Monument To The Herreño Dancers

This intriguing sculpture by El Hierro artist Rubén Armiche represents the Bajada de la Virgen de los Reyes (Descent of the Virgin of the Kings). It was created using recycled materials—beneath its white outer layer lies a variety of urban waste, including old appliances, car parts, and scrap wood. The piece is part of a project called Reutilizart, which aims to combine waste reuse and art to create outdoor sculptures across the island.

The front of the sculpture features two dancers of the Virgin, wearing symbolic headdresses (gorros)—each town has its own distinctive design, with seven in total.

As a fun fact about these gorros: the colorful small pieces that decorate them are actually beverage bottle caps, collected by local schoolchildren. This initiative was meant to engage children in the project and help them understand the concept of recycling, particularly through reuse.

Behind the dancers is a depiction of the corso, the procession in which the Virgin of the Kings is carried along traditional paths on the day of the Bajada. This is a deeply rooted religious and cultural event held every four years on the first Saturday of July. It is a one-day pilgrimage where the Virgin is brought from her hermitage in La Dehesa to the Church of Valverde. Over the following month, she is moved from one village to another, and on the first Saturday of August, she is returned to her hermitage in what is known as the Subida de la Virgen (Ascent of the Virgin). The next Bajada will take place in 2013.