Could some barley seeds rewrite the aboriginal history of the Canaries?

Trigo o cebada (wheat or barley)

The aboriginal peoples of the Canaries all descended from the same Berber ancestors who populated the archipelago some 2,000 years ago and who remained without communication between them until the Conquest, each one locked up on its own island. Although it is inexplicable, it's history, or is it ... 

What if some barley seeds questioned everything?

It is one of the aspects that most surprises those who approach the pre-Hispanic past of the Canary Islands for the first time: How is it possible that some peoples who necessarily came to the islands by sailing from North Africa forgot that ability? Can it be that century after century no one was curious to know who lived on those lands that can be seen from their island?

Not only do the chronicles written by the first European settlers say so, it is also that no archaeological evidence has been found to refute that claim: the ancient Canary Islanders did not sail, there was no movement between islands: a Gomero apparently didn't know of the existence of the Guanches of Tenerife, although Teide can be seen from almost anywhere on La Gomera. And this history suggests that not a single bimbache knew that 70 kilometers north of his land of El Hierro, on La Palma, the Benahoritas lived.

However, a work published this month in the "African Archeological Review" magazine reopens the debate on this question, with a different approach: what the archaeological record does not show, may be revealed (or at least suggested) by the DNA of a capital food in the diet of the Canarian aboriginal, barley.

Specialist in Archeobotany at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) Jacob Morales published some time ago that the farmers of the Canary Islands of the 21st century sow their fields with a relic: the same barley lineage that was already in the islands before of the Conquest, one that is conserved in several deposits, the same one that the Berber ancestors brought from the African continent. It has been genetically proven that the barley that is harvested in the Canary Islands now, is the same that was planted in the islands for the first time 2,000 years ago, Morales now makes the reverse journey with the help of the expert in Genetics from the University of Linköping (Sweden) Jenny Hagenblad.

The retrospective study of the DNA of Canarian barley today, tells us that it is a variety that separated from its continental African ancestor about 2,400 years ago; that about 1,800 years ago the barley of the rest of the islands were distinguished from that of Lanzarote, the oldest; and that those of Gran Canaria and Tenerife were genetically the same until 1,200 years ago.

The first conclusion almost agrees with the archaeological record, which dates the first human occupation of the Canary Islands between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD; the second affirms that agriculture reached the archipelago through the islands closest to Africa and the third ... the third is quite a surprise, because it indicates that there was communication between the two central islands of the Canary Islands until only 500 years before the arrival of the Castilian, Portuguese or Norman navigators.

Jacob Morales explains that barley is a cereal that is self-pollinated, so that quickly the variety that is planted in one region ends up distinguishing itself from the one that is grown in another. Almost self-replicating, unless there is an exchange of seeds. "And the seeds do not travel," he points out. In his opinion, the barley DNA opens a tempting hypothesis: that for centuries there was intense communication between islands in pre-Hispanic times, between those peoples that were supposedly always separated.

Morales admits that his study does not disprove the archaeological account accepted to date: no evidence of trade or exchange of goods between islands has been discovered, and there is, for example, neither a remnant of Grancanarian aboriginal ceramics in a site in Tenerife nor not the other way around. But this study on barley suggests that not everything is known, that archaeological evidence of communication between islands has not been found only means that, "that they have not been found" and requires further research.

¿Pueden unas semillas de cebada reescribir la historia aborigen de Canarias? (Via)

Pollo al ajillo (Garlic chicken)

Pollo al ajillo (Garlic chicken)

A classic in traditional Spanish cuisine. So much so, it's rare to find a bar or restaurant that does not have this dish on its menu, either as a tapa or main dish. Chicken is the star ingredient, flavoured with herbs and, of course, garlic.

Ingredients:

1 chicken approximately 1.5Kg cut into small pieces (maximum, eighths)

8 cloves of garlic

1 glass of dry white wine

4 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice

Fresh parsley

Oil and salt

Method:

Peel the garlic cloves, cut or crush and set aside. Wash the parsley, chop finely and reserve. In a shallow pan with a good spray of oil, fry the chicken to seal the meat and then remove and reserve. In the same pan, with the same oil, brown the chopped or crushed garlic. Once well browned, add back the chicken and stir for a minute. Then add the white wine and vinegar or lemon juice, season with salt. Leave over medium heat until the liquid reduces and forms a thick sauce. Add the chopped parsley and it is ready to serve.

