Bencomo Street had different names over time. «The one in Las Piteras was due to the large number of plants of this species. But the old name, until it was called Bencomo, was that of El Tambor street, because the wineries that the privateer Amaro Pargo had in it, adjacent to the house of José de la Santa and Ariza, which is the current number five of the street del Agua, and is on the corner of El Tambor (Bencomo), they were in the three houses that he built on the lots that he bought from Lieutenant Colonel Bartolomé Benítez de Aponte and his wife, María Rita de Lugo, on April 16, 1728 » . The above is just one of the stories from yesterday of the local street map that collects What the eyes do not see in the streets and squares of La Laguna, a work presented this Monday and in which its author, the ex-politician Domingo Medina, travels fifty of enclaves of the city in a tone between historical and didactic.
The Stone Cross is the starting point of a book, published by the Cicop Foundation, which offers in its 200 pages an itinerary that will take you through Leonardo Torriani avenue, San Cristóbal square, Santo Domingo street … Continue for Christ and the old Franciscan convent, the green area of La Vega, the surroundings of La Concepción…, and ends in the most modern avenues of La Trinidad, Heraclio Sánchez street and Ángel Guimerá avenue. Medina does not leave behind his neighborhood of San Juan, where he was born, and its streets Baltasar Núñez, El Peso, Ciprés and San Juan. Precisely, the income obtained through the sale of the book is expected to go to Cáritas Diocesana and help the aforementioned enclave.
The president of Cicop, Miguel Ángel Fernández Matrán, who served as master of ceremonies, highlighted the “visual perception” offered by the publication and the role that “people” have in it. The cover photograph is by Maricruz del Castillo, who is also the author of interior images, while others are by Fotos Rochera. Domingo Medina explained in his speech the characteristics of a work that germinated, he details in the introduction, “when seeing the guided routes of students or foreigners getting to know the city.” There he observed that many did not know “who gives our streets its name and even less where their old names come from, such as El Tambor or El Jardín streets.” And he continues: «At that same moment the title of the book that I proposed to write came to my mind: What the eyes do not see, simply because behind each plaque of the streets, squares, houses and noble buildings of our city there are interesting data historical and popular asleep in books, documents in archives, in my memory and in what our ancestors have transmitted to us ».
“The objective that I intend with this book is to collaborate by providing historical data and experiences, where the reader can learn about the life, anecdotes and stories of who gives their name to the streets and squares of the lagoon, which characterize this unique and historic city.” That is the declaration of intentions that Medina formulates at the beginning of the book. “The history of the Stone Cross goes back to the session held by the Cabildo on September 13, 1560 (…)”, begins the chapter dedicated to this symbol located in the lower part of the city. In the sections focused on roads or squares dedicated to people – who are in the majority – Medina adds an exploded view under the heading Who was …?, To go on to relate the life and work of characters such as Leonardo Torriani, Bishop Ruiz Cabal, Nava and Grimón or Dean Palahí, among others.
Anchieta or The Garden
Domingo Medina highlighted yesterday the figure of San José de Anchieta, the first lagoon saint and second of the Canary Islands. Anchieta Street plays a leading role in the work: «This street is also known as El Jardín, one of its old names, because for a long time in a wide space between this road and that of Tabares de Cala (Los Álamos), The 6th Marquis of Villanueva del Prado, Don Alonso de Nava y Grimón, its owner, turned this orchard into a beautiful French-style garden, where evenings, musical performances and literary gatherings of Nava were held, as well as meetings of the Supreme Board of the Canary Islands », he exposes.
“I humbly believe that this work can be a good document, useful for those who visit us and are interested in learning about our history, even for those who live in it, that of the first city of Tenerife,” he says. The project received praise during its presentation from the president of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, Gustavo Matos, as well as the mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez. «Our streets have a story to tell. Domingo Medina has written a very valuable book, in which he invites us to look at La Laguna with the eyes of its history and its memory through the illustrious characters that today give their name to the city’s street map. A book that all the lagoons should know. Congratulations to its author for this magnificent work and to the Cicop Foundation, which has made this publication possible, presented today, “the Lagunero alderman later expressed on the networks about this work.
