San Cristóbal de La Laguna

A small coastal town in Tenerife, Candelaria owes its name to Nuestra Señora de Candelaria: the patron saint of the Canary Islands. A modern church on the central square houses her effigy which is the subject of an important pilgrimage every August. The original statue, probably from the bow of a ship, was allegedly discovered in 1393 by two Guanche shepherds, but it was washed away by a tidal wave in 1826. A dozen statues of ancient Guanche chiefs can also be found in Candelaria.