For a week now, San Miguel de Abona has been hosting the first permanent drive-in cinema in the Canary Islands, an idea from the Marerik World group run by Andranik Tadevisyan, an Armenian who has been on the island for 10 years and in Spain for 24.
AutoCinema Tenerife opened last Thursday, while on Friday it already hosted the public premiere with the screening of the film The Batman, which today says goodbye to give way to Uncharted, both in original and dubbed versions. Every Friday there is a premiere. On the 18th, for example, The Bad Guys will premiere.
This leisure initiative in the south of the island is located on a 16,000 square meter plot, in the Amarilla Golf facilities, in the lower part of Las Chafiras, and has a 200 square meter screen, 12 meters high. , “after obtaining the permits from Aena, being in aeronautical servitude”, explains Tadevisyan.
Likewise, he recalls that “it has taken us a long time to carry out this project, but we are very grateful to the San Miguel de Abona City Council, the only one that has opened its doors wide for us and has opted for this project”. Tadevisyan acknowledges that “we always look for a place between the North and the South, and Las Chafiras is ideal, because it guarantees us a good climate for open-air cinema and is well connected to the tourist area, and now even more so with the works completed in the link with the motorway”, says the promoter.
Andranik Tadevisyan indicates that “since I’ve been on the island I’ve thought that there was a lot to do in terms of leisure and entertainment, and during the pandemic it occurred to me that a drive-in movie theater could be a good way to get out of the house after a long time.”
The AutoCinema Tenerife opens its doors every day after sunset, now around seven in the afternoon -it will be changed at the end of the month, with the change in schedule- and its facilities can accommodate 300 vehicles, with two areas for those who want to watch the movie out of the car, in the front with hammocks and in the back, where there is a large terrace with a fast food restaurant and the essential popcorn.
Twenty-two people are dedicated to ensuring that all customers leave the evening satisfied. Prices are 6.50 euros per person, one euro less per child and 2.50 euros for the vehicle, reduced to 4.50 euros on Wednesdays, the day of the spectator. “Until now -comments the promoter of the drive-in-, the response from the public has been very good and we hope that it is not just a novelty and that this project can be maintained for a long time”, he pointed out excitedly.
