The adult murga contest of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2023 has been led by the tireless citizen complaints against environmental damage in the Canary archipelago. For three consecutive days it was possible to enjoy the three phases of the contest at the Fairgrounds of the capital, in which up to twenty murgas participated. Only eight were the ones that managed to sneak into the final, being the murga Trapaseros the winner.
Undoubtedly the star theme of the performances, not only in the final, but also in the other phases, has been the struggle of the Canarian society to preserve natural spaces, heritage and fauna. So much so that in the original letters they have not been able to miss their complaints against projects such as the Cuna del Alma, the La Tejita hotel, Fonsalía and even the motor circuit. They have also taken the opportunity to highlight the alleged corruption of various politicians from the Islands.
The murga Ni Muchas Ni Pocas took advantage of their performance during the third phase of the contest to defend the Canary Islands with phrases such as: “What will become of our land when there is nothing left.” In their lyrics, the members focused on Cuna del Alma and Fonsalía, two projects that “attack the riches of Tenerife”. They denounced at the top of their lungs that all this supposes “wealth for the Canary Islands that the people will never see.”
For its part, the murga Trapaseros, winner of the contest, sang during their performance in the third phase of the contest that “Canarias is not for sale, here you love and defend yourself”. With great force they vindicated their thoughts at full volume, repeating that for the people there is no consolation left: “This is how it goes with a land that speculates with the soil.” The murga La Sonora also decided to express their discontent with some verses and posters from Stop Cuna del Alma.
The murga Tras Con Tras sang in the second phase of the contest: “Cradle of the soul, and soul is what is missing to govern”. They also made reference to the protected species of the islands, saying that they are “just annihilated”. They expressed their indignation and concerns about the “purchases from the coast” and the actions of politicians: “If they don’t know how to love their land, they can’t govern.”
The murga Los Tiralanguas were accompanied during their performance in the first phase by people who took the stage with protest signs. On them one could read: “Cabildo=private interests; Canary Islands not for sale; no more spills.”
A phrase that stood out while they sang was: “Recognize that money comes first and that the Canary Islands were never your priority.”
The murga Zeta Zetas took advantage of its performance in the first phase of the contest to ensure that no one wants the Cuna del Alma project to be carried out: “We want our coasts, our beaches and their fauna.” They also made reference to the inaction of politicians with the phrase: “Those who must show their faces do nothing.”
The Triqui-Traquitos children’s murga also joined this “demonstration” denouncing that with these projects they are breaking the natural landscape. They named the hotel La Tejita, Fonsalía and Cuna del Alma. “This is sad, the future is a dilemma, to those who are in charge, fix the issue”, is one of the phrases sung by the contestants.
They also make one thing very clear: “This is illegal, end of issue.” The children’s murga ends her performance in the second phase by saying: “The Canaries defend themselves and love each other, stop now, stop now”
The murga Los Bambones expressed great discontent regarding various current issues in the Islands during their performance in the final. Among them was also the environmental struggle. Under the slogan “NO” they made a series of demands in different fields. “Tenerife is a business for foreigners and the politician takes his cut”, is one of the phrases that stood out.
“I am also the NO to so much cement, to continue breaking the record of tourists and not having to earn our livelihood by exploiting every meter of this island,” they explained.
They made the current situation of the islands very clear in terms of tourism: “There is no unbuilt cliff, the politician doesn’t care, they sell the Canaries to the foreigner who pays them more”
For their part, activists who are against the project in the Puertito de Adeje thanked the murgas for the denunciations they made through their songs. “We appreciate that you help us spread it. We cannot continue with this model of infinite growth in which tourism destroys our landscapes, our environment and our cultural heritage,” they explained in a video broadcast by the official Twitter profile of Salvar La Tejita .
The processing of the port of Fonsalía began 25 years ago. The objective was to build, with an initial public investment of 200 million euros, a platform with five berthing lines for large ships, a fishing dock, 200 dry dock spaces and 467 dock spaces in the sports area. In total, the infrastructure would occupy more than 222,000 square meters.
This coast, in addition to being one of the most touristy in Tenerife, is part of the Teno-Rasca marine strip. Some 600 specimens of cetaceans, loggerhead turtles, dolphins and sperm whales are concentrated there, and the only whale sanctuary in Europe is also located.
After the launch of a campaign against this port that managed to collect more than 400,000 signatures, in October 2021, the Parliament of the Canary Islands agreed to the “definitive abandonment” of the construction of the macroport.
The tourism project, which intended to develop more than 430,000 square meters along with two protected areas in the south of Tenerife, has been paralyzed on a precautionary basis thanks to complaints filed by the environmental groups leading the protests against the project.
There are already two orders that this project accumulates. The first stoppage order came in June for having destroyed an archaeological site; the second, at the beginning of November due to “imminent environmental damage” as the presence of a protected plant that was not included in the environmental reports of the promoters was confirmed. The Ministry of Ecological Transition then opened a file since, in addition, it was found that the project, called Cuna del Alma, obtained the municipal license without having presented the mandatory environmental impact assessment.
In Granadilla, also in the south of Tenerife, the company Construcción, Promoción y Derivados of Grupo Viqueira wanted to build a five-star hotel next to the protected natural area of La Tejita beach. Then the citizen platform Salvar La Tejita arose.
Among some of its actions, the association appealed the 20-meter demarcation approved by the General Directorate of Coasts on the coast of this area where the Galician company intended to build this complex with more than 800 beds. He also denounced the movement of protected dunes without permission as part of the works of this luxury hotel.
In the summer of 2020, two activists climbed one of La Tejita’s cranes and remained there for several days to demand the cessation of construction. Finally, the Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment (APMN), dependent on the Government of the Canary Islands, ordered the stoppage.
