The Christmas holidays are coming and with it a tradition that is celebrated every year throughout Spain. In the Canary Islands, as could not be expected, churros are served after the day of the family Christmas celebration and, in the same way, at the farewell of the last day of the year. It is true that with the passage of time the churrerías in the Canary Islands have been disappearing, specifically in Tenerife, causing the loss of a history and popular tradition of the gastronomic culture of the Canary Islands.
However, of the few that remain, they are run by businessmen who are substitutes for other previous family generations rooted in the churros and chocolate of our land. One of those historic churrerías is located in San Benito, in La Laguna, in the Vega Lagunera. Its owners are the couple formed by Antonio Alexis Díaz and his wife, María Olga López Santana, parents of two children, Alexis and Daniel.
Antonio, better known as Toño, explains that “the idea of offering churros comes from a family business that has been serving the public for more than 38 years. The origin of opting for the traditional churro dough comes from my paternal family, who were bakers. My father was my true teacher. He taught me his experience, knowledge and the secrets of his trade. Years later, my wife, Olga and I decided to make the churros dough. From there, the family magic of my parents’ generation sprang up,” says the churrero master.
Olga, Toño’s wife, points out that these are “endearing dates, where churros and chocolate are the priority of our customers, since it is not in vain that they come from all over the islands. Even people who come from the peninsula to spend their holidays in the Canary Islands.”
THE SECRET IS IN THE DOUGH
Olgui, as her family, friends and regular customers already know her, points out that “we open during peak hours, with the purpose and hope of making preparations to make the churro dough in time and with care.”
Her husband confesses that “the secret of the dough lies in the love, affection and enthusiasm that my wife and I put into it. The ingredients that churros have are almost all the same, although some have their secrets that my father once taught me.”
The couple of master churro makers say that they feel very satisfied when they see their customers enjoying their products: “We are happy seeing our customers enjoy our churros and chocolate.”
Finally, both Antonio Alexis Díaz and María Olga López are aware that they would like the tradition not to be lost. For this reason, they stated that “as long as we have health and strength and enthusiasm, we will continue paying tribute to what my father taught me. Once we retire, we don’t know if our children will continue with the tradition of churros and chocolate, but that is a decision they must make.”
