He June 15, 1973 marked the day when the first and only artificial beach in Santa Cruz of Tenerife opened its doors to the public, giving life to what were previously three separate beaches. These three sections used to have different names depending on their neighbors. This is how the Las Teresitas beach.
The first was closer to the town of San Andrés, known as “Behind the sand”, where today you can still see a vestige of black sand if you visit the old San Andrés cemetery. The second part, located in the middle, was called “The Moors” and in this area there was a mansion that belonged to Princess Diana of Orleans, daughter of the Counts of Paris, and Duke Karl of Württemberg, son of Philip Albert , Duke of Württemberg. Finally, the area located in the Barranco de Las Teresas was the one that inspired the name of the beach after its renovation.
The Facebook group “Old photos of Tenerife” shared an image of the beach in 1960, before it was known as Las Teresitas beach. In the image you can see the rocks, the black sand and the absence of breakwaters, since that part of the coast was considered dangerous at that time.
Las Teresitas beach was dangerous
Neighbors say that this was a dangerous beach, where the water hit the stones hard. Neighbors in the area remember that several people even died. Due to its orientation, the force of the water and the wind has always characterized this beach.
Regenerating the new beach and covering almost a kilometer and a half in length with volcanic sand was too expensive due to its scarcity. This is why the City Council requested a loan of 50 million pesetas (more than 300,000 euros) for the purchase of the sand that would cover the original soil.
The first works of the Las Teresitas beach that were carried out began in 1968 and consisted of the construction of two side breakwaters, a breakwater and a cutting step into the sea that helped preserve the conservation of the new white sand, and which is located between 22 meters (with low tide) and 60 (at high tide). Normally, and at low tide, it is one and a half meters from the surface and drops to four meters. From here, descend slowly until you reach the beginning of the breakwater.
During the first six months of 1973, the stones on the beach were replaced by five million bags of blonde sand (270,000 tons) imported directly from the Sahara Desert aboard the ship Gopegui. On June 15 of the same year the beach was opened to the public.
Neighbors say that, initially, people were afraid to step on the sand, since they said that, coming from the Sahara, scorpions, scorpions, cigars and red ants came, mixed with the sand. In 1998, 25 years after its inauguration, 2,800 tons of sand were imported again from the Sahara to replace what was lost until then. Las Teresitas beach continues to be one of the favorite places for Tenerife residents, as well as visitors who come to the Island.
