La Laguna is adding two new routes to its tourism programme, giving visitors and residents the chance to discover a different side of the municipality.
The two experiences are La Laguna. Viaje al Pasado, which uses technology to explore the city’s history, and Tejina. La tierra que late, which heads out beyond the historic centre to look at the landscape, agriculture, traditions and memories that have shaped Tejina.
And it’s a useful reminder that La Laguna’s heritage isn’t just about old buildings and pretty streets. There is a lot more to the municipality than the historic centre.
A different way to explore La Laguna
La Laguna. Viaje al Pasado uses technology as part of a series of interpretive routes around the city.
The idea is to look at familiar places from a different perspective, revealing historical events and details connected with locations that many local residents probably walk past without giving them much thought.
The project has been developed with the participation of Tivity, whose representative Javier González explained that the technology is intended to help participants discover the history behind these everyday spaces.
The sessions are scheduled for:
- 17, 19 and 24 September
- 1, 3, 4, 8, 15, 22 and 24 October
Tejina gets its own story
The second route heads to Tejina, using the land itself as the starting point for exploring how the village has developed.
Tejina. La tierra que late looks at agriculture, landscape, social organisation, traditions and cultural identity, bringing together the different elements that have helped shape the community.
The route has been created by the Asociación Sociocultural Cervantear, following historical, documentary and ethnographic research.
The project has drawn on documents and photographs from several sources, including the Municipal Archive of La Laguna, private collections and the Alumni ULL archive.
There’s also an important local element to the project, with residents’ knowledge and personal testimonies being incorporated to bring the oral history of Tejina into the story.
A two-hour walk through Tejina
The route lasts around two hours and starts at Plaza de la Iglesia de San Bartolomé.
From there, it continues through the Jardines de Tejina, Plaza del Ramal and the Cementerio de San Sebastián, before returning to the church area.
The stops cover a surprisingly broad range of subjects, including political history, the territory, agriculture, nature, archaeology, traditions and local culture.
Daniel Martí, president of the Asociación Sociocultural Cervantear, said the aim is to tell Tejina’s story through the places, traditions and other elements that have helped create its identity and remain part of the village today.
The ten routes will take place at 10:00 on:
- 3, 10, 11, 17, 24 and 25 October
- 14, 21, 28 and 29 November
For anyone who thinks they’ve already seen everything La Laguna has to offer, these two routes might prove otherwise. Sometimes you don’t need to go very far to find a completely different story.