The smell of renovation still lingers, a hint of varnish, those scents that usually remain after works are completed. The Anchieta House, next to the Adelantado square, in the heart of the historic old town of La Laguna, is currently going through a sort of debut after the rehabilitation works that have been carried out. And it does so with the help of the Burka Theater company, which offered yesterday afternoon the first showings to showcase the property where San José de Anchieta, the second saint of Canarias and the first of La Laguna, grew up.
The historian and educator Néstor Veron acts as a guide, and two actors from Burka come in and out of the scene. They are small theatrical snippets that allow a brief journey back to the 16th century. They portray Juan de Anchieta, father of San José de Anchieta and a notary, and Francisco de Alzola, the inquisitor general. It is a dynamic tour: Verona provides some historical insights, and suddenly, the moment of Anchieta (father) and Alzola arrives. Around 30 people attended the initial tours.
Specifically, the open house programme runs from yesterday until Sunday, 30th June, with a total of 18 guided tours that are free of charge. Except for Thursday, when the Anchieta House will remain closed, the venue will be open from 17:00 to 20:00, with tours starting on the hour, while on Sunday it will open in the morning, from 10:30 to 14:00, with visits at 10:30, 11:45, and 13:00. The capacity for each tour will be limited to 30 people, on a first-come, first-served basis, and three sessions with sign language interpreters will be included.
Nacho Almenar, the director of Burka Theatre,, confirmed on Monday from the audience that everything was going as planned. This company, established in 2003, is not new to representing Anchieta’s life or narrating the history of La Laguna through theatre. The audience’s reactions seemed positive. “I always say that it is only by knowing our heritage that we truly value it,” Néstor Verona stated at the end of the first showing. “It is the only way to ensure that we all preserve our heritage,” expressed the historian.
La Laguna embarks on a journey to the 16th century with the inaugural Casa Anchieta Open Days. / E. D.
As you may remember, and after some vicissitudes, the decision of La Laguna City Council’s ruling group is for this property to become the first interpretation centre in Canarias about the figure and era of Father Anchieta, “with a model to be agreed upon by all the specialized institutions, local and international organizations, and neighbourhood groups, through the Municipal Heritage Council, which we established a few days ago,” the City Council stated in a press release.
White walls and wood
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White walls, wood, stone, and glass define this emblematic building after the refurbishment, originally built in the 16th century, although it was rebuilt a century later by Diego Benítez de Anchieta and underwent significant modifications in the 19th century, while the main facade was redesigned in 1905 by Mariano Estanga.
“Initially used as a single-family home of Nuño Pérez, it passed to his widow Mencía Díaz de Clavijo upon his death (who gives her name to the rear square that now occupies the former property’s orchard) and her subsequent husband Juan de Anchieta, a captain and public notary, parents of a José de Anchieta who lived here during the first 14 years of his life,” explained Verona in the note, and added on Monday that it has been ten years since the canonization of San José de Anchieta.
One curiosity of the space is that it was the residence of the poet Manuel Verdugo Bartlett, the headquarters of the Virgen de la Candelaria women’s college, the Canary Islands School of Actors, and temporarily the Tenerife Bishopric after the fire at Palacio Salazar, as well as housing part of the municipal archive until some issues were detected that required its closure and restoration.
In more detail, the house was designated a Cultural Heritage site on 14th March 1986, now incorporated into the area of the historic ensemble declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. San José de Anchieta resided there until his departure to Coimbra, from where he travelled to Brazil as a Jesuit missionary.
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Born in San Cristóbal de La Laguna in 1534, San José de Anchieta is considered the first poet born in Canarias, as well as a linguist, playwright, doctor, architect, botanist, and engineer. “This humanist religious figure managed to combine apostolate in the lands of Brazil with respect for diversity, the promotion of peace and understanding between peoples, and creative effort, leaving behind a vast written work in Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, and Tupí, the language of the indigenous people of present-day Brazil,” highlighted the La Laguna City Council.
