La Laguna is taking a slightly different route into its own history with Indumenta 2: The Return of the Sweetwater Indian, a new cultural project using traditional Canarian clothing to explore the municipality’s past, people and traditions.
Rather than keeping everything in the historic centre, the project is heading into different neighbourhoods and towns, giving residents and visitors the chance to discover local history where it actually happened.
More than just old clothes
Traditional clothing can tell you quite a lot about a community.
The project looks at the garments themselves, but also at the stories behind them, the people who wore them and the customs they represent.
It will explore local traditions, notable figures and the role clothing has played as a sort of documentary record of Canarian society.
Tourism councillor Fran Hernández described traditional dress as an important part of understanding previous generations and said the project aims to help pass that knowledge on.
And there is a bit more to preserving traditional clothing than putting an old outfit in a display case.
Expert Dulce Rodríguez de la Rosa points out that the knowledge involved in making the garments, including the techniques and skills required, is part of the intangible heritage too.
That means preserving the know-how, not just the finished article.
From textiles to local stories
The original Indumenta project began in La Laguna as a way of promoting intangible heritage through textiles.
Last year, it used theatre and music to explore the city’s history through popular clothing from the 19th and 20th centuries.
This new edition takes the idea further by bringing the programme into different parts of the municipality and linking it more closely with La Laguna’s cultural tourism strategy.
Where to catch Indumenta 2
The programme gets underway on Thursday 8 October at 7pm in Valle Tabares.
The following events are scheduled for:
- 10 October: Valle de Guerra
- 17 October: San Roque
- 29 October: Las Mercedes
- 4 November: Guamasa
- 11 November: Historic centre of La Laguna
The idea is to use each location to explore its own people, stories and traditions, rather than treating local heritage as one big generic collection.
It’s another good reminder that La Laguna’s history doesn’t stop at the old streets around the centre.
There’s quite a lot of it hiding in the surrounding neighbourhoods too.