Las Rutas VUE en La Laguna: Aprendiendo a proteger el patrimonio

The Department of Cultural Heritage of the City Council of La Laguna and Localiando have launched a new edition of the VUE Routes, tours through the streets, museums, and historic buildings of the only World Heritage City in the Canary Islands. These tours allow us to understand and appreciate the Outstanding Universal Value (VUE) of this ensemble, recognized and protected by Unesco. For two weeks, hundreds of high school students from across the municipality participate in an initiative that, for a few hours, takes the classrooms to the streets to show what makes La Laguna unique and why the complicity and participation of the entire community in its protection and legacy to future generations is important.

This initiative is divided into two parts, one for students and another open to the general public. Until March 22, it will offer fifteen guided tours, a proposal that has been very well received and not only quickly filled the available spots but also has a waiting list. With this and other actions, La Laguna continues its program of events to commemorate the 25th anniversary of its designation as a World Heritage City, a period in which new initiatives are being planned to reinforce the protection and dissemination of its universal values.

Both the itinerary and the content of these VUE Routes have been jointly designed by the Department and Localiando, with the collaboration of museums and institutions in the city. All with the aim of conveying, in a very simple, visual, and on-the-ground way, what that VUE of La Laguna represents, defined by Unesco as «a cultural significance so extraordinary that it transcends national borders and is of importance to present and future generations of all humanity.»

Adolfo Cordobés, the Councilor of Cultural Heritage, emphasizes that «these actions have proven to be a very effective tool to raise awareness about the importance of safeguarding our heritage. That’s why we wanted to involve the young people of the municipality, who will be responsible for its protection in the future.»

Furthermore, the councilor points out, «these Routes allow us to convey, in a simple way, why La Laguna has received this international recognition, what makes it different from other historic cities and worthy of being considered a World Heritage Site, as well as what guidelines Unesco has set to fulfill the commitment of preservation and delivery to future generations that all Laguneros assume with this declaration.»

Elisa Falcón Lisón, an art historian, official tour guide, and representative of Localiando, explains that this initiative «also allows us to explain what Unesco’s Operational Guidelines applied to the city are and the values of integrity and authenticity that have been recognized. For this, we have opted for small groups to be able to show all these complex contents in an understandable way and with practical examples.»

Since February, this project has reached over 400 people, with twenty routes and the participation of educational centers, groups, and associations in the locality, as well as the general public. Until March 22, it will offer another 15 tours, aiming to reach 800 people.

The Connection with the «New World»

The registered participants will walk through the streets of this urban layout inspired by the compass rose, accompanied by specialized guides. They will have the opportunity to delve deeper into some of its main monuments and museums, such as the Museum of Sacred Art of the Monastery of Santa Clara de Asís, whose rich collection will serve to highlight La Laguna’s intense relationships with Europe and America over the centuries.

It also includes the Museum of History and Anthropology of Tenerife (MHAT), housed in the Lercaro House, or the CEDOCAM (Canary Islands America Documentation Center), buildings that architecturally and in terms of their valuable contents, demonstrate the rich exchange of cultural values between Europe, the Canary Islands, and the New World, recognized by Unesco in the city.

The routes will also allow a deeper understanding of the history and heritage of the former Augustinian convent, now the Cabrera Pinto Canarias Institute, which was the boundary marked by Adelantado Alonso Fernández de Lugo for the refoundation of the town in 1500. This planning turned La Laguna into the first planned Renaissance city without walls.

At that moment, the new regular urban layout began, which served as a starting point for many cities in Spanish America and remains intact to this day, one of the essential reasons why the city is included in Unesco’s list.

All spots are filled, but information can be requested by sending an email to info@localiando.com.