It’s June 1936. Francisco Franco is Governor General of the Canary Islands and is in La Orotava watching the Corpus Christi procession as it passes over the floral works of art.

Well known as a dissenter, Franco has been posted to the furthest and quietest outreach of Spanish governance to keep him out of harm’s way. If only they’d known then that most powerful of idioms – keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. The authorities are expecting trouble, there have been whispers of an assassination attempt and the Guardia have a heavy presence, their cars parked beneath the magnolia frontage of Casas de Los Balcones. In the event, the procession passes quietly without incident.

Fast forward 75 years and on the 30th June 2011, the alfombristas of La Orotava will unveil the 106th carpet to be constructed in the Plaza Ayuntamiento (Town Hall Square). During its existence this most fragrant of Canary Islands traditions has seen some important feet passing over its cobbled streets, not least those of the Corpus Christi procession to whom it owes its existence.

Rolling out the carpet
The feast of Corpus Christi had already been celebrated for over 300 years in Tenerife, predominantly in La Laguna where the day was marked by theatre, dancing and traditional games as well as pious acts, before the first petals were ever laid in La Orotava. The honour of being the first is attributed to Leonor de Castillo Monteverde who, in 1847, thought it would be a nice idea to decorate the road outside her home for the Corpus Christi procession to walk over. So successful was Leonor’s idea that the practice quickly spread to other parts of the island and her descendants still complete that section of road outside her home today.

In their 164 year history the La Orotava flower carpets have only twice been suspended, once in 1891 and again in 1897. Last year, despite the persistent rain that marred the whole proceedings, the people still turned out to make their flower carpets and to ensure that their 120 year unbroken record still stands.

The La Orotava Town Hall tapestry
Despite the popularity of decorating La Orotava’s streets for the procession, it was to be almost 70 years after Leonor’s radical gesture before the Plaza Ayuntamiento stained its face in the name of religious devotion.

The Corpus Christi procession began passing through the Town Hall plaza in 1913 but it wasn’t until 1919 when Felipe Machado and Benítez de Lugo took it upon themselves to carpet the square in flowers and vegetation that the tapestry tradition began. Before then, the only time the square had seen decoration was in 1905 when a floral carpet tribute had been laid to honour the Spanish Navy ensign.

On the 21st May 2011, work began on this year’s tapestry, the theme of which is the 26th World Youth Day which will once again bring the Pope to Spain. This year’s design will use 21 different colours to create 20 individual tapestries as a nod to the 20 years that this particular group of alfombristas have been the creators of the carpets and the latest generation of artists to continue the ethereal tradition that has characterised the town for so long.

The La Orotava Corpus Christi flower carpets take place on 30th June 2011.

There’s a commotion in the road. The roller-skating girl just let her dog run in front of a pizza delivery boy on a bike almost garrotting him with the lead and sending him and his pizzas hurtling into the road. The girl looks on unmoved by the chaos she’s caused and the dog makes off with the spoils.
It’s an accident that’s destined to play out continuously in the Groundhog Day streets of Pueblo Chico.

I’ve heard it said that there’s no such thing as ‘fun for all the family’, and whilst I truly appreciate the sentiment in that statement, I have to disagree and cite Pueblo Chico as my evidence.

Hidden away on a quiet back road in La Orotava, the miniature world of Pueblo Chico is set in 20,000 square metres of beautifully landscaped grounds overlooking Puerto de la Cruz. Laid out amongst the greenery in a series of terraced zones, Tenerife in miniature doesn’t just have the island’s historic centres, iconic architecture and natural beauty spots all reproduced in perfect detail, it also has the sights and sounds of the life that occupies them.

To a soundtrack of bleeting goats in the Guanche zone a group of elderly men occupy benches beneath the shade of a tree, verbally putting the world to rights. If it wasn’t for the animal skins they’re wearing and the lack of a nearby bar, it could be a scene from any town plaza today.
In front of the La Orotava Ayuntamiento, this year’s sand mosaic is already in place; in La Laguna a school playground echoes with the shouts of its charges; on neighbouring Lanzarote a church bell chimes to call worshippers to prayer and back on Tenerife the local lad is about to win his Lucha Canario bout as he hurls his opponent to the floor.

All Tenerife life is here in miniature, from the house leeks growing amongst the Arabic tiles of roofs in the old quarter of Santa Cruz to paragliders launching themselves off the cliffs above southern beaches and the Fred Olsen Ferry dwarfing small boats alongside the Auditorio.
But it isn’t just about admiring the incredible detail in the models and smiling at the wonderful moving parts, it’s about discovering the little touches; the ubiquitous double parking; the teenage lad spying on his neighbour as she sunbathes topless on her roof; the workmen enjoying their second breakfast – or is it their third?

With gardens brimming with endemic and exotic plants; a very tasty restaurant and snack bar with a sunny outside terrace, kid’s menu and gift shop; and the whole of Tenerife at your feet, I defy anyone of any age not to enjoy it.
Pueblo Chico – fun for all the family.  I rest my case.

Pueblo Chico Fact File:
Camino Cruz de Los Martillos, 62; La Orotava, off Exit 35 of the TF5. Tel: (0034) 922 33 40 60
Open every day from 9am to 6pm
Adults €12.50, children (aged 4yrs to 11 yrs) €6.50
Residents €8.50, children €5
Restaurant available for functions.