“We were able to put together what we said when we arrived at the municipal government, analyze the identity of Puerto de la Cruz and work on it to make it a differentiating element, which is what is always sought in a tourist destination.” This is how the mayor, Marco González, explains “the cultural, tourist, economic and urban effervescence” that the city is currently experiencing, a setting in which three shootings converge, a German series, a Finnish film and a Canarian-produced short film.
And soon the Foundation, the new Apple TV commitment for 2021 and the local initiative Pesca Brava, a project of contemporary musical creation around the new narratives in which the residents of the neighborhood participate, will be added.
To this are added important projects such as the Insular Center for Aquatic Sports, in the old municipal swimming pool; the asphalting of several streets; having hosted international events such as the Spartan Race, the most important obstacle course; the nocturnal race, which was a successful participation, or the I Ethnographic Exhibition of the Canary Islands, without neglecting others already consolidated such as Periplo or the Agatha Christie International Festival and adding new ones, such as the Handmade Rhythms International Percussion Festival. And there is still the star event of the city: the International Art Festival on Mueca Street, which begins this Friday and will last until Sunday.
It can also boast of having received the visit of the writer Mircea Cărtărescu, the greatest exponent of Romanian literature and several times a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, who participated in the Costa Martiánez Tourist Complex in the last 2021 meeting ‘Puerto de Letras. Writing in dialogue ‘; to be the first municipality in the Archipelago that has the Safe Tourism seal, granted by the Institute of Tourist Quality of Spain (ICTE) to recognize the places that guarantee the health safety of its visitors; have the first capsule hotel in the Canary Islands and have almost all its hotel establishments open.
“And the few who are not are because they are undertaking reforms in their facilities, as is the case of the Turquesa, San Telmo, Los Príncipes hotels (closed since 2008) and the Taoro, which is pending the ultimatum to start the work” , says the mayor.
Nor should we forget the investments. It is true that businesses have been closed but the number that have been opened is greater, according to González, who highlights that national chains have opted for the city and that has generated many synergies and therefore, “the balance is positive.”
However, he considers that Puerto de la Cruz is a large commercial center with its own entity, with open streets “that are identified with certain sectors of commerce, as occurs in other European cities” and that uniqueness of local commerce “is what most important and cannot be lost ”.
This commitment to the local prompted the renovation of the Pirámides de Martiánez Shopping Center and the Municipal Market, a forgotten facility that has had a before and after for a few months. “The previous government left us a grant that had to be executed and it carried out all the procedures and projects to put them into operation. And there is a need to improve the square, the extraction of smoke from the parking lots, take out the remaining premises under concession and achieve that commercial diversification that makes it attractive. Now it is the market that the city deserves ”, he points out.
“All this fervor in the city is the fruit of having found opportunities in difficulties. Creativity is the oxygen balloon of all crises, that’s why I always say that in the most complicated moments, creative people have the ability to find ways to solve them, ”says Marco González. And Puerto de la Cruz has known how to take advantage of this capacity and turn it into its identity brand.
“We are not counting things, they are happening”
The president is convinced that time has given him the reason that the bet on a cultural strategy that would penetrate all areas was successful. “We are not counting things, they are happening. And it is not the first time that this has happened, it would be false to say it, but it does happen this way because there is a clear stake in the cultural ecosystem, that is the difference ”, explains Marco González. From his point of view, “it is an important moment for Puerto de la Cruz because the project is not owned by the Government or the two political forces that make it up (PSOE-ACP) but rather a co-governance with the citizens.”
