The mayor of San Antonio in Texas has been visiting the Canaries to explore projects to heighten the existing ties between the two and showcase their joint history.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg made the long trip across the Atlantic in much more comfortable conditions that the many from these shores who pioneered the Canarian presence in San Antonio almost 300 years ago.
In late March 1730, a large group of families from Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma and Gran Canaria set sail from Santa Cruz on a voyage to the America in search of a new life, arriving in San Antonio many months later, where they settled on lands near the mission established by Franciscan monks. They planted seeds they had carried with them from their native Canaries on their newly-acquired lands and helped San Antonio grow and flourish into an important town, with one of their community becoming its first mayor. San Antonio is now the United States’ seventh biggest city in terms of population.
Interviewed in local media during his visit, which included official meetings with the authorities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas, Nirenberg said the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Canarian settlers in a few years was a great opportunity to further highlight the bonds between the islands and his town, which has a square named after it in the Tenerife capital. San Antonio’s main square also carries the name of the Canary Islands.
“The Canaries are a big part of our cultural and historical heritage and we should showcase that. We are also exploring opportunities on the trade front and last year worked hard on promoting Lanzarote products in San Antonio”, said Nirenberg.
As flight connections are key to such enhanced cooperation, mayor Nirenberg is keen to work with his counterparts here to persuade airlines to open routes from Texas to the Canaries, among other things to facilitate travel by people on both sides wishing to explore their common roots.
Photo courtesy of Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas: Ron Nirenberg with Las Palmas mayor Carolina Darias