El Mercado Municipal de La Laguna con la cocina de otoño: Pollo al ajillo

Cómo hacer pollo al ajillo

Tenerife in November 2020

Santa Lastenia Cemetery in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Photo Jose Mesa Some Rights Reserved

November usually begins with a National Public Holiday on the 1st November for Todos los Santos (All Saints Day), however, as this already falls on a Sunday in 2020, it was replaced with a date earlier in the year instead. All Saints is the day when families gather to lay flowers on the graves of deceased relatives and there are few religious days that mean quite so much to the people of Spain and the Canary Islands. More flowers are sold for All Saints Day than for Valentines Day. This year will inevitably be difficult with so many people lost to COVID-19, but with a need for restrictions to limit the number of people who gather.

Santa Lastenia Cemetery was one of the first to announce that they will control the capacity on the occasion of the Día de Finados (Day of the Dead). 

As announced in July the Asociación Cultural Pinolere have, this year, fused the 35th Pinolere Crafts Fair with the 10th Canary Islands Cheese Fair to hold a joint event on November 6, 7 and 8, 2020. The fair in person has been suspended and will now take place online only.

The 25º Subida Icod La Guancha (Icod-La Guancha Hillclimb), organised by the Escudería Daute-Realejos will take place on Saturday, November 7, and the route, once again, is the TF-342 highway, the road that connects the municipality of Icod de Los Vinos with the urban heart of La Guancha. The event has been given the green light by the health authorities, but organisers are asking for maximum collaboration from fans, including not attending if the island of Tenerife were to continue on red alert for COVID-19 after the 6 November.

Cuenta atrás para la XXV Subida Icod-La Guancha

The only municipal holiday is 25 November for Santa Catalina in Tacoronte. 

Black Week, a week of discounts in the 250 businesses that have signed up in Santa Cruz, will take place from 23 to 30 November. Councillor for Fiestas, Alfonso Cabello, stressed that “Black Week Santa Cruz is the starting signal for the Christmas campaign, one of the most important dates for the commercial sector" and added that, "according to a recent study by Deloitte, the accessories and gifts sector invoices between November and January between 50% and 60% of all annual sales, so it is the most important campaign of the year”. He also recalled that the sector employs almost 22,000 people.

La Navidad en Santa Cruz arranca el día 23 con la ‘Black Week’ y el encendido de luces el 26

Thursday, 26 November, at 7:00 p.m., is when the Christmas lights, made up of more than three million LED bulbs, are officially turned on. This will be transmitted through social networks to avoid the public gathering to watch.

The Christmas lighting in Tenerife's capital this year will have more than 26 kilometres of garlands, 686 Christmas motifs, 170 light arches and five floor motifs. Perhaps the most striking thing is the tunnel of light in the Plaza del Príncipe, which will be about 90 meters long and a cascade of LED lights. A total of 140 streets will be illuminated throughout the municipality. Also the annual planting of the poinsettias began on Tuesday. 

The month's biggest celebrations are usually on 29 November on the Eve of San Andrés (Saint Andrew's Day), in Icod de los Vinos with their Tablas de San Andrés and in Puerto de la Cruz with the Fiesta del cacharro y la castaña (Fiesta of the pots and chestnuts). At time of writing we have no news on whether either of these events will be celebrated this year in any form.

One of the traditions observed around San Andrés (St Andrew's Day) in November in Tenerife, are the Catas del Vino: the opening of the new wine. In previous years there have been events such as a Semana de San Andrés - a whole week of events such as technical conferences, workshops, tastings and guided routes through Denominations of Origin in addition to the traditional act of uncorking. 

This year, between 16 and 30 November, La Casa del Vino de Tenerife (Tenerife Wine Museum), is offering Degustación de Vinos de Tenerife (Tenerife Wines Tasting) - along with other local products, such as cheeses, dried fruits, olive oil, honey and jams. Contact the Casa del Vino.

Nine Canarian words that come from English

Naife canario Teknad / CC BY-SA

Tourism is a recent phenomenon, but some parts of Spain had contact with foreigners long before the tourist boom. This is the case of the Canary Islands, whose strategic position in the Atlantic, between Europe, Africa and America, made it a mandatory refuelling stop for ships for centuries. Among foreigners, the English stand out and the relationship has left its mark on the Spanish that Canarians speak every day, and there are several 'Canarianisms' whose English origin is still evident. English was not the "international language" that it is now, so is noticeable in its highly adapted phonetics to the local language.

