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A sampling of Canary Islands heritage

The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas. Yinan Chen [Public Domain]

Being able to trace ancestry back to settlers from the Canary Islands is a huge deal in San Antonio. Those settlers, a group of 15 families who travelled from the Canary Islands at the invitation of King Philip V of Spain, founded the small town of "La Villa de San Fernando" - as San Antonio, Texas was then called - on March 9, 1731. Probably the most famous contribution the Canary Islanders made was building the San Antonio de Valero Mission, later known as The Alamo.

This weekend, members of two folk groups - Princesa Dácil and Cabuqueros - are visiting San Antonio, from the Canary Islands to perform a series of demonstrations of traditional music and dance. Then, on Tuesday, they join Domingo Rodríguez Oramas, "El Colorao," one of the Canary Islands' best known timple - the traditional five stringed instrument - players, for a concert.

El folklore canario se escuchará en el Folk Live Festival de San Antonio de Texas

Tenerife Land of Eternal Christmas

Sunbathing SantaDesert Island ChristmasScuba Diving SantaTropical Santa
Santa's Having a Whale of a TimeSurfing SantaWaterski SantaCamel Rodeo Santa
With a wide range of products in each design, click the pics (above) to see the full selections.