After more than 20 years, posts here will now only be occasional (see why) for big events such as Tenerife Carnaval, so please "Like" and follow our Facebook Page to get future updates.
In 1991, Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife was Isabel Luis Hernández, with a costume entitled, ‘Al ritmo de la noche’ (To the rhythm of the night), designed by Leo Martínez and sponsored by J&B Whisky.
The theme for carnival that year was 'Space': The tower of the Plaza de España was integrated into the scenery, transforming it into a giant telecommunications antenna dominated by metal, neon and laser lights.
It has to be said that 1991's carnival poster, designed by Mel Ramos, is the most saucy we've seen to date.
In 1991, the court was made up as follows:
1st Maid of Honour: Concha Hernández Padrón, with a costume entitled "A La Guaira en correíllo cargada de loros stop. Besos, Concha" (To La Guaira ...), representing Almacenes El Kilo and designed by Justo Gutiérrez.
2nd Maid of Honour: Míriam Rodríguez Afonso, costume "Viajar en mascarón", representing Almacenes Número 1 and designed by Miguel Ángel Castilla Abreu.
3rd Maid of Honour: Gema Medina Cambero, "Escarlata O'Hara" (Scarlet O'Hara), representing Galerías Preciados and designed by Leo Martínez.
4th Maid of Honour: Beatriz Curbelo González, with a costume entitled "Como una tormenta de Carnaval" (Like a carnival storm), representing Centro Comercial Maya and designed by José Julio Rodríguez.
Last time I was in Santa Cruz, I accepted an invitation for a Guided Tour of the Auditorio de Tenerife, the emblematic building, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. As I had my non-Spanish speaking husband with me, the lady who took us round - yes, just the two of us - explained everything in English. You do need to reserve in advance through details here.
Carnival Queen in 1990, Carmen Gloria Trujillo García
Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1990 was Carmen Gloria Trujillo García with a costume entitled, ‘La Fenicce’ (The Phoenix), designed by Justo Gutiérrez and sponsored by Almacenes El Kilo (established in the 1960s, El Kilo has become well known as the textile supplier of reference in the Canary Islands.)
Santa Cruz Carnival in 1990 took place between 16 February and 4 March and had as its theme, 'Story World': The scenery in the Plaza de España was in two parts. One was "happy" (with a smiley-faced house) and the other "dark", with a tree whose branches were shaped like hands in a tribute to the film Poltergeist.
In 1990, the court was made up as follows:
1st Maid of Honour: Natalia Ramos Hernández, with a costume entitled "Pulpa de tamarindo" (Tamarind pulp), representing Whisky J&B and designed by Leo Martínez.
2nd Maid of Honour: María Concepción Hernández Padrón, with a costume entitled "Reflejos de mi tierra" (Reflections of my land), representing National Nederlander and designed by Leo Martínez.
3rd Maid of Honour: Virginia Jesús Toledo Palenzuela, with a costume entitled "Castor blanco" (White beaver), representing Casino Taoro and designed by Justo Gutiérrez.
4th Maid of Honour: Fátima Rodríguez Rodríguez, with a costume entitled "Luz y color de Tenerife" (Light and color of Tenerife), representing Centro Comercial Maya and designed by José Luis Rodríguez y Juan Fajardo.
The Market of Our Lady of Africa is a building in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, popularly known as La Recova, of neo-colonial architectural style inaugurated in early 1944. The municipal market is located in this building. open from Monday to Saturday from 6am to 2pm and on every Sunday of the year from 7am to 2pm.
Various culinary preparations are known with the name "bienmesabe" (it tastes good to me), throughout the Spanish-speaking world, not always desserts, with the most varied ingredients. In the Canary Islands it is a traditional dessert, made with almonds, sponge cakes, egg, sugar and lemon. Its origin is probably Arab, but in the islands it has taken on its own nature. From the hand of the Municipal Market of La Laguna, today we bring a recipe for this dessert provided, a few years ago, by Carmen Melián, aunt of Chago Melián, and this is how the «bienmesabe» of Punta del Hidalgo in Tenerife is made.
