The streets of La Laguna yesterday managed to resemble, at times, those of two years ago, when the COVID pandemic had not yet manifested itself and not even the cold lagoon could bring its inhabitants home. Yesterday, with the celebration during the morning of various acts of the European Mobility Week, and from six in the afternoon, the Heritage Night, a growing flow of people wanted to enjoy, yes, with a mask and distance, of what that La Laguna, a World Heritage city, has to offer. To do this, The Heritage Night was structured around three sections: Open Heritage, with an open day of monuments and cultural spaces; Live Heritage, with a cultural and leisure offer that was distributed throughout the historic center; and the Heritage Scene section, with a leading role in dance and contemporary performing arts. This celebration was held simultaneously in 15 other World Heritage cities throughout the national territory.
Visitors who were encouraged to walk through La Laguna yesterday were able to enjoy contemporary dance shows in the Old Convent of Santo Domingo, where the dancer and choreographer from La Laguna, Carmen Fumero, offered the best of her art.
But theater and music also accompanied the lagoon night, with the concert of the tenor Celso Albelo (who replaced Ahinoa Arteta), or the work of Burka Teatro at the Cabrera Pinto. Just a few streets away, at the Orfeón de la Paz, the Camerata Launensis choir delighted those attending its performance, while late at night, in the Plaza del Cristo, the Argentine guitarist Nahuel Pennisi gave a magnificent concert.
And on a night dedicated to heritage, you could not miss, precisely, what makes La Laguna a World Heritage city, its most emblematic buildings. The opening of all the spaces took place from six in the afternoon until twelve at night, except for the Palacio de Lercaro, Museum of History and Anthropology of Tenerife, which closed at 22.00.
The spaces that were opened to the public were the old Santo Domingo Convent, the Santo Domingo church, the Town Hall Plenary Hall, the House of Captains, the Santa Clara Convent, the Lercaro Palace, the headquarters of the Royal Society. Economics of Friends of the Country, the Salazar Palace, the IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto, the La Concepción church and the Cayetano Gómez Felipe House Museum.
All those who wanted to know a little better all these properties had guided tours in different countries, with limited groups and according to health security measures in force in Tenerife since the early hours of Saturday, when the Island returned to health level 2. The Heritage Night ended at 00.00, leaving a good taste in the mouth among the thousands of attendees who almost touched with the tips of their fingers that concept of normality that is sorely missed.
