Quick answer: this is a historical food-festival story, not a current event listing. The photographs were taken at the II Festival del Patudo Canario y los Vinos de Tenerife, held in Tegueste in March 2017. If a new edition appears, use the organiser’s live programme for dates, tickets and travel details rather than assuming the same plan returns every year.
The old “Tuntsa” spelling is not the name of a local festival. It is a translation slip around the word for tuna. The real Spanish title is longer, more delicious, and much easier to find once you know it: Festival del Patudo Canario y los Vinos de Tenerife.
We drove north for it on a bright day while the south was getting soaked. Tenerife enjoys making weather forecasts look a little too confident. The reward was a small, cheerful tasting event where chefs cooked tuna tapas in front of us and local wine had a very convincing supporting role.
What happened in Tegueste in 2017?
The 2017 programme lists the second edition from 17 to 19 March, with the Mercadillo del Agricultor de Tegueste as its main meeting point. It brought together culinary demonstrations, tastings and a tuna-tapa fair alongside Tenerife wines.
The idea was not a tourist show performed at arm’s length. It put Canarian tuna, island wine and working cooks in the same small space. That is why the photographs are mostly hands, plates and bottles rather than a grand stage. This was lunch doing its job properly.
The festival also used the name Tegueste tiene mar — “Tegueste has a sea”. It is a good line for an inland town that was temporarily looking towards the fishing side of the island through its food and wine.
Why the proper name matters
Patudo canario is the ingredient at the heart of the event; the title pairs it with wines from Tenerife. Calling it simply a “Tuntsa festival” hides both the food and the place, then sends people searching for something that was never officially called that.
The 2017 programme presented the festival as a collaboration around Canarian tuna, Tenerife wine, chefs and the agricultural market. That makes this a food-memory page with useful context, not a promise that a tasting fair will be on during your holiday.
Local verdict: come to this page for a real small-event memory and a useful name, not for a fictional permanent festival calendar.
Is Tegueste worth the detour?
Yes, if you enjoy local food, wine and a quieter north-side day more than collecting another beach pin. Tegueste sits close enough to La Laguna to make a natural cultural pairing, but it has a different rhythm: less grand-city wandering, more valley-and-market logic.
I would not turn it into a race from the south coast with three other major stops glued on. If your trip needs a bigger north plan, use the North Tenerife guide first. If you are still choosing the shape of the whole holiday, the broader Things to Do in Tenerife guide will help you decide whether a food-and-town day actually fits.
| Traveller | Why this story helps | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Culture-focused visitor | A small food event can show the island through producers and cooks, not only scenery. | Do not mistake this 2017 story for a confirmed future programme. |
| First-timer with a car | Tegueste and La Laguna make more sense as one unhurried north-side idea. | Keep the day flexible; weather and live event logistics decide the final shape. |
| Family | Shared tasting and a market setting can be pleasant when the live programme includes family-friendly activity. | Check current timings, queues, allergens and children’s programming before committing. |
| Photographer | Food preparation and wine service gave us intimate detail rather than postcard scenery. | Ask before close portraits and never block a cook or a stall for a shot. |
Free Tenerife map
Making a north-side day without a Tenerife zigzag?
My free Tenerife map helps you see which places belong in one route and which deserve their own day. It is useful if you are pairing Tegueste with La Laguna instead of trying to drive the entire island before dinner.
The food we actually ate
The chefs gave us much more than a slice of tuna on a plate: ceviche with lemongrass sauce, tuna burgers with vegetables and avocado cream, and tuna served over sweet potato. Small plates, yes. Timid, absolutely not.
Stands with local wines ran alongside the tapas. In the 2017 edition, a single tapa ticket cost €2.50 and wine €1; a three-tapas-and-four-drinks offer was €10. Those are part of the memory, not useful planning prices. Food, formats, portions and prices must be treated as live information.
We bought four tasting tickets and somehow received five. I will not pretend to understand the accounting. We were very happy with the outcome.
If a future edition appears
Start with Tegueste’s official festival information and the market or named organiser’s own announcement. Confirm the dates, exact venue, ticket system, allergens, family activity, bus reinforcement, road access and parking only when that programme exists.
For a no-car visitor, this matters even more: special transport is event-specific and can change from one edition to another. For drivers, the same rule applies to access and parking. Do not use an old photo story as a reservation system.
Pack a light layer and an umbrella if the forecast looks unsettled. Our north-side day was sunny while the south was rainy, which is a nice reminder that Tenerife does not always follow the neat north-versus-south postcard version of itself.
How to enjoy it respectfully
A tasting fair works best when you treat it as somebody else’s working day, not a set. Queue without leaning over the counter, let cooks plate before you photograph, ask before making close portraits, and keep children beside you in busy serving areas.
If you drink, make the car decision before the first glass. If you are travelling with children or anyone with food restrictions, do not rely on an old menu: ask the live stall about ingredients and pace the day around an actual meal, not seven heroic bites of tuna.
Safety rule: festival routes, parking rules, ticketing and food-allergy information belong to the current organiser. A beautiful old photograph is not a live instruction.
A small festival, properly enjoyed
We have fewer photographs than usual because we spent more time enjoying the moment. That still feels like the correct editorial decision. The point was not to turn every tapa into evidence; it was to taste something thoughtful, drink something local and let a small north-Tenerife afternoon be enough.
If your holiday puts you in Tegueste or La Laguna when a properly announced edition returns, go with curiosity and a loose plan. If it does not, keep the name for the food memory and build your trip around the places that are actually open that day.
