Tegueste

Tegueste is a Spanish municipality located in the north of the island of Tenerife, belonging to the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the autonomous community of the Canary Islands.

The municipal capital is located in the urban area of Tegueste Centro, located 550 m s. no. m.

The municipality presents the particularity of being completely surrounded by that of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, being the only one in the autonomous community with this characteristic. The municipality is part of the metropolitan area of Tenerife together with San Cristóbal de La Laguna, El Rosario, Tacoronte, El Sauzal and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Said metropolitan area has a population of more than 449,472 inhabitants. It is also one of the three Tenerife municipalities that do not have a coast, along with El Tanque and Vilaflor de Chasna.

Toponymy

The municipality takes its name from its main population center, which in turn comes from the ancient Guanche kingdom or menceyato of Tegueste, and which occupied the modern extension of the municipality plus other enclaves such as Valle de Guerra, Tejina and Bajamar. The term, of Guanche origin, is translated as 'humid' by some researchers.

Currently, the place name Tegueste is thought to be related to Tagaste, a city in North Africa where Saint Augustine of Hippo was born and the center of Berber culture.

Symbols

Shield

On February 10, 1993, the Ministry of the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands approved the heraldic shield of the municipality, being defined as:

«Divided shield: 1st gules, four walls of silver masoned with sable, placed in a sash; 2nd silver, a laurel in its color, terraced in its natural state, with some rocks from where a torrent of silver comes out, which runs along the terrace and is lost at the tip of the shield. Border made up of eight pieces, four of sinople, with a gold spike, corresponding to the cantons, and four of gold with a natural bunch of grapes, corresponding to the head, flank and tip. At the bell, Corona Real closed."

Flag

On March 6, 1995, the Ministry of the Presidency and Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands approved the municipal flag, consisting of two horizontal and equal stripes, the upper one white and the lower one emerald green.

Physical geography

Location

The municipality of Tegueste is located in the northeast of the island of Tenerife. It has an area of 26.41 km², ranking 22nd on the island and 42nd in the province.

The houses are concentrated around the highway to Punta del Hidalgo, with scattered centers throughout the municipal territory.

Orography

The municipality, with an average altitude of 545 m a.s.l. no. m., presents two geographically well differentiated zones: a mountainous eastern zone, which corresponds to the foothills of the extreme northwest of the Anaga massif; and a fairly flat central-western area, corresponding to the Tegueste and Socorro valleys. In the central area of these valleys there are ancient volcanic cones of the Strombolian type, among which the Montaña del Drago and La Calderilla stand out. In the mountains of Anaga, the Mesa de Tejina stands out, a plateau of 590 meters above sea level, the Picacho del Roque de Pedro Álvarez, a phonolitic piton, and the Cabezo de las Torviscas, the highest point of Tegueste with 949.7 m a.s.l. no. m.

Hydrography

The municipality is crossed by several ravines, the main ones being La Goleta, Agua de Dios and El Rodeo.

Climate

Tegueste has a mild climate favored by its altitude and the direct influence of the trade winds, which provide humidity. The average annual temperature is between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius.

Average climatic parameters of Tegueste (1982-2012)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Average temperature (°C)	17.3	17.5	18.8	19.4	20.6	22.5	25.1	26.3	25.0	23.4	20.4	18.3	21.2
Average temperature (°C)	14.3	14.4	15.3	15.8	17.0	18.8	21.1	21.9	21.4	19.9	17.4	15.2	17.7
Temp. medium (°C)	11.3	11.4	11.9	12.3	13.4	15.2	17.1	17.6	17.8	16.4	14.4	12.2	14.3
Total precipitation (mm)	70	55	52	28	14	6	1	2	10	46	84	88	456
Source: Climate-data.org

Nature

Flora

Although much of the natural vegetation of Tegueste has disappeared due to cultivated land and urban centers, it still preserves an important enclave of great ecological wealth in the Anaga mountains, maintaining areas of laurel forest on the Pedro Álvarez mountain. The rest of this wooded area is covered with fayal-brezal, as well as plantations of pine Pinus radiata and eucalyptus Eucalyptus ssp.. The latter also extend through the elevations that separate the valleys of Tegueste from La Laguna. In the low-lying areas, shrublands that replace potential vegetation predominate, the most widespread being Opuntia ssp. tunnels, Rubus ulmifolius brambles and incense communities < i>Artemisia thuscula and cruet Rumex lunaria. On the slopes of the Goleta ravine, samples of tabaibal-cardonal are preserved, while in the Blas Núñez ravine there is still a grove of Canarian willows Salix canariensis.

