The Nativity Scene Route is one of the most popular actions in La Orotava during Christmas time. The nativity scene makers work for months to assemble their portals, true artisanal creations that stage the birth of Jesus and that time, with meticulous details.
This year the Route includes 25 nativity scenes and is in its 16th edition, which is special because it coincides with the 800th anniversary of the creation of the first nativity scene made by Saint Francis of Assisi, considered the patron saint of nativity scenes, in Greccio, a small town in Italy. .
To commemorate this anniversary, the Taoro Nativity Scene Association decided this year to launch a bus route to facilitate access to the nativity scenes that are not in the town and motivate people to visit them because they have the same job, dear. , dedication and patience than the rest.
“We think that if people don’t go, we’ll take them by bus. We gave the idea a couple of thoughts and spoke with Natalia, one of the people responsible for organizing the routes with the boys and girls in the morning, to see how it could be realized and we decided to embark on this adventure,” comments the president of the Association of Taoro Nativity Scene Makers, Esteban García Morales.
“For the nativity scene makers, the greatest reward is that people visit their work because you dedicate a lot of time to it and that is why we wanted to give it this facility,” he says.
It is a pilot experience that has had a success that they did not expect. The scheduled date for the trip was Friday the 22nd but it was published on Monday and within a few hours the space was full. Due to demand they had to immediately organize another one for Friday the 15th, one of the few possible days because there are many nativity scenes that, by tradition, and being organized in private homes, open later. “And if the previous one lasted less than half a day, this one did not reach the half hour that was already complete. There is a huge list of people waiting and if we organize more, I’m sure they will fill up too, but we no longer have days and we also have to take into account the disposition of Natalia and the nativity scenes, although the latter are usually at 100% because they want let them go.”
The tour begins in the nativity scene of Víctor Mesa, María Cecilia and Carmen Dolores Hernández, of Hebrew type, and located at number 69 Viera Street, below the Carmen church. Continue in the direction of Las Candias to see, in the center of La Luz, that of Samuel Valencia and from there towards El Moturrio road, where that of Daniel Benítez Gómez is located. Then he goes to Santa Catalina, through La Piedad, and goes back down through San Francisco, where Isabelino Pérez is, he passes by the church of the same name and ends at the place of the nativity scenes and toast with a chocolate and a sweet and to celebrate Christmas. The other two nativity scenes outside the suburbs are the Momentos Teté one and the old Bárbara inn, located at number 29 Apolinar Street and 2 Salazar Street, respectively.
Esteban confesses that he has been surprised that it has not only been a complaint from older people, but from all ages. “There are people who go with their children and grandchildren and also many young people who are interested in the art of nativity scenes and for us it is important because it is a guarantee of continuity,” he says.
They estimate that the journey will last about two and a half hours, although everything will depend on the time spent visiting each manger, given that the objective is to value the nativity scene work, know what it does and the details of the assembly.
The bus has capacity for only 22 people since it is small, like a bus, to be able to access narrow streets.
The tour costs six euros, “a symbolic price, especially to guarantee that the people who promised to go, comply, because many times when the visits are free, people sign up and then don’t go. When it is free, it costs you nothing and it is not valued,” says the president. “And if everything goes well with this first experience, next year instead of two we will organize four,” he promises.
An original nativity scene with 250 playmobil pieces at the Youth House
Miguel Ángel Miranda, a native of Santa Úrsula, joined this year the route organized by the Taoro Nativity Scene Association. His original playmobil birth was installed in the Youth House and is a complete success.
The idea arose in 2017 with an educational project at the Tomás Iriarte school in Puerto de la Cruz and from there the families began to collaborate with figures of this popular toy and the nativity scene has not stopped growing.
It is made up of 250 pieces that he himself has adapted, especially in terms of clothing. To attract the attention of the little ones, he has added elements that are not exclusively from a traditional nativity scene, such as, for example, a Santa Claus, who is hidden; a foreign couple taking a selfie; or children writing a ‘No to war’ sign. You can also see people putting out a fire from a tree, their particular tribute to the people who collaborated in the fire that devastated Tenerife in August, and to Saint Francis of Assisi, whose image also appears in the nativity scene.
