coso on the 16th.
Ash Wednesday depends on Easter, so carnival moves from year to year, landing in February or early March. The exact programme is published by the town hall. As soon as it's out, we add it to our agenda.
Who Los Buches are
In old Arrecife, at carnival time, sailors roamed the streets in old peasant clothes and mesh masks, carrying inflated fish stomachs. They were banned in 1936 and came back in 1963. Today the Parranda Marinera de Los Buches carries on that heritage.
According to the local press, a buche is the stomach of certain large fish, such as corvina, cured and blown up like a balloon. That's what they whack the onlookers with.
Their traditional costume was designed by César Manrique, and the parranda received the Medalla de Oro de Canarias, the Canary Islands Gold Medal, for its contribution to the cultural heritage of the city and of the whole archipelago.
You can see them on two occasions:
On the morning of the first Saturday they lead the traditional port carnival (Carnaval Tradicional Porteño). In 2026 the procession went from the fish market quay (Muelle de la Pescadería) to the bandstand (Kiosco de la Música).
On Carnival Monday they open the Gran Coso, in homage to the most traditional carnival.
The Gran Coso
The big parade sets off at six in the evening on Carnival Monday. Floats, murgas, comparsas, batucadas and people in costume all take part. In recent years the route has run from the Cruz Roja roundabout to Avenida de Agramar.
At the start of the route there's a noise-free zone (Zona Sin Ruidos), in 2025 from the starting point to the Ciudad Deportiva Lanzarote roundabout.
In 2024 the three winning floats also took part in the burial of the sardine on Ash Wednesday.
The burial of the sardine
On Ash Wednesday the carnival closes with the burial of the sardine. In 2026 it was burned at El Reducto once again.
The rest of the two weeks
According to the town hall's 2026 presentation, the programme includes the adult and children's murga contests, the election of the Queen and the Children's Queen, the drag gala, the traditional carnival, the Carnaval de Día, the daytime carnival, at several points in the town centre, and the Carnaval Juvenil for young people. In 2026 the drag gala was on the first Monday, 9 February, at nine in the evening.
A different theme every year
The theme is decided by a public online vote. In 2025 it was the world of fantasy, in 2026 children's TV of the eighties and nineties (with 504 votes, 45 per cent of the total), and in 2027 it will be "Las mil y una noches", the Thousand and One Nights. It was chosen with 32.06 per cent of the votes in a vote held from 20 April to 6 May 2026.
What we know about 2027
The theme is official, but the town hall hasn't announced the dates yet. Our own calculation, not an announcement: if the carnival follows its usual pattern, in 2027 it would end on 10 February, Ash Wednesday. Don't book a flight on that basis; wait for the programme.
Practical information
The venues change from year to year. In 2025 most events moved to the Agramar and Puerto Naos area. In 2026 the opening proclamation was in the Parque Islas Canarias, and the street events were in three places: by El Almacén, on the Plaza de Las Palmas and on Avenida Marítima. Check the current ones in the programme.
Official news appears on the town hall website, under the carnival tag.
If you'd like to explore the island as well as the carnival: What to See in Lanzarote: The Essential Sights. And you'll find the calendar of every Canary carnival here: Carnival in the Canary Islands: where, when, and which one to choose.
Cover photo: a drumming group at the Arrecife carnival, 2026, Fry72 (Karel Frydrýšek), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources: Arrecife town hall, carnival news · The 2026 carnival presentation · The history of Los Buches · Canarias7, the 2026 programme · Biosfera Digital on what a buche is