Tegueste has two of the monumental trees of the island: the dragon tree of Prebendado Pacheco and the wild olive tree of La Fuga.

Protected spaces

Tegueste has a protected area of the Anaga rural park, a space included in the Canary Islands Network of Protected Natural Spaces, and which has been declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in June 2015.

Likewise, this area is also a Special Conservation Area and a Special Protection Area for Birds, included in the Natura 2000 Network.

It also has the La Goleta and Pedro Álvarez Public Utility Mount.

History

Guanche period: before the 15th century

Tegueste has been inhabited since Guanche times, as evidenced by the archaeological sites found in numerous points of the Agua de Dios ravine, especially in the place known as Los Cabezazos. The territory of the modern municipality was part of the menceyato of Tegueste, one of the territorial demarcations into which the Guanches had divided the island before the arrival of the Castilian conquistadors in the XV.

European Conquest and Colonization: 15th and 16th Centuries

During the conquest, Tegueste was part of the so-called bandos de guerra when rejecting the invasion. Once the conquest was finished in 1496, the lands and assets of the old menceyato were divided between conquistadors and colonists, highlighting among these beneficiaries of assets Fernando de Llerena, Guillén Castellano, Juan de Almansa, Francisco Melián, Gonzalo del Castillo, Fernando de Molina or Juan Zapata.

The town as such arose from the first moments of colonization, developing its primitive nucleus —known as Tegueste el Viejo— around the modern Plaza de La Arañita and the primitive hermitage of San Marcos built around 1530 in this spot.

Tegueste began to have a local mayor and bailiff since the mid-XVI.

Old Regime: 17th and 18th centuries

In 1606 the hermitage of San Marcos was elevated to the rank of parish church, and a new temple was built in its modern location in 1701.

From the 17th century populations began to develop in the Socorro Valley, in what would be known as Tegued the New.

Juan Núñez de la Peña says of Tegueste in 1676:

TEGUESTE THE VIEJO. The place of Tegueste the Elder, is of the City three quarters of league; it has many vineyards, the parish is of the glorious S. Marcos, it is curate, has its mayor...

Juan Núñez de la Peña, 1676.

The Tenerife historian José de Viera y Clavijo described the municipality as follows:

TEGUESTE. It's like a city league to the Northwest. Few ruined houses, poor church of 3 ships, healing provision of the bishop. His parishioner of 846 people, distributed in Tegueste the New, payment of Pedro Álvarez, La Goleta, Portezuelo. It has 5 hermitages: Our Lady of Relief, in Tegueste the New, with assistance from Augustinian parents of La Laguna; San Gonzalo, San Luis, Santo Domingo and San Pedro Alcántara. This territory joyful, healthy and populated with vines and fruit trees, was the head of the kingdom when it did not.

José de Viera and Clavijo, 1772-1773.

In the 18th century the office of royal mayor was joined by the figures of trustee, common deputy and trustee of dates, forming the first "town hall" of Tegueste.

Modern period: 19th and 20th centuries

After the proclamation of the Constitution of Cádiz, Tegueste became an independent municipality on February 14, 1813.

The municipality is described around the middle of the XIX century by Pascual Madoz as follows:

TEGUESTE. Place with city council of the island and diocese of Tenerife, (...). Stayed in a plain to NO. of the island, whose winds are the ones that predominate; its CLIMA is healthy, joyful and clear, and there are no other diseases than seasonal, fever and tertiary. It has about 265 CASAS of which 165 form the body of population and the remaining ones disseminated in its payments, called the Goleta, Tegueste and Porteruelo; there is a rented house where the town hall celebrates its sessions, and in the lower part of it a piece destined to prison; a fountain of water of good quality, of which the neighbors arise for its uses; parish church of entrance (San Marcos) served by a priest, a priest Sra. del Socorro, San Gonzalo, San Luis, Sto. Domingo and San Pedro Alcántara, all in the term 1/2 leagues of the population with a short difference. Confine N. with Tegina; E. the Rosary; S. Mountains, and O. la Laguna. The TERRENO, although of a secano, is of excellent quality, being found in several planting points of fruit trees of various kinds, such as figs, pears, apples etc. CAMINOS: there is one that leads to the city of the Laguna, plain and in good condition; and another that leads to Tegina and villages of the interior of the island somewhat neglected; the CORRESPONDENCE is received from the Lagoon by barter, to which point carries the one that leaves; PRODUCTION: wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits and wine; this and the wheat harvest is quite vague; On the day of the patron of the villa some people come from the immediate villages, and some cattle and fruits are sold; but this meeting does not deserve the name of the fair. POPULATION: 267 neighbors, 1162 souls...