Here some of the most curious words in the Spanish of the Canary Islands with an origin (sometimes surprising) in English.

Papas autodate, chinegua…

In the Canary Islands and Latin America potatoes are 'papas'. This word is not of English origin, but Quechua, and it was the peninsular Spaniards who changed the name of this tuber by crossing it with that of the batata (sweet potato) to become patatas (potatoes).

However, some varieties of Canarian potatoes do have names that derive from English. This is the case of autodate potatoes, a variety "white, elongated and highly esteemed to eat", according to the Dictionary of the Canary Academy of Language, and whose name comes from the English 'out of date', because that's what it said on the outside of the boxes!

Even more fun is the case of the quinegua potatoes or chinegua potatoes, which arrived in the Canary Islands from England during the reign of English King Edward VI. His name was deformed into the current one by it's pronunciation.

Cotufas y queques

When Canarians go to the cinema, they don't eat palomitas (popcorn). In the eastern islands (Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria) these are called roscas, possibly because of the rounded shapes that the corn acquires when exploding. However, in the western islands (Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro) they are called cotufas. The origin of this word is English: popcorn, before being cooked, is 'corn to fry'. (In the Canaries corn is known as millo (millet). This Canarianism is of Portuguese origin.)

Another Canarian food with an English name is the queque, used for all types of cakes, which derives from the English 'cake'. There is also the word bizcocho in Spanish. Don't ask for gateau, because that sounds like gato (cat)!

Foniles y naifes

The culinary is not the only semantic field with various Canarianisms coming from English. Curiously, one of the most typical elements of Canarian crafts is the naife, a knife with a characteristic shape and probable Spanish peninsular origin, but with an English name. 

Another tool that gets its name from English is the fonil (funnel).

Chonis y cambulloneros

Just as in peninsular Spanish, foreign tourists are guiris. In Canarian Spanish a specific name appeared for English tourists: John, or Johnny, from which choni derives. Later this was applied to the rest of European tourists, especially Nordic ones, and increasingly, by extension, to people with a high economic level. This curiously contrasts with the peninsula, where choni is the name used for a female adolescent without manners (chav).

At the other end of the scale are those who had to make deals to earn a living. And what better way to do this than to buy the merchandise on the boats docked in the port, which, according to the accounts, were exempt from taxes and announced that "[you] can buy on [board]". Although the story may be embellished, this port marketing was called cambullón, which the Canarian Academy of Language defines as "merchandise traffic (...) in ships docked or anchored in the port" or "illegal trade carried out on land with products from the ship's pantry. ' The cambulloneros became a relatively important part of the coastal population of the islands, and were immortalized in their folklore.

Perder la guagua

However, if we think of the Spanish of the Canary Islands, one of the first things that comes to mind is the guagua, the well-known islanders' bus. 

While the origin of the Latin American guaguas is Quechua, the immediate origin of the Canarian guagua is in Cuba, although, according to the Real Academia Española, the initial origin is "disputed" (but they don't offer any further explanation). A well-known proposal, which nevertheless suffers from the lack of documentary evidence, is that guagua comes from the company Washington, Walton, and Company Incorporated, the first company that brought buses to Cuba and which was advertised as Wa & Wa Co. Inc.

Another hypothesis, collected by etymologist Coromines, is that guagua derives from the English word waggon (also the root of vagón), which was used for a "medium-sized car used for the free transport of a small number of people".

What I was told locally is that guagua comes from the sound of the claxon.

Nueve palabras canarias que proceden del inglés

Arroz de otoñal (Autumnal rice)

Arroz de otoñal (Autumnal rice)

After the delicacies of spring and the fruit and vegetable explosion of summer, autumn can seem like a sad season, in which the rain arrives and the good tomatoes disappear. However, the season heralds the return of a some fantastic products, ideal for the dishes you crave when it starts to get chilly. (Chilly, of course being a relative term in Tenerife!)

