This traditional village festival, held to celebrate San Andrés (Saint Andrew), begins on the last weekend of November.
According to oral tradition, this celebration is now more than 100 years old. Every 30 November, Saint Andrew’s Day, chestnuts were roasted in the village houses and everyone who came by was invited to taste the wine from that year’s harvest. Alongside the food came the tradition of sliding down the village slopes on wooden boards, a custom believed to have been brought by people from Icod de los Vinos who settled and raised their families in Chío. Local residents build their carts (carros) from all kinds of materials, such as wood, metal, fibreglass and fabric. They make use of toys or toy parts, such as skateboards or bicycles. Once the frames are built, imagination runs wild when it comes to adding extras. Some even have music and lights, some are made in one piece and others in several, some with brakes and some without.
The festival has turned into a real competition among the locals. Since the streets were paved, the rudimentary boards of the early twentieth century have evolved into proper racing machines that compete not only to be the fastest, but also the best designed.