Pascual Madoz, 1849.

On April 18, 1996, the Ministry of the Presidency and Institutional Relations of the Government of the Canary Islands granted the title of Villa to the municipality of Tegueste for historical, cultural and social reasons.

Demographics

Graphic of demographic evolution of Tegueste between 1900 and 2021

Official regular residents according to ISTAC population censuses.

As of January 1, 2014, it had a total of 11,097 inhabitants, ranking 17th in number of inhabitants on the island of Tenerife and 19th in the province.

The relative population was 420.18 inhab./km².

From the analysis of the population pyramid it can be deduced that:

• The population between 0 and 14 years was 14 per cent of the total;
• the population aged 15-64 was 71 per cent;
• and the population over 65 was the remaining 15%.

By gender, there were 5,512 men and 5,585 women.

Regarding the place of birth, 90% of the inhabitants of the municipality were born in the Canary Islands, of which 48% were born in another municipality on the island, 47% in the municipality itself and 5% came from from another island in the archipelago. The rest of the population was made up of 4% of those born in the rest of Spain and 6% of those born abroad.

Administration and politics

City Hall

Tegueste is governed by its town hall, made up of the mayor-president of the corporation and eight councilors, as well as eight opposition councilors.

List of mayors since the 1979 democratic elections

Mayor.	Start of mandate	End of mandate	Party
Jacinto Molina Gómez	1979	1983			Union de Centro Democrático (UCD)
Jacinto Molina Gómez	1983	1987			Popular Coalition (CP)
Vidal Suárez Rodríguez	1987	1999			Innerfeña Group of Independents (ATI)
Vidal Suárez Rodríguez	1999	2007			Coalition Canaria (CC)
José Manuel Molina Hernández	2007	2010			Centro Canario Nacionalista (CCN)
José Manuel Molina Hernández	2010	2019			Coalition Canaria (CC)
Ana Rosa Mena de Dios	2019	-			Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE)

After the 2007 elections, a pact government was formed between the CC and the CCN. In March 2010, José Manuel Molina was expelled from the CCN and joined CC.

Tegueste Town Hall.

Territorial organization

Almost the entire surface of Tegueste is part of the Comarca del Área Metropolitana, with the exception of its area included in the Anaga rural park, which belongs to the Comarca de Anaga. Tegueste is also part of the Association of Mountain Municipalities Non-Coastal of the Canary Islands.

The municipality is divided, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, into six unique population entities, in turn divided into other smaller nuclei.

Economy

Tegueste, traditionally agricultural, conserves abundant cultivated land dedicated mainly to the vineyard. The wines produced in the area are included in the Denomination of Origin of Tacoronte-Acentejo. The municipality also preserves some livestock farms of cows, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits and chickens.

Despite the rural character of the municipality, many of its inhabitants are dedicated to the tertiary sector, working mainly in the metropolitan area of Santa Cruz-La Laguna. In the municipality itself, a certain commercial fabric is also developed, with the Open Commercial Zone of Tegueste formed by the streets of Prebendado Pacheco, Calvo Sotelo, El Carmen, Los Pobres, Nueva and Esperanto.

Social welfare

Education

• Centro de Educación Infantil y Primaria Francisca Santos Melián, in El Socorro
• C.E.I.P. María del Carmen Fernández Melián, in Las Toscas
• C.E.I.P. Melchor Núñez Tejera, in Pedro Álvarez
• C.E.I.P. Teófilo Pérez, Tegueste Centro
• Tegueste Secondary Education Institute in Pedro Alvarez
• Zipi-Zape Children ' s Centre in Las Toscas
• Centro Infantil Santa Fe, Las Canteras

Health

Citizen security

Heritage

Square and church of San Marcos, centuryXVIII.

The area of the old town of Tegueste, which includes the area around the church of San Marcos, was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the category of Historic Site in 1986. Likewise, the municipality preserves important vestiges of the Guanche culture, the most important being the set of caves in the Agua de Dios ravine, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the Archaeological Zone category in 2006.

Other places of historical and ethnographic value are the three reservoirs and sources for the water supply located in La Placeta, Las Toscas and Calvario del Socorro, built between the end of the century XIX and early XX; the Camino de Los Laureles, the main communication route with La Laguna until the XIX century; the church of Nuestra Señora del Socorro, from the XVI; the House of Prebendado Pacheco, a mansion from 1847; the Tacoronte Mansion, a two-story stately palace; the Casa de la Audiencia, the old Town Hall, the Plaza de La Arañita or La Placeta.

Traditional architecture is well preserved in the towns of La Padilla, San Luis, Pedro Álvarez and El Palomar.

