San Cristóbal de La Laguna

San Cristóbal de La Laguna is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands (Spain). The city is the third-most populous city of the archipelago and the second-most populous city of the island. La Laguna’s historical center was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. In 2003 the municipality started an ambitious Urban Plan to renew this area, that was carried out by the firm AUC S.L. (Arquitectura Urbanismo y Cooperación). The city was the ancient capital of the Canary Islands. La Laguna lies right alongside the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife; thus, the two cities and municipalities form a single large urban center, linked by tram.

The city is home to the University of La Laguna which is home to 30,000 students; these are not included in the population figures for the city. La Laguna is considered to be the cultural capital of the Canary Islands. Also there is in the habit of being calling the “Ciudad de los Adelantados“, for having been the first university city of the archipelago.

Its economy is business-oriented while agriculture dominates the northeastern portion of the city. The urban area dominates the central and the southern parts. Tourism covers the northern coast. The main industry includes some manufacturing. The industrial area is made up of the main subdivisions of Majuelos, Las Torres de Taco, Las Mantecas and Las Chumberas. In this city one finds the legendary house of the spectre of Catalina Lercaro, as well as the incorrupt body of Sor María de Jesús, and the Christ of La Laguna (Cristo de La Laguna). Another emblematic building of the city is the Cathedral of La Laguna, which is the Catholic cathedral of Tenerife and its diocese (Diocese of Tenerife).

Other important historical figures of the city were Amaro Pargo, one of the famous corsairs of the Golden Age of Piracy, and José de Anchieta, Catholic saint and missionary and founder of the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

In 2010, after a survey, La Laguna was listed as the city with the best reputation in the Canary Islands and the third provincial capital city of Spain with the best reputation, behind Gijon and Marbella.

Main sights

Folklore

La Laguna is home to some well known folklore in the Canary Islands. La Laguna has created around folklore groups.

Festivals and holidays

Romería de San Benito Abad

The Romería Regional de San Benito Abad, this is a popular romeria that is considered the most representative of the Canary Islands, which involves groups coming from all corners of the archipelago. The second Sunday of July is celebrated. She is also considered among the most important romeria in Spain. Courtship is carried through the streets in which people are dressed in traditional costumes and decorated with typical products bullock carts. Along the way throughout the city there are also Canarian folk music.

Holiday of the Cristo de La Laguna

It is celebrated every 14 September in honor of a much venerated image of Christ in the Canary Islands,^[16] the Cristo de La Laguna. For this event come people from all over the archipelago. It is the leading holidays in town.

Holy Week

Holy Week in the city of San Cristóbal de la Laguna is the largest of the Canary Islands. Holy Week has steps of great historical and artistic value, such as the aforementioned Cristo de La Laguna, accompanied by their guilds, some of them centuries old and which adopted the use of the hood in the nineteenth century, ride on the wheeled carts streets of the city.