The People of Gran Canaria

"Canarians are like the Giant Teide, snowy quietness on the outside and fire in the heart..." (folk song).

Long before the first European sailors arrived on the Canary Islands, all seven islands were inhabited. Guanches, ‘guan’ (meaning 'man') and ‘che’ (meaning ‘white mountain’ referring to the snow-crowned Teide on Tenerife) in the native tongue, was the name given to those inhabitants. Guanches are believed to have arrived on the islands between the 5^th and the 1^st century B.C., probably from Africa. According to Spanish historical records, the Guanches were tall, strongly built, white-skinned, blue-eyed and blond-haired.

The Guanches were cave dwellers, which was a logical development with regard to the climate of the Canary Islands. A cave dwelling was the perfect solution for both summer and winter, keeping people cooler or warmer, and also for storage purposes.

But how did the Guanches arrive on the islands if there was no evidence of Guanche boats? Actually, no one knows for sure, although people think that pirates marooned them there or they could have been convicts exiled by Romans or Carthaginians. Another theory says that they may have floated across from North Africa on reed craft.

Although the Guanches learned well how to adjust their way of living to the rocky landscapes and lived in caves or simple huts built out of rocks, their society was not entirely primitive: they had a relatively sophisticated social structure. This varied from island to island, but most of them had a tribal structure, ruled by a chieftain who was in turn advised by a council of elders. When discovered by the Spaniards, the natives were advanced enough to have pottery. Their main food staples were milk, butter, goat and pork meat, and some fruits. Their clothing consisted of leather tunics or vests made of plaited rushes. They left alphabet-like characters and rock carvings and paintings, yet the meanings of which are obscure.

The Gran Canaria of today boasts, with an average of 465 people per square kilometer, the highest housing density not only of the archipelago but also of all European regions. Almost half of its population concentrates in the city of Las Palmas, a great ethnic mix lending it a very cosmopolitan image.

Today’s inhabitants of Gran Canaria are a proud, friendly and easygoing people, the majority of them being descendants of the Spanish conquerors and colonisers and assimilated Guanches. In general, they are open minded, willing to help and pleased to show visitors their culture and their island.

As a result of having been a bridge between Europe and  the continents of America and Africa for so long, many members of other nations – in particular merchant families and seafaring people – have  settled on the Canary Islands from early on. Their descendants are fully integrated in the island’s society, where nobody would deny them their status of a genuine ‘Canario’.

Almost 96 per cent of the inhabitants of the Canary Islands are Roman Catholics, who are very tradition-conscious, which can be witnessed on big religious feast days and particularly during the ‘Semana Santa’ (Holy Week before Easter), when extensive celebrations take place all over the islands.

The Gran Canaria of today boasts, with an average of 465 people per square kilometer, the highest housing density not only of the archipelago but also of all European regions. Almost half of its population concentrates in the city of Las Palmas, a great ethnic mix lending it a very cosmopolitan image.


Today’s inhabitants of Gran Canaria are a proud, friendly and easygoing people, the majority of them being descendants of the Spanish conquerors and colonisers and assimilated Guanches. In general, they are open minded, willing to help and pleased to show visitors their culture and their island.