The treasure of the corsair Amaro Pargo was discovered yesterday in La Laguna. But it was not the only discovery that was made yesterday in Aguere, where, after two years without being able to hold it, Heritage Night, an activity that for more than 12 hours, allowed thousands of attendees to discover, not only the treasure of the well-known corsair through a guided tour of the city, but also that of many other properties that yesterday opened their doors in an exceptional way to receive how many wanted to approach. An activity that was sprinkled with musical performances, theatrical performances, dance, workshops and endless acts that filled the lagoon town with an effervescence that had not been experienced for two years.
The heritage night It is a joint cultural initiative of the 15 Spanish cities that have the title of World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The appointment, which reaches its fifth edition, “is an invitation to have living cities, which we recover for the enjoyment of our neighbors, who should feel proud to live in a heritage city,” said the mayor, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, when beginning of the more than 50 acts programmed during the day yesterday.
Among the most outstanding activities was the Heritage Open, which offered an open day for monuments and cultural spaces, with guided tours, during exceptional hours from 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., although several of these spaces were also open in the morning . The church and convent of Santo Domingo, the Town Hall, the Cathedral, the Santa Clara Monastery and Museum, the Lercaro Palace, the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country, the Salazar Palace, the IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto, the Casa The Cayetano Gómez Felipe Museum and the Adrián Alemán de Armas Library were the buildings that could be visited.
The mayor of La Laguna, who is also vice president of the Group of Heritage Cities and president of the Heritage Commission, wanted to underline “the opportunity to enjoy the history, heritage, gastronomy and living culture of our cities, which are beginning to reopen after the pandemic. It is important that our monuments open up for those who visit us, but also so that those of us who live in this city know our history and the value of the heritage that we treasure”.
Gutiérrez valued the transversal work of the departments of Culture, Historical Heritage and Festivals, in the preparation of a program with more than 50 activities, in which he underlined “the involvement of more than 70 public and private entities, as well as private companies from La Lagoon”.
In this sense, Gutiérrez highlighted that for the first time, and exceptionally among the cities of the Group, the shops of the town joined this festive and cultural event, with proposals such as Sew or not to be, with crochet workshops , or the Pisaverde store, which organized ‘living shop windows’ with music and pampering or explanations of the fabric-making process; or those of the La Casa del Baobad bookstore, with children’s workshops and poetry meetings; and the different exhibitions at Espacio Brozo, La Oca Muebles, La Cámara Espacio Fotografico, LM Arte Colección or the Artizar Art Gallery, to name just a few examples.
Although the bulk of the acts took place during the afternoon and until midnight, the program began at ten in the morning, with a symbolic act in the San Juan cemetery, with the Wind and memory offering performed by Pablo Díaz on whistle herreño and Danny Glez on guitar. During the morning, a large public was already able to enjoy dramatized visits, exhibitions, children’s workshops, music and outreach activities. In its desire to have an inclusive and accessible Heritage Night, the Casa de Los Capitanes hosted a meeting with ONCE volunteers and members to publicize their perception of cultural heritage through typhlological models.
The Italian artist Alessandro Sciarroni starred in the Heritage Scene section, while, through Live Heritage, a great cultural and leisure offer was offered that was distributed throughout the historic center. La Laguna added its own section with a wide variety of activities on the streets of the municipality, and which closed with the Pastora Soler concert, which was attended by more than 4,500 people.
