The City Council of La Orotava has proposed to the regional government the award of the Canary Islands Prize, in this year’s call and in the Popular Culture modality, to the Villa de La Orotava Carpenter Association. The proposal was approved unanimously in the ordinary plenary session in December.
The mayor of villero, Francisco Linares, emphasizes that this non-profit cultural entity “is well deserving of this special award”, and recalls that in 2015 it received the Gold Medal of Tenerife and in 2017 the Villa de La Orotava. He is also a Gold Medal from the Villa de La Orotava; the CIT of Puerto de la Cruz; CICOP (International Center for the Conservation of Heritage) and Friendly Tourism Award of the CIT of La Orotava, always in recognition of their trajectory and struggle to preserve and disseminate Canarian traditions and the value of this unique ephemeral art. The La Orotava Carpenter Association was established on November 14, 1991 in order to preserve and promote the tradition of carpeting in the municipality, with great roots since the 19th century and with outstanding national and international projection. It is made up of carpenters, understanding as such the people who participate directly in the making of the flower carpets that are made in the streets of this northern town, as well as in the magnificent tapestry of natural lands of the Teide National Park that is produced every year in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
The purpose of this association is to attend to the organization, implementation, promotion, conservation, defense and dissemination of carpets, both in their flower and natural lands, in honor of Corpus Christi.
In addition, the association organizes other activities during the year such as the management of the Ephemeral Art Center (Museum of the Rugs) and the Municipal School of Carpets, participation in international congresses and the organization of conferences.
This year the group celebrates the 175th anniversary of the elaboration of the first carpet in the Villa, a milestone that marked an imprint that has remained strong until today and that the Association protects so that it also reaches future generations vigorously.
The great acceptance that this practice of ephemeral art has had in the Villa led to this town being a focus for the expansion of carpets to other municipalities in the Canary Islands and recognized internationally.
