A sports event in Güímar overlooks a Guanche site despite warnings to the Council.

The social archaeology group Imastanen has denounced, in statements to Canarias Ahora, the consequences of the recent Vertical de Güímar athletic event, held in the southeast of Tenerife, on the existing archaeological sites along the route of the race, particularly regarding some rock engravings. The group, led by Sixto García, recalls that they alerted authorities to the risks two months ago because these remains are unmarked and located on a rural road used by vehicles and agricultural machinery, as well as by sports enthusiasts practising trekking. Being just metres away from access to a farm, it “goes unnoticed and the site serves as a parking and turning point for vehicles. The risk of damage that this continuous traffic poses to the guanche site is evident, as very few people are aware of the values on which they are parking or walking. In fact, we have already documented tire marks, motorcycle tracks, human footprints, and horse prints on the engraving itself.” However, all of this worsened significantly with the recent event, which took place on July 6.

The group points out that they had already warned the mayor and various councillors about the risks last May. “On several occasions, we attempted to take the political and technical representatives to the site to verify in situ the damage and threat. We were offered several appointments with the heritage councillor, which were successively postponed. Although initially, after the news broke in the press, the councillor for Commerce, Tourism, Cleaning, Gardens, and Pest Control contacted us, the matter was handed over to the heritage area, and despite agreeing on several visits to the site with the responsible councillor, these never took place.” Despite this “clear lack of interest and subsequent silence until today, we started to think,” they explain, “that sooner or later appropriate measures would be taken to protect and signpost the affected site, but last weekend the twelfth edition of the Vertical de Güímar, of great importance, took place, and the event passed right through that point.”

This popular mountain race had 250 athletes participating this year, and as the group emphasises, it attracted many spectators who, “as usual, came to see their friends and family run through the different sections. This meant there were spectators positioned over this site, as we were able to confirm when we arrived. Once there, and in light of the inaction of the authorities, we could personally explain to those walking – unknowingly – on the indigenous engravings that there was a heritage value and a Cultural Interest Good in that place. Everyone without exception cooperated once they were made aware, showing a profound surprise arising from the fact that such a location still lacks any form of signposting to prevent involuntary damage.”

“A catalogued Cultural Interest Good forgotten by the local authorities themselves”

For this reason, the members of Imastanen denounce that a catalogued BIC “is forgotten by local authorities even though it is within their competencies to protect it, conserve it, guard it, and disseminate it, among many other duties stipulated by law. Given the lamentable state of the entire range of sites within the Güímar municipality, it is not surprising that this little-known site is ignored and exposed to these unnecessary risks due solely to incompetence. We know that public funds are available from the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands for municipalities to carry out actions aimed at compliance with heritage law. Therefore, there is no real will – and Güímar is no exception in Tenerife – to undertake practical initiatives that effectively protect archaeological heritage and promote the guanche material legacy that, despite everything, still endures.”

Audience attending the event, standing over the site.

The group members stationed at the site spoke with families who witnessed the race and, as they emphasise, “they were utterly astonished” by the situation. “Simply put,” they told Canarias Ahora, “it is inconceivable that, knowing the presence of these values and having been alerted to their fragility and vulnerability, no measures have been taken to ensure their preservation. Not a single miserable sign, nor a provisional marking, not even the slightest effort to inform the organisers about the presence of the site. Not even the Sports Councillor, with whom we had the opportunity to speak to explain the situation, was aware of the existence of these engravings adjacent to the race route,” they lament.

The contrast with the protection of other heritage elements

They emphasise, “the impression we gained from staying all day at the site ensuring its integrity and providing information in an enriching dialogue with the people present, is that generally, people believe that the guanche heritage is almost non-existent, and they are very alarmed by the fact that the very institutions responsible are not enforcing the law (Art.17 of the Heritage Law of April 25, 2019). And Güímar, we insist, is not the exception. Currently, in Tenerife, not only is there no communication between areas within the same administration, as evidenced in this and many other cases, but the different institutions that should care for the indigenous legacy do not coordinate with each other. Budget allocations that are available are not requested, and those that are mobilised concerning heritage are mainly directed towards architectural and ethnographic figures: parishes, chapels, stately homes, palaces of illustrious colonial surnames and festivals of all kinds, under the pretext of having cultural interest, receive millions in investments. Meanwhile, no actions are directed towards protecting, disseminating, and conserving the guanche material legacy.”

The group reminds us that Güímar, the main municipality of the valley of the same name, “has hundreds of catalogued sites and archaeological sites recognised as undiscovered, in addition to many more that are not yet catalogued.” However, they lament that “only two of them have been officially highlighted: The Pyramids, with their associated controversy, and the Chinguaro cave, with its recent architectural alteration. These are the only sites that most people know in the valley. The entire Güímar Valley, which comprises three municipal demarcations (Arafo, Candelaria, and Güímar), still lacks a single updated municipal archaeological catalogue.” Therefore, they criticise that decades “keep passing and the guanche memory in Güímar continues to focus on the colonial portrait of the noble savage: ragged troglodytes, subdued and prostrated at the feet of a wooden figure brought by the renowned conquerors alongside their superior religion and culture. Syncretisms aside, we believe that every memory deserves the same respect and dedication, as every fragment of the history of the Canary Islands is a fundamental part of the puzzle that forms our present identity. What is absolutely intolerable is that, from the public power that claims to ensure compliance with the law, everything related to our ancestors and their legacy continues to be marginalised, prioritising the colonial imposture that sought and continues to seek to erase their memory forever.”

The response from the Heritage Councillor

The councillor for the Heritage area of the council, Javier Eloy Campos, explained this Friday to Canarias Ahora that he was unaware of the fears and warnings from the Imastanen group, whom he intended to call right after providing his explanation to this media outlet, as well as to the heritage department of the Cabildo. Campos highlights that, of the 16 BICs that Güímar has, none refer to rock engravings and regrets that, while he considers it essential to protect and maintain this legacy, they cannot be signposted precisely as per the regulations, otherwise “they would disappear.” For this reason, he argues that the public can, at least from ignorance, walk on this type of element if they are not informed because it is like parking in a place that does not have a proper reservation.

The councillor considers that this athletic event is one of the least dangerous acts for local heritage and is very concerned about the effects of the planned wind turbine farms in the municipality (and Fasnia), due to the consequences of the tracks that will be opened, as well as other projects or impacts. He also reminds us that the entire Güímar Valley and much of the South, “from Hoya Fria to Vilaflor,” is filled with rock engravings and that many landowners do not even know that they have them on their properties, underscoring their historical importance but also the importance of maintaining the increasingly fragile agriculture in the Islands.

Nevertheless, he insists that he will look into the Imastanen complaint and reiterates that he was unaware of their fears regarding the athletic event beforehand.

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