Ingredients:
½ Kg of sugar
2 glasses of water
¼ Kg of almonds, peeled and ground
8 yolks, beaten
Method:
Prepare a syrup, putting the water and sugar on the heat. It is ready when the syrup reaches the thread stage. Separate a little of this syrup and reserve. To the rest of the syrup, add the peeled and ground almonds. Stirring over low heat, let it cook little by little; when the almonds "jump" it is a sign that the preparation is at its point. Away from the fire and stirring continuously, add the beaten yolks, a little at a time. Cook in a bain-marie until the yolks take color. Pour everything into the dish in which it is to be served, placing some thin biscuits dipped in the syrup for a few minutes at the bottom. Serve cold.
Carnival Queen in 1989 was María Remedios Ramos Díaz, with a costume entitled, ‘Chicharro carnavalero’ (approximately, a carnival going sardine - although if we were being pedants, a chicharro is an atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus)), designed by José Julio Rodríguez and sponsored by CC Maya (a former shopping centre in the Tenerife capital).
The theme in 1989 was "Millennial Egypt" and this was the first year the staging for the contests and galas was erected in the Plaza de España. It was decorated with two large sphinxes and an Egyptian-style palace gate.
1st Maid of Honour: Ana Reverón Hernández, with a costume entitled "Éxtasis" (Ecstasy), representing Casino Taoro and designed by Marcos Marrero.
2nd Maid of Honour: Ana María Fajardo González, with a costume entitled "Recuerdos de una santiguadora canaria" (Memories of a Canarian saint), representing Rondallas del Carnaval and designed by Justo Gutiérrez.
3rd Maid of Honour: Candelaria Rodríguez Siverio, with "Bahía de Santa Cruz" (Santa Cruz Bay), representing Almacenes El Kilo and designed by Leo Martínez.
4th Maid of Honour: María Dolores Fernández Rodríguez, with "Andrógena" (Androgen), representing Galerías Preciados and designed by Leo Martínez.
Social media has made this corner of Los Realejos, where the island's first steam engine was installed, into an international phenomenon
At first glance it looks like an abandoned castle, an enchanted mansion, or the secret lair of a pirate ... The centuries-old ruins of the Gordejuela water lift, on the Los Realejos coast, have unintentionally become a new tourist attraction in the town, since photos and videos of this evocative corner have been shared around the world through social networks.
Civitatis, the leading company in the sale of guided tours, excursions and free tours, has prepared a list that includes some of the most beautiful abandoned places on the planet. And in first place on that ranking appear the ruins of Gordejuela. The rickety walls of this great complex built at the beginning of the 20th century, where the first steam engine on the island of Tenerife was installed, resist imposingly against the swell of the Atlantic Ocean, forming a postcard picture that is impressive from the first glance. On that international list, Gordejuela rivals other extraordinary ruins in beauty, such as Bannerman Castle (USA), Rubjerg Knude Fyr lighthouse (Denmark), Kolmanskop (Namibia), Belchite (Zaragoza), Salar de Uyuni ( Bolivia) and the ghost town of Bannack (Montana. USA).
For decades, the ruins of the water lift remained forgotten and practically unknown to outsiders to Los Realejos. They began to become popular as a result of the conditioning of the tourist trail, up to the nearby Rambla de Castro, by the council and the Cabildo. The path connects this natural setting with Playa Los Roques and the Punta Brava neighbourhood, in Puerto de la Cruz. Halfway there are the ruins of Gordejuela, at the bottom of a steep ravine, attached to the cliff, on the almost wild beach of La Fajana.
The conditioning of the path along this coastal strip, of great natural and scenic beauty, immediately attracted both tourists and the people of the island, to the point that the Rambla de Castro is currently one of the most visited corners of Tenerife. As a consequence of the growing popularity of the trail, the expansive effect of social networks and the internet arrived very soon, where the spectacular landscapes of Castro and Gordejuela are the usual setting for reports and videos of all kinds. One of them, in particular, went viral years ago when a young man appeared who was walking on the edge of the abyss on one of the walls of the ruins of the water lift, while he was recorded from a drone. Images like this definitely turned Gordejuela into a point of attraction for the curious and lovers of adventure.
