Fuerteventura singer Gara Alemán joined Luis Fonsi on stage after the Puerto Rican artist invited her to perform during his set. The appearance came before the largest audience yet recorded for a live concert on the island, at the second and final night of Arena Negra 2026 in Gran Tarajal, Tuineje, on Saturday, 7 November.
The beach filled for Fonsi’s performance, scheduled for 22:00. It brought together more than 27 years of his career with songs from his latest artistic period, represented by the album «El Viaje». His international hit «Despacito» was among the successes associated with his career. The festival said this year’s edition drew its biggest crowd to date. The Saturday programme also featured Los Secretos at 20:00, Delaossa at midnight and Lauta at 01:45; La Provincia described the final night’s attendance around the seafront and beach as multitudinous.
Los Secretos opened the main-stage programme with an exceptional performance outside a tour. Their full-band sound and songs familiar to several generations set up a bill that later moved into urban music. The two-night festival opened on Friday, 6 November, with Merche, Rosana, Álvaro de Luna and Juan Magán. Diario de Fuerteventura reported that organizers described the Friday as the most heavily attended in Arena Negra’s history.
Delaossa, from Málaga, performed tracks from «La Madrugá», bringing his blend of tradition and contemporary sounds to the beach. Argentine artist Lauta closed the concerts with a set combining pop and R&B alongside urban music. The Canary Islands group Nueva Línea joined him on stage for the final performance.
The festival also had a daytime programme at the Gran Tarajal fairground, with hundreds of people gathering in the leisure area. Timbeque opened around midday with music drawing on the Canaries and Latin America. ContraVentura, led by Majorero timple player David Rodríguez Santana, «El Majorero», fused the timple and the Majorero contra with jazz, funk, rock and flamenco.
Andrea Rodríguez y la Banda del Trópico followed with «Songo & Pambiche», a project linking the Canaries and the Caribbean. NIA then brought her experience in tropical music and salsa to the programme, while Kilombo Improvisado closed the daytime sets with original songs and popular rhythms. The daytime bill also included the groups ContraVentura and Timbeque.
DJ and LOS40 presenter Óscar Martínez accompanied stage changes and the periods around the concerts. Majorera actress Mariam Hernández hosted the festival. The event was organised by the Cabildo de Fuerteventura with support from the Government of the Canary Islands, Tuineje Town Council, Cajasiete and Asociación La Gavia. Special interurban bus services on line 16 connected Puerto del Rosario and Gran Tarajal for the festival dates, with scheduled outbound departures at 20:00, 20:30, 22:00 and 22:30 and return services at 21:00, 21:30, 01:00, 02:00, 03:00, 04:00 and 04:30.
Arena Negra’s record attendance came as another Spanish festival faced a different outcome: organisers cancelled the 2026 Festivern after repeated rain and mounting pressure on small festivals, detailed in a Festivern cancellation report.
