Buches parranda unveils recreated historic costumes in Arrecife on 27 August

The Asociacion Parranda Marinera de Buches holds a cultural day on Thursday 27 August, split between two venues in Arrecife and combining heritage, costume, craft skills and music. It opens at 7pm at the Casa de la Cultura Agustin de la Hoz with the official presentation of the group's project to recover its traditional garments, and continues with a guitar concert.

The project has two strands. One is the recreation of 18th and 19th century costumes linked to the entrudo, the traditional carnival of Arrecife. The other is the making of seafarers' clothing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, connected to the memory of the old Posito de Pescadores, the fishermen's guild. The work was carried out with a grant from the Gobierno de Canarias in 2026 and has recovered garments, patterns and sewing techniques.

The main talk is given by Ricardo Reguera, a researcher specialising in the traditional dress of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, who will set out the historical background of seafaring dress and of Los Buches and how it relates to the changing society of the island. He is joined by Tania Nikolova, the craftswoman and seamstress who made the pieces; she will describe the production process, show technical details and take questions from the audience.

The event includes a live display of the finished costumes and a short ethnomusical performance of the classic song Niña Bonita. Migdalia Machin Tavio, Culture Councillor of the Gobierno de Canarias, and Abigail Gonzalez Guillen, Culture Councillor of Arrecife, are expected to attend, together with Juan Antonio Machado and Juan David Machado.

What the parranda de buches actually is

The buches are inflated fish bladders, historically taken from fish caught off the African coast, which the parranderos carry and use to tap onlookers during carnival in Arrecife. The music and the rhythm are the part visitors usually see; the clothing has received far less attention. Reconstructing cuts, fabrics and stitching is a way of reading the working history of the port: who went to sea, with what resources, and how they dressed. Thursday's session is a chance to see the garments up close and ask the people who researched and sewed them.