The President of the Cabildo (Rosa Dávila) has entrusted me with the explicit task of preserving, conserving, and disseminating our heritage so that it is accessible to all society. That is the purpose of today’s event,” stated Efraín Medina, insular councilor for Employment and Education, when announcing the expansion of thirty new videos in the catalog of traditional Canarian clothing of the Tenerife Sectorial Council. One of the main objectives is to bring didactic content on the proper use of historical clothing post the Castilian Conquest, to the educational community, including students and teachers from schools. The foundation must always be based on reliable sources, especially travelers such as the Englishman Alfred Dinston or the local Antonio Pereira, the Prebendado Pacheco. From this starting point, the scientific work begins for a team led by Dulce Rodríguez and advised by fellow council member Juan de la Cruz, the Gold Medal of the Island. Both accompanied councilor Medina.
Commitment
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“Only in research and dissemination,” explained the head of the department, “has this government (CC and PP) increased the budget a thousand per cent. From between 30,000 and 40,000 euros in the previous year to 250,000 for 2024.” The new videos meticulously depict examples of fifteen female costumes and an equal number of male costumes, which are added to the ten already developed at the inception of the Council, created in 2017 in the municipality of Candelaria. Efraín Medina highlighted the importance of advancing research on traditional clothing and explained that “the intention is for it to become an educational resource for everyone. If we do not take care of our legacy, our heritage in a serious manner, we would lose something very important: our soul, our history, what our ancestors left us.” Furthermore, he emphasized, “I fulfill the mandate of President Rosa Dávila.” An emotional counselor highlighted the rigor in his work of “a team of people who work and strive to preserve our culture,” emphasizing the fact “to facilitate access to everything investigated so far,” especially by educators in the Canary Islands, to receive this knowledge and “training on how we have to dress correctly and preserve our heritage.” He did not want to comment on the recent statements of his party colleague (CC), Ana Oramas, who claimed that teachers “have no idea about the culture and history of the Canaries.”
Variety
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Juan de la Cruz, the Gold Medal of the Island for his research work, clarified that the task should not be limited to “disseminating a typical costume”. He pointed out that “the videos explain a wide variety of models from daily to Sunday attire, in summer or winter, including some urban clothing within the category of cloak and skirt, while always trying to show the possibilities of combining different garments.” He stressed that it is about “seriously promoting” the clothing until the first half of the twentieth century, which is at least 70 years old, never “typical costumes,” he reiterated. He highlighted “the citizen’s interest” in research lines that tend to discover “the ways of dressing of a people, which allows us to know what that people was like.”
Goal
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Dulce Rodríguez reiterated that “the main goal is to inform and then everyone can do what they want because dressing as a wizard is not dressing up.” She also appreciated: “We are very excited about the training in the contacts with the Ministry of Education to establish sessions with teachers from both provinces.” A way, she added, to “impact that education in schools and also in parent associations.” Rodríguez presented the six costumes, three for men and three for women, which served as a sample in the event of what the catalog presents. From the boatman of Garachico to the potter woman of Candelaria, passing through the couple from El Viradero (Icod de los Vinos), the female from La Esperanza, and the muleteer from La Orotava. They, and their everyday or festive attire.
Catalog
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The audiovisual catalog of traditional Canarian clothing aims at both the preservation of this textile and ethnographic heritage and becoming an educational resource. It is available on social media (@indumentariadetenerife) and open to any possible queries. The Sectorial Council of Traditional Clothing is an advisory and collaborative body of the Tenerife Island Council.
