Canary Islands
La Palma
Life & Style
La Palma
Canary Islands
LIFE & STYLE
LA PALMA
La Palma
Hotel Bookings
La Palma. La Isla Bonita.
Life & Style of La Palma. TraditionsThe ancient inhabitants of La Palma Island were called the Benahoare until the island was settled from 1402 by the Spaniards. Since then there is a confluence of various cultures and traces of European, North African, and Castillian .
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Arquitecture in La Palma Island
The history of La Palma can be seen in buildings, Traditional houses and State Homes.
Casa de Sotomayor de La Palma- Sotomayor Estate: This is one of the most representative houses of La Palma Island, it was built in the late eighteenth century and completed in 1809. On it´s main facade there are four marble busts and in the corners are anthropomorphic stone gargoyles.
Casa Luján of Puntallana: The manor house is located north of Santa Cruz de La Palma, and keeps the decoration of wood and nineteenth-century Cuban mahogany and faithful to the original.
Address: El Posito 3, San Juan de Puntallana.
Crafts in La Palma Island
La Palma has a great tradition of craftsmanship, the condition of being an island has been an advantage for the craftsmanship of La Palma, from pre-Hispanic times, the abundance of different raw materials and the establishment in La Palma of traders and settlers of various origins such as Flemish, Portuguese, Irish, French and English, together with Castilian, between others were making their mark throughout history and have left a wealth and variety in traces of their craft, the old settlers made their own clay crafts characterized by incised decoration and a black color, characteristic of the burn. In between La Palma crafts are the production of textiles, carpets, curtains, handbags, backpacks, rugs, shoes .
Guanche Art. The Benahoaritas
There is not a broad knowledge of the Benahoaritas of La Palma, its former inhabitants.
The oldest part of La Palma is the Belmaco Cave, about 4000 years, as many archaeological finds have been found at La Zarza and The Zarcita (Garafia). Petroglyphs are the drawings on the rocks.
Own Sports of La Palma
La Palma has also a great tradition in own sports, from the Canary wrestling practiced in most parts of the archipelago, to the Game Hand, rarely and barely practiced, which is a method of defense using the hands, with demolitions and kicks.
Lucha del Garrote- Garrote Defense: It was also a defense method used and developed further by the ancient Canarians, the Guanches, who were mainly herders. The method used as defense against pirates and spanish conquerors, and was transmitted from generation to generation, mostly in the rural areas. This fight was all but forgotten until the 80s until Jorge Domínguez Naranjo compiled and cataloged the techniques There is now a Federation of Canarian Garrote.
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Bola Canaria(Canarian Ball): The origin of this practice is not very clear, the sport was probably brought by the former European colonists to the island. Technically it is a game very similar to the Castilian Petanca, but that requires a better physical condition when the balls are heavier and the playing fields larger.
Juego del Palo(Stick Game):
El Juego del Palo is a method of defense and also sport similar to fencing. The origin goes back to the old settlers in the canaries, and transmitted from generation to generation by farming families. Today there is school where the game is tought.
Levantamiento de Arado(Plow Lifting): This sport is also practiced in parts of southern Spain, consists in lifting plows of various sizes and weights. It is a sport that requires strength and balance. It is currently practiced as a show but still remains highly competitive.
Riego del Calabazo: This practice it´s an almost forgotten method of watering by hand, mainly practiced in the Aridane Valley region. It requires great strength and endurance. Basically consists of the manual transfer of water with a "gourd", elevating water from a ditch located on a lower elevation to a tanquilla feature called "shower" that is higher than the previous one.
Drag of Livestock: The practice involves the transport of cattle weights. It was used formerly in the absence of roads in La Palma and difficulty on the roads for the construction of houses.
Festivals in La Palma | What to Do
...work in progress..
