Hebrews, Canaries and a Neapolitan one that can be visited both in person and virtually. They are the births that can be seen in the route of nativity scenes in La Orotavawhich this year celebrates its fifteenth edition, and which has become one of the most demanded activities on these Christmas dates by visitors and residents, and a benchmark in Canary Islands.
In recent weeks, thousands of people have come to the Villa to enjoy its heritage and great leisure and cultural offer, but also to admire these works, manifestations of a tradition that unites art, culture and religion.
The route is made up of 32 nativity sets carefully designed. Three of them can only be accessed virtually and seven of them in the historic center. The latter are the most visited due to their proximity and the ease of leaving the car and doing the walk.
There are also them in Cañeño, La Luz, Camino El Monturrio, La Luz and Carmenati and the truth is that they are all worth it because each one has its own style, reflects personal experiences and includes elements that identify their creators.
There are baroque ones, such as those found in the parish church of La Concepción or in the Brotherhood of Vera Cruz y Misericordia, but those in the Hebrew style, that is, those that evoke the birth of Jesus with the representation of uses and customs of the Palestine of the time, are the ones that predominate.
The one of Aniceto y Familia, in the House of Culture of San Agustín, for example, has moving figures, such as the man who kneads the bread and the one who takes it out of the clay oven, like the one of Miguel Morales Hernández, with chickens eating or the living presence of fire; while in the one in Canaragua, located in the San Roque room, you can see limpets in the fish stall.
The one in the Casa de la Juventud, which is being incorporated this year, is the only large diorama that has been mounted on a large scale in the hull.
Casa Lercaro, Casa de los Balcones, La Sidrona bazaar and Ferretería Orotava, have opted for Canarian births. The one of this last business is already a classic, with about 90 figures between people and animals, without counting the smallest elements.
Esteban García Morales is the person responsible for doing it for 18 years, during which time he took over the hardware store and is also the president of the Taoro Nativity Scene Association, which seeks to preserve this tradition, publicize the nativity scenes that are made in the Villa through this route, workshops and exhibitions, and works so that the Government of the Canary Islands declare the nativity scene as an Asset of Intangible Cultural Interest (BIC).
His meticulous work begins on October 12, when he assembles the base. From that moment on, he dedicates a couple of hours to it every night. This year he calculates that there have been more than 150. Canarian traditions are identified in it, from trades such as the grape harvest and agriculture, to animals (goats, cows) and plant species such as banana trees, piteras, dragon trees and pineapples. Canarian architecture deserves a separate chapter, with tiled houses and wooden balconies.
Like every Canarian town, it has a church. Last year he represented La Concepción and the previous ones San Francisco and San Juan, but in 2022 he wanted to “recycle” all of them. Like the rest of the nativity scenes, every year he adds a detail or element. On this occasion, it is a girl jumping rope that joins the figures, made of clay and hand-painted by a craftsman.
People who cannot go to see the nativity scenes can enjoy them virtually through the municipal social networks and the aforementioned association. Many are individuals and not all homeowners may be aware of visits. This year, in addition, there are guides who are in charge of organizing them for schoolchildren.
In nativity scenes there is a “before, during and after” of the portal. The before is when those responsible for making it meet, unpack the materials, choose the pieces they are going to have and put it together, little by little.
The “during”, Esteban specifies, is the current moment, “when you enjoy the visits and listen to the comments that corroborate that people like it”, while the “after” is the moment least desired by the nativity scenes, because it supposes collect the work of art that they have made and that has cost them so much. “It is like making carpets, which are destroyed after the passage of the Blessed Sacrament, although this is not so ephemeral,” he qualifies. In this final moment you have to remove the dust from each of the figures, wrap them carefully and put them away. In addition, you have to disassemble all the pieces to be able to recycle them next year. Of course, just like the carpet makers, while they dismantle their work, the nativity scenes are already projecting next year’s in their heads.