At present, the ruins of Gordejuela lack any specific protection. The building still stands without the roof, which fell in decades ago, as did the wooden floors on the different levels. Nor does it retain the arches, doors or windows, and the lower gaps have been bricked up by the council for security reasons. The Asociación Hispania Nostra, a non-profit organization dedicated to the defence, safeguarding and enhancement of Spain's cultural and natural heritage, has included it on the Red List of Heritage due to the risk of collapse.
The mayor of Los Realejos, Manuel Domínguez, welcomes the idea of this place being used as an interpretation centre on the use of water in Tenerife, but given the scale of the project to rehabilitate the property, it would only be feasible if the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands collaborated on it. Therefore, at the moment that idea is more a dream.
The truth is that the ruins of the Gordejuela elevator are a historical and cultural treasure in Los Realejos, an important vestige of the industrial history of the Canary Islands. For this reason, and in order to avoid its definitive disappearance, promote its enhancement and, in addition, guarantee the safety of the many visitors who come to the vicinity, it has been proposed to the Los Realejos council that they initiate procedures for its declaration as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC).
AN HISTORICAL MILESTONE
The Hamilton family, still of great importance in Tenerife, arrived on the island at the beginning of the 18th century. They were producers and exporters of bananas, tomatoes and potatoes, had a shipping company and operated coal ships. They were co-founders of CD Tenerife, the Hotel Taoro and the Real Club Náutico. In addition, they were responsible for the construction of the Semáforo de Igueste former semaphore station and, also, of the Elevador de Aguas de Gordejuela.
In 1898, the company Hamilton & Co. established the Sociedad de Aguas de la Gordejuela, whose objective was to exploit the existing springs on the coast of Los Realejos, in the area that owes its name to its first owner and founder of the convents of Los Realejos, the gentleman Juan de Gordejuela y Mesa. The work of the elevator, located in an old gofio mill, marked a milestone in its time because the first steam engine on the island of Tenerife was installed inside it. In 1902, the prospect of rising prices led the company to buy all the shares in the company. From that date on, a station with steam pumps was built to lift some 10,000 pipes a day - 8,000 cubic meters - to a reservoir located 270 meters high, through an iron pipe two kilometres long. For the subsequent distribution through the La Orotava Valley, a twelve-kilometre aqueduct was built.
The industry consisted of two units: the first, apart from a warehouse and the party house, had another house, with a 50 meter high chimney, in which the steam engine was located. The other building, the most representative of the complex, was at the time one of the largest in Tenerife, with five levels. The work, which was projected and supervised by the military engineer José Galván Balaguer, was described in its time as "the work of the Romans." La Laguna journalist Leoncio Rodríguez published an article in the newspaper El Progreso, under the pseudonym of Luis Roger, in 1908, after visiting the place, which he described as follows: "on a cliff cut across the sea, at the mouth of a huge and deep ravine, it will not be able to express the magnitude of the undertaking, nor will it give an exact idea of the material efforts or the display of intelligence that its execution reveals".
The total cost of the installation exceeded one million pesetas at the time, which placed the promoter company in a delicate financial situation. In addition, economic expectations varied due to the international situation, which affected the fruit trade. In order to guarantee a remuneration for the investment, they opted to lease it in 1910 to Elder & Fyffes, and then sell it to them in 1919. The technological advances of the following years made it necessary to change the lifting method, which made the complex as it had been, unnecessary and was gradually abandoned.
A century later, and despite the dilapidated state of that pioneering complex, these words written by Leoncio Rodríguez are still valid: “Here is the spectacle of Gordejuela; where science is twinned with poetry and where life seems to feel the breath of tragedy”.
After more than 20 years, posts here will now only be occasional (
