The La Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe hermitage, is located in Agua de Bueyes, in Antigua municipality, over a small rise which is part of the south-east slope of the “Lomo la Virgen” (the Virgin’s hillock). It was founded by Dña. María Gutiérrez the 28th of January of 1642.
It was originally constructed with masonry walls and covered with lumber and mortar. In 1718 extension works provided the hermitage with a second floor, with tile roofing. In 1757 the vestry was added to the hermitage and in 1773 the belfry was concluded as well as a barbican surrounding the building. In 1792 doors were put in the barbican to prevent lifestock from coming into the premises.
The building we can see nowadays does not differ much from how it looked in the late 1700’s: a single nave with two Roman Arch masonry doors and a triple-sloped roof. The vestry is in the northern side of the building, attached to the wall.
The hermitage itself has two doors facing westwards and southwards. The façade, on the west side, has a cross and an oculus carved in white masonry. All the premises are surrounded by a barbican.
Inside the hermitage there are a number of sacred art pieces:
• A wooden Altar Piece painted, with fruit and vegetable motifs, in 1782 by the artist Juan Bautista Hernández Bolaños. The Altar Piece has a vaulted niche housing a figure of the “Cristo Crucificado” (Jesus Christ on the Cross).
• A smaller XIX c. wooden Altar Piece with geometrical and floral motifs. Its vaulted niche has a representation of La Virgen de los Dolores.
• A XVIII pulpit, made in wood.
• Oil paintings, sculptures, antique furniture and a white masonry baptismal font.
When it was originally constructed the hermitage was an isolated building on a hillock that could be seen from any point in the surroundings. Nowadays, there are several public buildings next to it: a school and a cultural centre. In the 1990’s the outdoor area, between the hermitage and the barbican, was paved and public lavatories were constructed.

Source:BOC, Boletín oficial de Canarias