The Bajada de la Virgen, oral tradition, herding culture, music and food all show the continuity of community life.
El Hierro keeps traditions that cannot be explained only as festive events: they depend on trades, paths, speech, food and community memory.
Among its main reference points are Myth of the edge, Biosphere Reserve, Energy innovation, which connect landscape, memory and everyday life. Living culture shows how the island turns its past into recognisable practices within contemporary society.
Key points
The Bajada de la Virgen de los Reyes
The most important festival on El Hierro, held every four years; the image of the Virgin is carried in procession from the sanctuary of La Dehesa to Valverde, drawing huge participation.
Herding culture and El Hierro cheese
Livestock farming has been the backbone of the island's economy; El Hierro cheese, made from a blend of cow, sheep and goat milk, has its own denomination and is a gastronomic benchmark.
Whistled speech and oral tradition
Though less well known than the silbo gomero, El Hierro has its own traditions of vocal and oral communication, born on an island where hamlets were separated by ravines and mountains.
Renewable energy as identity
The Gorona del Viento project (wind and hydro) made El Hierro the first island in the world to run on 100% renewable energy for extended periods, from 2014 onwards.