Tenerife Arts and Culture
In recent years, the society and the institutions of Tenerife have made a great effort to increase what has traditionally been its excellent offer in cultural and leisure activities, which translates into a broad offering of 28 museums, 144 libraries, 25 scenic spaces, 52 cinema screens and 3,503 sports places of all kinds.
The Symphony Orchestra of Tenerife, heading the vanguard of Spanish orchestras and publicly praised by the best international artists, has aimed to achieve unbeatable technical perfection and sound since its creation in the 80’s. Plácido Domingo, Alfredo Kraus or Silvia Marcovici are some of the dozens of great stars who have contributed towards the prestige of this musical training with their voices. Twenty eight recordings and prizes such as the "Cannes Classical Awards" have already established it as one of the most important orchestras in the country, which has had conductors of the standing of Raymond Leppard, Peter Maag and Leopold Hager, amongst others.
The "International Festival of Music of the Canary Islands", held in January every year since 1985 at the Guimerá Theatre of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has become one of the most important dates among the major ones in the music world. Since it was created, its objectives have been to enrich the cultural offering of the region, promote the name of the Canary Islands in a prestigious fashion abroad and promote the influx of music orientated tourism to the island. These three goals have been achieved beyond expectation and the Canary Islands can nowadays boast of its great value as a cultural destination.
Apart from this Festival, every year also sees the celebrating of an Opera Festival and one of Zarzuela (operetta). In addition, Tenerife will host numerous jazz concerts throughout 2003 that form part of the “Atlantic Jazz Festival” program.
Completing this wealth of musical offerings is the creation of the new Auditorium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the work of the Spanish Santiago Calatrava, which is planned to be inaugurated in the first half of 2003. This prestigious architect, who previously designed the original building that hosts the International Trade Fair and Convention Center of Tenerife, has recently been chosen, from among dozens of architects, to design the Symphony Center of Atlanta in the U.S.A.
Tenerife is also the home to other cultural activities. In the year 2003, the "Circuito Insular de Teatro y Danza" of the Island Council of Tenerife organized 101 performances and 53 shows. In addition, the International Photography Festival, “Fotonoviembre”, is held every two years.
A large number of museums and cultural centers
The following museums, reporting to the "Autonomous Organism of Museums and Centres" are located in Tenerife:
Museum of Nature of Man: This institution presents an indispensable
and charming vision of the natural wealth of the Canary Islands and of the
pre hispanic populations who lived in them, using the collections and the
research work of the Archeological Museum and the Natural Sciences Museum.
Museum of Science and the Cosmos: Guided by the Astrophysics Institute of
the Canary Islands, this center presents over one hundred interactive scientific
experiments with which, through sensory experiences and a good dose of curiosity,
the aim is to show its visitors the phenomena of science.
Museum of the History of Tenerife: The Museum, housed at the “Casa
Lercaro”, a property from the end of the c. XVI located in the historical
center of La Laguna, displays the institutional, social, economic and cultural
of the island during the last five centuries, by means of a modern graphic
form of museum presentation.
Museum of Anthropology of Tenerife: Located in the “Casa de Carta”,
this is a representative example of the ancestral dwellings built in the
Canary Islands in the XVIII century. The museum is dedicated to popular
culture, which is the meeting place for articles that are local and global,
particular and unusual, old and new, from the past and the present.
Furthermore, there are other museums such as the Regional Military Museum
of the Canary Islands, the Municipal Museum of Fine Arts of Santa Cruz de
Tenerife or the Archeological Museum of the Puerto de la Cruz,
as well as diverse municipal museums.
Oscar Domínguez Institute of Contemporary Art and Culture: The undertaking of this Project was entrusted by the Culture Area of the Island Council of Tenerife, from the study made by the architect Herzog & De Meuron. It consists of an architectonic cultural series, which in addition to the Oscar Domínguez Institute itself, also combines the Alejandro Cioranescu Library and the Photography Centre of the island of Tenerife. This project, located in the historical urban area of the capital, has a surface area of 20,000 square meters. Its objectives, amongst others, are to promote the contemporary cultural creation and its constant exchange both inside and outside the island frontiers, as well as displaying the artistic history of the Canary Islands people in a stable manner.