Carnival of Valverde: El Hierro's capital, where the residents build the parade
Saturday, half past five in the afternoon, Valverde, Calle San Juan. From here the Coso sets off towards the El Puente area, and according to the programme it lasts until half past eight in the evening. In the procession: individual costumes and groups, floats (carrozas), decorated cars and a category the programme simply calls shopping car. Each one has its own prize: in 2026 a total of seven thousand euros was handed out across the carnival's contests and the Children's Queen gala.
According to the mayor, this is one of the town's most participatory celebrations, where residents "work for months to give shape to fantasies that fill our streets with colour, joy and creativity".
When it usually happens
Valverde holds its main weekend after Ash Wednesday, not before it. The pattern, from the programmes of recent years:
On Friday, the schools' parade, and in the evening the Children's Queen gala.
On Saturday afternoon, the big Coso, followed by a costume ball.
The burial of the sardine (Entierro de la Sardina) moves around: in 2024 it fell on the Wednesday of the following week, in 2026 on the Sunday of the same weekend.
What this looks like in practice: in 2024 Ash Wednesday was 14 February, and the carnival days were 16, 17, 18 and 21 February. In 2025 Ash Wednesday fell on 5 March, the Friday on 7 March and the Saturday parade on the 8th. In 2026 Ash Wednesday was 18 February, and the carnival ran from 20 to 22 February.
For 2027 the theme is already set (see below), but the town hasn't announced a date yet. That year Ash Wednesday is 10 February. The exact programme is published by the town hall on its website, aytovalverde.org, and not long beforehand: on 5 February in 2024, on 27 February in 2025, barely a week before the start, and on 28 January in 2026. As soon as it's out, we add it to our agenda.
Friday: the schools and the Children's Queen
The carnival starts with the schools. In 2026 the CEIP Valverde and the small schools (Unitarias) took part in the Coso Infantil. In 2024 and 2025 the same thing ran under the name Cabalgata Anunciadora, in the morning, with the schools.
In the evening comes the Gala de Elección de la Reina Infantil, the election of the Children's Queen at the Valverde sports hall (Polideportivo de Valverde): in 2026 at nine in the evening, in 2024 and 2025 at half past eight.
Saturday: the Coso and the ball
In both 2024 and 2026 the big parade set off at half past five in the afternoon from the San Juan side and went as far as the El Puente area. In 2025 it set off at six in the evening, from the San Juan football ground. The prize categories: individual costume, group, float, decorated car and shopping car.
Straight after comes the costume ball, where prizes are also awarded: in 2026 on Calle San Francisco, in 2025 in El Puente.
If you'd like to dress up and join the parade yourself: in 2026 you had to register for the parade before 15 February, through the town hall's registry or its online services portal (Sede Electrónica).
The burial of the sardine
The close is different every year. In 2026 the Sunday was the last day: the procession went from the town hall warehouse (Almacén del Ayuntamiento) to the Plaza Santiago, where grilled sardines were offered from half past six.
In 2024 it was buried a week after Ash Wednesday, on the Wednesday, with the procession going from the cemetery to the plazoleta El Consejo. The sardine was accompanied by The Vid Band, along with the widows, widowers and mascaritas, who, in the town hall's words, bade farewell to Don Carnal "with their most heartfelt weeping".
A different theme every year
In recent years the theme has been voted for by the residents, on the town hall's social media. In 2024 it was Cuba ("Mi Linda Cuba"), which also came with a Habana Party on the Sunday in El Puente, running from the afternoon into the evening. In 2026 horror films and their creatures took to the streets. The 2027 theme is "Los dibujos animados", cartoons: it won with 89 votes, 35.7 per cent of the total.
The theme is settled well before the date: the 2026 one was announced in September 2025, the 2027 one in May 2026.
Further afield: the Carneros de Tigaday, which aren't from Valverde
If you'd like to look around elsewhere on the island at carnival time, it's worth knowing about another town's tradition. The Carneros de Tigaday are not a Valverde tradition but Tigaday's, in the municipality of La Frontera. According to the Government of the Canary Islands, they're held on Carnival Sunday and Tuesday: mostly the village's young people, dressed entirely in ram or sheep skins, run through the streets and chase the crowd. In February 2018 they were declared a protected cultural asset (Bien de Interés Cultural).
If you'd like to explore the island as well as the carnival: What to See in El Hierro: The Wildest Island of the Canaries. 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: the church of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción in Valverde (not a carnival photo), 2009, Mataparda, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources: Valverde town hall, the 2026 programme · The 2026 parade route and prizes · The 2026 prize money · The 2027 theme · The Government of the Canary Islands on the Carneros de Tigaday