Ingredients:

100 gr chestnut mushrooms 

100 gr shiitake mushrooms 

100 gr oyster mushrooms 

1 small can/jar of roasted red peppers (chopped)

1 chorizo 

2 cups rice 

4 cups meat or vegetable stock 

garlic 

parsley 

saffron 

salt 

extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Put a little extra virgin olive oil in a pan and add some peeled and sliced garlic cloves, the chopped chorizo, roasted peppers and the cleaned and chopped mushrooms. Sauté. In a mortar, crush a little salt, a clove of garlic, a sprig of parsley, and a few threads of saffron.

When the mushrooms are softened, add two cups of rice, stir and add the four cups of stock. Add the mash from the mortar, stir and cook for twenty minutes. Turn off the heat, cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for five minutes. Serve hot accompanied with a good wine.

El Mercado Municipal de La Laguna con la cocina de otoño: Arroz de otoñal

Casino de Tenerife celebrates 180 years

Real Casino de Tenerife in the Plaza de la Candelaria, Santa Cruz. Koppchen / CC BY

It was in January 1840 when a group of 52 residents of Santa Cruz, lovers of social gathering and of reading, decided to create a society, where they could celebrate meetings and collect the publications both local - few - as well as from the Peninsula and the rest of Europe that arrived on the ships that were destined for the port or made a stopover there. They called the society: the Reading and Recreation Cabinet. It is the oldest cultural institution in the Canaries and one of the longest-lived in Spain. Their first meeting place, from 1840 to 1850, was a room in a house at number 4 on the corner of the Calle Candelaria. 

A fire in 1850 forced the society to move to the adjoining house, at number 2, and finally, in 1860, they moved again to settle in Villalba House, at number 11 in the same square, which occupied a large part of the site that was used to build the magnificent building of the current Real Casino de Tenerife. 

The casino denomination was adopted by the Reading Cabinet from 1849, as Casino de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The current building was inaugurated on May 4, 1935, given the name of Casino de Tenerife, having incorporated members from elsewhere on the island, the title of Royal having been recently granted.

Los 180 años del Real Casino de Tenerife

Real Casino de Tenerife

Tenerife in October 2020

Spanish flag

On 12 October each year the Fiesta Nacional de España (Spanish National Day), also known as Dia de la Hispanidad (Hispanic Day) is celebrated across Spain and the Canary Islands. Since 2000, October 12 has also been Spain's Armed Forces Day, celebrated each year with a military parade in Madrid. It is a national public holiday. The king of Spain supervises the raising of the Spanish national flag in the center of Madrid on Hispanic Day. He and the prime minister lead a military parade after that. Similar celebrations usually take place in Tenerife, though this year it's unlikely there will be any public parades. 

Tapas Route in Santiago del Teide

The town hall of Santiago del Teide has launched Un Mar de Experiencias 2020 (A Sea of Experiences), which includes a Ruta de la Tapa (Tapas Route). This is the third annual edition of this gastronomic event, which runs from October 29 to November 22 and has a free taxi service each Thursday to Saturday.

A total of 14 restaurants in the municipality will participate in this initiative offering different tapas or dishes at the price of € 3.50 including drinks. 

Participating in this 2020 edition are: Restaurante El Patio, Restaurante Chinyero, Cafetería Tindaya, Cafetería Asturias, Pastelería El Paseo, Cappuccino María, Tasca Donde Tato, Pizzería Aldo´s Pizza, Restaurante Plaza, Tasca Juanito, Restaurante La Quinta, Pepi Vintage, Restaurante Pancho y Tapas y Más Tapas.

Taste San Miguel De Abona

The IX Saborea San Miguel De Abona (Taste San Miguel) has begun. This year, 2020, being a totally different year to the past editions of the Project Taste San Miguel De Abona, there is just the IX Ruta De La Tapa (Tapas Route), taking place between 16 October and 7 November. 

All of the participating restaurants - it's an eclectic mix - are listed in the book that is traditionally produced each year. This year the book is in in digital format only, in order to respect current health regulations and you can download the Saborea San Miguel De Abona 2020 book (in both Spanish and English) here. (Via)

There are the following Municipal Public Holidays in Tenerife this October:

• 5 October: Festivity of the Santísimo Cristo de la Salud in Arona.
• 19 October: Festivity of Santísimo Cristo del Calvario in El Tanque.
• 21 October: Festivity of Santa Úrsula in Santa Úrsula.
• 26 October: Festivity of Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios in Buenavista del Norte.

The Isle of Tenerife Rally is taking place on Saturday 31st October, without public.

Día de la Fiesta Nacional 12 octubre 2019