{"id":10602,"date":"2026-01-18T18:07:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T18:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/discoverpuerto.es\/the-apanadas-in-puerto-del-rosario-a-living-heritage\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T18:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T18:42:01","slug":"the-apanadas-in-puerto-del-rosario-a-living-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discoverpuerto.es\/en\/the-apanadas-in-puerto-del-rosario-a-living-heritage\/","title":{"rendered":"The “apa\u00f1adas” in Puerto del Rosario, a living heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"

For those visiting Fuerteventura for the first time, the interior landscape – arid, vast and seemingly silent – can be disconcerting. However, behind those plains, ravines and ridges hides one of the oldest and most unique cultural traditions of the island: the “apa\u00f1adas”<\/strong>, an ancient livestock practice that is still alive today and has been declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

What are the “apa\u00f1adas”?<\/h4>\n

The apa\u00f1adas<\/strong> are collective gatherings in which shepherds meet to locate, group and organize the goats that live in the wild<\/strong> -known as coastal cattle-<\/em>and drive them to large dry stone corrals called gambuesas<\/strong>.
\nIt is not a party or a show, but an essential activity for the care of livestock<\/strong>, passed down from generation to generation since pre-Hispanic times, long before the arrival of Europeans to the island.<\/p>\n

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Puerto del Rosario and the largest concentration of livestock on the island<\/h4>\n

Although Puerto del Rosario is now the administrative capital of Fuerteventura, the municipality retains the highest concentration of livestock activity throughout the island<\/strong>, especially in its vast rural territory: Tesjuate, La Ampuyenta, Tef\u00eda, Llanos de la Concepci\u00f3n, Casillas del \u00c1ngel and large areas of coast and midlands.<\/p>\n

The municipality is part of the Mancomunidad Ganadera de Casillas<\/strong>, one of the five in which the majorera livestock is traditionally organized. From these territories are convened and develop numerous apa\u00f1adas throughout the year, making Puerto del Rosario in a key to understanding the traditional livestock of Fuerteventura core<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

How to develop an apa\u00f1ada<\/h4>\n

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The apa\u00f1ada begins before dawn<\/strong>. Under the coordination of the coastal commissioner<\/strong> -the maximum traditional authority in these practices- the shepherds are distributed through ravines, ridges and mountains to close the fence.
\nWith the help of shouts, whistles, bardino dogs and the traditional “lata<\/strong> ” (shepherd’s stick), the goats are guided little by little to the gambuesa. <\/p>\n

Once inside the pen, fundamental tasks are performed:<\/p>\n