SPAIN

International Folklore Festival of Villa de Ingenio "Solidarity Festival of the Peoples"

The International Folklore Festival of Villa de Ingenio was founded in 1996 at the initiative of the Cultural Association Coros y Danzas de Ingenio, a full member of CIOFF Spain, an organization operating under UNESCO. Consequently, among its primary objectives are working to safeguard, promote, and disseminate traditional and popular culture; fostering cultural exchange among the peoples of the world; encouraging artistic creativity grounded in respect for individuals and cultural diversity; recovering, preserving, and disseminating the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of global communities; and positioning the image of Ingenio, Gran Canaria, and the Canary Islands as a beacon of popular culture worldwide. The International Folklore Festival of Villa de Ingenio is held during the final weeks of July and is structured around two main components: the ethnographic sessions—now designated as the Ethnography and Folklore Campus by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria—and the festival itself. The folkloric events unfold over seven days and include performances, parades, exhibitions, intercultural meals, film cycles, and more. The broad catalogue of traditional folklore—rich and diverse in themes, musical instruments, dances, and the vibrant colours of its costumes—constitutes for each community, region, and country a profound sociocultural and ethnographic construct. At the same time, it reflects the outcome of numerous identity-shaping and differentiating processes that have underscored the uniqueness and idiosyncrasy of every place. Groups from every continent and from more than forty countries have taken part in this Festival, now a well-established event and the most significant cultural reference of its kind from the Canary Islands abroad.