Next Friday, September 25, the Cabildo of Lanzarote will present the Isla de Lanzarote Awards and Distinguished Tourism Awards on the occasion of the celebration of World Tourism Day. For this occasion, in which the work of any person or entity that, due to its activity in the cultural, artistic, industrial, social or economic field, continuously promotes Lanzarote abroad is recognized, the Teguise City Council has proposed its candidates to receive this distinction.
In the category of events and cultural or sporting events of tourist interest, the Teguise City Council is committed to the traditional Rancho de Pascuas de Teguise as Distinguished Tourism, "for its contribution to maintaining the popular, cultural and religious traditions of the Canary Islands over time."
In the category of tourism companies, Teguise proposes Los Aljibes de Tahiche, "for their work in recovering a Manrique space and their contribution as a meeting place of tourist, cultural and gastronomic interest."
Finally, and as personalities or groups with a long and/or outstanding career, from the Tourism area of Teguise, the businessman Bernard Gaziello is proposed, "for his contribution to developing and promoting Costa Teguise as a specific destination for windsurfing."
"I would like to thank all of them for their great contribution to the world of tourism, regardless of the result and verdict issued by the jury on the occasion of World Tourism Day," said the Councilor for Tourism of Teguise, Antonio Callero.
For his part, the mayor of the municipality, Oswaldo Betancort, considers that "the private initiatives of the Teguise candidates, as well as the enormous tradition of a cultural legacy such as the Ranchos de Pascua in Teguise, deserve recognition, precisely for their great contribution to improving the image of the island of Lanzarote, as well as the quality of the services of the island's tourism industry, and its cultural and heritage level, where the municipality of Teguise has much to tell, preserve and show, both to those who visit us from abroad and to the citizens and residents of other municipalities on the island."
The Aljibes of César Manrique
The City Council recalls that in 1976 César Manrique intervened in Tahíche in some cisterns, to turn them into the offices of Río Tinto. Later they would be transformed into the Los Aljibes restaurant, explains Callero, pointing out that "it is considered one of the best contributions of César Manrique to the exercise of architecture, today converted into a restaurant, exhibition hall and tourist-cultural space."
After many years closed to the public, in 2011 several businessmen decided to rehabilitate the space and launch the first craft brewery in Lanzarote, driven by the particularity that the raw material of beer, barley, is one of the main cereals grown on the island. The project frames the reopening of the restaurant, the brewery and a space dedicated to art, inaugurated in 2012 and which had the help of the Cabildo Insular de Lanzarote farm and the advice of the César Manrique Foundation.
The Ranchos de Ánimas de La Villa
The history of this tradition dates back to when the Christmas ranches toured the town of Teguise from November to February, asking from door to door to raise funds for the souls, with music of oriental influence. In 1455, the parish of Teguise, the oldest in the Canary Islands, incorporated Christmas into its festivities, but it was in 1580, the year in which the Convent of Santa María de Miraflores was founded for the Franciscan order, when the custom of the Ranchos de Ánimas of singing to Christmas acquired some importance, from the day of Santa Lucía, December 13.
Walking, on donkeys, camels or in carts, people came from all over the island to see the Rancho de Pascua de Teguise. Currently, the Rancho participates only on the night of December 24, and performs songs and dances in front of the child Jesus in the Church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Teguise. Its lyrics are composed of romances that narrate the biblical events that revolve around the birth of Christ, with feet that the choir repeats and begins its interventions with the "corrido" when they enter the temple and announce the birth of Jesus. They continue with the "salto", a dance of shepherds who celebrate Christmas, to continue, again inside the church, with "desechas y pascua".
"The rich tradition of our Ranchos de Pascuas is lived by its members as an important heritage of their lives. Every year, old and young, to the sound of their peculiar instruments, make the foundations of the historic vibrate with the same lyrics that year after year sang the great patrons of the folklore of our peoples, enhancing their experience of centuries, with its rich historical, religious and cultural heritage," they emphasize from the Consistory. As instruments, in the Rancho four or five tambourines, four swords, two triangles, six rattles, a timple, two requintos and three guitars are used.
Gaziello and his passion for windsurfing
The third proposal of Teguise is for Bernard Gaziello to be awarded. This businessman arrived in Lanzarote in 1984, on his way to Fuerteventura. The wind conditions and his passion for windsurfing made him stay in Costa Teguise. The world of windsurfing and tourism are his way of life.
In 1987, he organized an annual congress of European vendors of the sports brand BIC at the Teguise Playa hotel in Costa Teguise, with the participation of the best windsurfers of the moment, including Mike Eskimo, Stephane Etienne, Nicole Boronat and Nathalie Simon. Also that year, he participated in the opening of the first establishment with sports connotations in Costa Teguise, Looping, made and managed by "windsurfers". In this establishment he opened a windsurfing board rental and a board and sail repair shop. The regular customers of this accommodation were French and English who came in search of the wind of Costa Teguise and the 'spot' of Las Cucharas beach. Among the renowned clients staying at the Looping at that time was Juergen Honsheid, inventor of the "Funboard".
In 1989, Gaziello helped the company "Internacional Windsurfing Spain" (Club Fanatic) to settle in Costa Teguise and they worked together for two years. "The arrival of Fanatic to Lanzarote meant for the area and the island a serious development of this sport, having a primary role in making known the 'spot' of Las Cucharas throughout Europe," emphasize from the City Council of Teguise.
In 1991, Gaziello opened the UCPA windsurfing school in Las Cucharas and the first surf school in Lanzarote. He also organized, in collaboration with the Teguise City Council, the distribution of the beach and the first exit channel for the boards. In parallel, he continued with the management of Looping and with sports holidays until 1998. Later, he inaugurated the Apartamentos Océano.
"His relationship with the world of tourism and sport means that between 1991 and 2007, he made the appropriate arrangements to receive on the island about 2,500 people each year for the enjoyment of leisure tourism," they point out, recalling that, in addition, Gazielle is also president of the Estación Náutica Norte and co-founder of European Sport Destination (ESD).
