Religious event in Tenerife, Spain
Holy Week in San Cristóbal de La Laguna is a traditional event that has been repeated for centuries in the historic center of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, a city located on the island of Tenerife, Spain. It is considered the most remarkable Holy Week in the Canary Islands.
During the celebrations, parades and processions of statues that commemorate the Passion of Christ and objects of great historical and artistic goldsmith value are carried out through the streets of the city.
Urban and architectural ensemble of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.
The first example of an overseas city-territory and an institutional city, San Cristóbal de La Laguna was designed as a "city of peace", the only 
Renaissance city without walls. Built to human size and drawn on a grid, with navigation instruments. The city preserves a valuable architectural, artistic and festive heritage. In 1999, the old part of the city was declared a World Heritage Site, the only Canarian city with such a distinction. This provides the processional routes with a pronounced stamp reflected in the transit of images through its centuries-old streets and squares.
Sculpture catalog.
The repertoire of processional imagery that takes to the streets of the city is a range of carvings from various sources. The old capital of the island of Tenerife brings together effigies that are encompassed in a time span that goes from the 16th to the 21st century. These works of art come from places as disparate as the former provinces of the Netherlands; of colonial America; of the Italian commercial ports, of the Sevillian workshops of the 18th century; or from the baroque and the insular nineteenth-century neoclassicism, the latter being the most brilliant period of Canarian sculpture.
Image makers as important as Louis Van Der Vule (16th century), Antonio de Orbarán (1620-1671), Lázaro González de Ocampo (1651-1714), Pietro Galleano (1687-1761), José Rodríguez de la Oliva (1695-1777), Luján Pérez (1756-1815), Fernando Estévez (1788-1854), Gabriel de Astorga y Miranda (1804-1895) or Ezequiel de León Domínguez (1926-2008), supplied the numerous temples of the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.
History.
The celebration of Holy Week probably began with the Spanish conquest and the systematic celebration is attested from the second decade of the 16th century. It is considered as the oldest celebration of Holy Week taking place in the archipelago.
The bibliographical and documentary information that we have today leads us to support the antiquity of the "Cofradía de la Sangre" (Brotherhood of the Blood), whose Holy Thursday penitential procession would be the only one until the end of the 16th century, that toured the streets of La Laguna on the days of Holy Week.
As the city did not have an episcopal seat before the 19th century, the processions were limited to the parishes to which they belonged. Later the cathedral was included in the processional processions and the procession extended outside the parish limits. In fact, all the brotherhoods of Holy Week in La Laguna currently carry out a time of penance in the cathedral throughout Holy Week.
The reestablishment of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in 1877 and the reconstruction of the Cathedral in 1913 mark a resurgence in the life of the city's brotherhoods, whose role was fundamental in shaping Holy Week as it is celebrated today. with the creation of the Magna Procession in 1927, the Early Morning Procession in 1933 or the first proclamation of Holy Week in 1949.
In 1953 the "Consejo de Hermandades y Cofradías de La Laguna" was founded, which is made up of 26 brotherhoods, the council was founded with the aim not only of coordinating the activities of Holy Week, but also of organizing other celebrations with the diocesan administration. Another task of the council is to publicly represent the interests of the fraternities.
It is currently being processed by the city council, the diocese and the association of brotherhoods of the city for its recognition as an event of national interest.
Activities.
The activities related to this Christian celebration begin long before Holy Week itself and are not strictly limited to religious events. Although the main act continues to be the many processions that go through the streets of the city, there are also musical events, art exhibitions, conferences, religious-themed film screenings, poetry recitals, photo contests, children's crafts, collection of non-perishable food for those most in need, etc. There will also be a gastronomic week (the "Semana Gastronómica de Vigilia"). During this gastronomic week, among other things, wine tastings from various wineries in the region and a contest for the best "torrija", a typical product of Holy Week in Spain, take place.
Brotherhoods.
Currently, Holy Week in La Laguna has numerous brotherhoods and fraternities, among them stand out;
Processional steps.
Holy Week in La Laguna has numerous steps of great historical-artistic quality, among them;
Notes.
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