By Domingo Medina.| The street originally known as Las Piteras starts at the meeting point with El Agua and stretches all the way to Plaza de La Concepción. Later, from 1910 until the present, the initial section is named Bencomo, in honor of the three priest brothers Bencomo and Rodríguez, concluding at Plaza de La Catedral. The subsequent section commences at Plaza de Los Remedios and Juan de Vera, where on the corner to the right, stands the 18th-century Casa Suárez, which housed the first City Lottery Administration operated by the Penedo family, now relocated to number 18 on this thoroughfare.
On July 27, 1937, this part of the street was designated as Capitán Brotons (Santa Cruz de Tenerife May 5, 1926 – Talavera de La Reina February 6, 1937). Since July 2018, following the Historical Memory Law, it has been renamed after the lawyer and former mayor during the Republic, Alonso Suárez Melián.
THE LAGOON GRAZERS
In 1769, a total of 172 men, including officers and sergeants, arrived in Tenerife with the aim of training farmers in military tactics. They were all accommodated in the residence that Juan de la Haya owned on this street.
Following the arrival of these professional soldiers, who trained the militia veterans, there began a certain level of professionalization of the militias in the Canary Islands, leading to the formation of an Infantry Company and another Cavalry Company with men from the mainland. Prior to this, in La Laguna, the farmers who were skilled with curved knives, such as sickles, had formed a specific troop known as the Rozadores de La Laguna. A document from 1790 in Tenerife reveals that the militiamen only had 73 rifles, 77 bayonets, and 8 pistols. Before the professional organization of the military commenced, it was the Cabildo that stored the chuzos, knives…, and the General Command, relocated to Santa Cruz in 1723, was responsible for possessing muskets, rifles, and gunpowder for the soldiers and cannons installed in castles and along the coast.
HESPÉRIDES HOUSE AND MUSEUM OF THE SABANDEÑOS
Prior to reaching the junction with Núñez de la Peña, on the left-hand side stands the 18th-century Casa Hespérides, which was acquired by the Lagunero City Council, refurbished, and utilized as the headquarters of the Autonomous Sports Organization. This building, previously owned by the Royal Hespérides Society, housed the representation of Lagunero soccer, which emerged from the merger in 1912 of Patria and Sporting Laguna. It also served as the base for the Real Hespérides Folkloric Group, a former El Carmen rondalla directed by the folklorist Don Ángel Hernández (Ito) and the Real Hespérides Canarian Wrestling Club.
At the General Meeting of the Hespérides Society in January 1924, Mr. Jaime Bluiett was elected president. A few days following the inauguration, the leaders of the Lagunero club were received in audience by the then Captain General of the Canary Islands, Mr. Alberto de Borbón y Castellvi. During this meeting, they sought military support to secure the title of Royal for the lagoon entity. On February 7 of the same year, a certification was received from the Mayordomía Mayor de la Majesdad de la Majesty, where King Alfonso XIII accepted the Honorary presidency and granted the title Royal.
The Los Sabandeños House Museum now occupies the building previously home to the Graduate School and also functions as the rehearsal space for the internationally renowned Lagunero folklore group. Being recognized as the most significant folk music group in the Canary Islands and equally relevant on a national scale. Their music has resonated in live performances across the globe, with a high level of acclaim, further recognized through their extensive recording work since their establishment in 1965, at the Sabanda farm, in the town of Punta del Hidalgo (La Laguna). Their debut album was recorded in the assembly hall of the Ateneo Lagunero in 1966.
The Sabandeños Museum is a dedicated cultural space that delves into the history and legacy of this renowned international group and the folklore. The premises house their history and artifacts, including musical instruments, costumes, photographs, discography, awards, and other memorabilia.
The museum boasts several themed rooms, offering visitors a connection between the Sabandeños and the folklore and history of La Laguna. The library holds the volumes donated by the journalist and writer María Rosa Alonso. Additionally, the cultural space hosts concerts, conferences, and workshops related to the folklore of the Canary Islands.
Residing at property number 11 is the former photography studio of Mr. Antonio Rueda (Antonio García Rueda. Ronda, November 25, 1930) and his residence until retirement. At number 15, there was the entrance to the garden of the Tenerife-Laguna hotel.
On the left side of this street, at number 12, stood the bookstore of Armando Sigut, distributor of Tenerife newspapers in the city. At number 24, Eloy Díaz de la Barreda, civil servant and head of protocol of the Hon. Island Council of Tenerife, also a theater director, and founder of the TEU (Spanish University Theatre). He created “Tío Pepote,” a character broadcast on the airwaves of Radio Club Tenerife on Thursday afternoons, sponsored by a confectionery company in La Laguna, with the slogan: “If they are not Mederos, do not wanna”.
In the second section of the street stands the rear part of the Leal Theater and the building that was later incorporated to expand the theater’s amenities. On the site of the current building, opposite the rear of the Leal Theater, there was a mosaic factory, later transformed into the Treasury Collection Office.
Almost at the end of the road, near the Plaza de La Concepción, the coal factory and tavern owned by Ramón Herrera Amaya and Enrique Fernández Remigio was established, subsequently relocating to Los Bolos street under the name “The office”due to patrons departing the winery with their clothes stained by the charcoal, which was also sold there.
WHO WAS ALONSO SUÁREZ MELIÁN?
Alonso Suárez Melián was a Tenerife lawyer, the founder of the PSOE in La Laguna, and its first president from June 5, 1931. The Constituent Assembly of said Party took place at number 63 San Agustín Street, following the approval of the statutes by the civil governor of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
He became the mayor of La Laguna at the age of 33, elected subsequent to the formation of the Lagunera Corporation, following the municipal elections in 1936. After the military coup of July 18, he was relieved from his position, dismissed, and apprehended alongside the other councilors who constituted the governing body of the City of La Laguna.