Culture

Cultural facilities

Customs

Tegueste preserves several traditions linked to the religious festivities of the municipality, highlighting the well-known Danza de las Flores and La Librea.

The Dance of the Flowers has been performed since the XVI century and its dance, to the rhythm of tajaraste, has the peculiarity that the dancers are not attached to the central pole of the dance with ribbons, as is the case in towns in the south and north of the island, but are joined by arches of flowers and ties.

For its part, La Librea de Tegueste, whose origin dates back to the XVII century and which was declared in 2007 Good of Cultural Interest in the Local Scope category, consists of a theatrical representation in which a kind of militia parades in the procession of the Virgen de los Remedios, accompanied by the Dance of the Flowers and by three boats on carts pulled by oxen that represent the main neighborhoods of the municipality.

Parties

Throughout the year the municipality of Tegueste celebrates different festivities, with local holidays being April 25, the feast of San Marcos Evangelista, and September 8, the celebration of the Virgen de los Remedios.

Among the festivals, the following stand out:

Sports

Tegueste preserves a deep-rooted tradition in the practice of Canarian wrestling, with the Terrero Insular de Lucha Mencey Tegueste and the Tegueste Mercatenerife Wrestling Club. Likewise, the municipality has the Tribute to the Canarian Wrestling, a sculpture by author from La Palma Fernando Mena built in 1994 and representing two wrestlers fighting. It is located in a square at the entrance to the old town.

The municipality has several sports facilities, highlighting the Ciudad Deportiva Los Laureles, with facilities for playing soccer, 7-a-side soccer, basketball, handball, volleyball, and athletics. The soccer clubs CDAFB Tegueste, Club Deportivo Portezuelo and the Agrupación Deportiva Tevahiteba carry out their activities here; the Villa de Tegueste Basketball Club and the Tegueste Olympic Athletics Club.

Religion

The believing population of the municipality mainly professes the Catholic religion, the parishioners being divided into four parishes belonging to the archpriesthood of Tegueste of the diocese of Tenerife:

• Matrix of Saint Mark Evangelist
• Parish of Our Lady of Relief
• Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
• Parish of San Antonio abad

In the municipality there is also a Coexistence House for the Religious of the Assumption.

Tegueste is under the main patronage of San Marcos Evangelista, being co-patron of the Virgen de los Remedios, who is also Honorary and Perpetual Mayor of the municipality since 1980.

Communications

Roads

The municipality is communicated mainly by the General Highway to Punta Hidalgo TF-13 and, secondarily, by the Portezuelo-Las Toscas Highway TF-154.

Public transport

The municipality has several taxi ranks in the town center and in the neighborhood of El Portezuelo.

By bus —guagua— it is connected by the following TITSA lines:

Roads

The municipality has several paths suitable for hiking:

• Route I: Tegueste - Las Peñuelas - Cocó - El Infierno - Barranco Agua de Dios - Tegueste
• Route II: Pedro Álvarez - Camino el Monte - El Lance - Cortafuegos - La Orilla - Tegueste
• Route III: Pedro Álvarez - El Salto - El Lance - Solís - La Degollada - Tegueste
• Route IV: Tegueste - Sardán - La Degollada - Mesa de Tejina - Bajamar
• Route V: Tegueste - El Caidero - Lomo los Riveros - El Peladero - Punta del Hidalgo
• Route VI: Pedro Álvarez - El Nieto - El Lance - El Batán - Punta del Hidalgo
• Route VII: Cruz del Carmen - Casa Forestal - El Moquinal - Los Dornajos - La Orilla - La Degollada - Tegueste

It also has sections of several of the paths approved in the Red de Senderos de Tenerife:

• PR-TF 12 Cruz del Carmen - Bajamar
• PR-TF 12.1 Variant Tegueste
• PR-TF 12.2 Variant Pedro Álvarez

Places of interest

• Historical Helmet of Tegueste
• Church of Saint Mark Evangelist
• Church of Our Lady of Help
• Calvarios de La Placeta, Las Toscas y El Socorro
• Ethnographic Museum Casa de los Zamorano
• Museum of La Romería
• Prebendado Pacheco Exhibition Room
• Recreative Park La Quebrada
• Ciudad Deportiva Los Laureles
• Tegueste Farmer and Craftsman Market
• Teatro Rey Felipe

Featured Characters

Gallery

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  Views of Tegueste.

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  A corner of the village of Tegueste.

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  House on the street the Caidero.

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  Palo Bridge, crossing the cliff.

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  Los Laureles football field seen from the Camino de La Orilla.

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  Stick bridge in Tegueste