Los Cristianos
Encyclopedia
Los Cristianos is a town in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 with a population of approximately 19,000 (2009), situated on the south coast of the Canary Island of Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...

. Located in the municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 of Arona between the cone of the mountain Chayofita and the greater mountain Guaza. The town centre is around the Los Cristianos bay, but is rapidly expanding inland with modern development. The town is a popular tourist resort and includes a ferry port.

Unlike its bustling neighbour, Playa de las Américas
Playa de las Américas
Playa de las Américas is a purpose-built holiday resort in the northern part of the Municipality of Arona, close to the adjoining Municipality of Adeje in the south of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. It was built in the 1960s beside the town of Los Cristianos and stretching northward to the...

, this town has a history that predates the tourist boom of the 1970s and 1980s. For many years this holiday hub was a quiet fishing village and evidence of its humble origins can still be seen in the typical Canarian architecture of the older buildings.

Nowadays however, the town offers a holiday experience, with two golden sand beaches, a multitude of bars and restaurants and its year round sunny climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...

. There is a wealth of accommodation to suit all budgets, including hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

s, self catering apartments and timeshare
Timeshare
A timeshare is a form of ownership or right to the use of a property, or the term used to describe such properties. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each sharer is allotted a period of time in which they may use...

 resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

s. There are also a wealth of excursions focused around the town's busy port including dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...

 and whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...

 watching as well as game fishing trips and party cruises.

Los Cristianos made international headlines in May 2011 when a British expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...

, Jennifer Mills-Westley
Murder of Jennifer Mills-Westley
The murder of Jennifer Mills-Westley occurred on Friday 13 May 2011 in Los Cristianos, Tenerife.-Background:Mills-Westley was a 60-year-old grandmother of five from Norwich, England, who had retired to the Spanish island of Tenerife in 2006...

, was murdered in a busy supermarket in the town. A homeless Bulgarian man randomly attacked the retired grandmother by stabbing her in the neck fourteen times, beheading her, then carrying her severed head out into the street before being tackled by security.

History

Historical references to Los Cristianos date back to the 16th century, when it is described as a harbour by the Notary Hernán Guerra . Los Cristianos remained an important port for the south of Tenerife throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries but remained unsettled until the latter part of the 19th Century due to the threat of pirate raids as there was no significant population to warrant a castle or fort.

The first permanent settlement of Los Cristianos was in the 1860s when it was described by Pedro de Olive as “a hamlet in Arona, with three one-storey houses, a two-storey house and a hut.” It was officially recognised in governmental documents as been established in 1888 by 29 houses and a cave.

The population of Los Cristianos started to grow around the turn of the century with the advent of industry & trade. With the threat from pirates and privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

s now a distant memory, Los Cristianos with its natural harbour thrived as the import-export centre of the south of Tenerife. In 1909 the first Quay was built to ship the produce of a local distillery. It still remains today and is known as “El Puerto Viejo” (Old Quay). Other industries at the time included a resin factory, nearby salt mine
Salt mine
A salt mine is a mining operation involved in the extraction of rock salt or halite from evaporite deposits.-Occurrence:Areas known for their salt mines include Kilroot near Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland ; Khewra and Warcha in Pakistan; Tuzla in Bosnia; Wieliczka and Bochnia in Poland A salt mine...

s and a fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 salting
Salting
Salting may refer to:-People:*George Salting , Australian-born English art collector, who left the Salting Bequest, which included the**Salting Madonna , National Gallery, London-Other:...

 factory.
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 didn't feature in the local economy until the land was irrigated by Teofílo Bello Rodríguez who in 1914 was authorized to run a pipe from his land in Vilaflor to land owned by his father in Los Cristianos. This fuelled further economic expansion with the planting of tomato and banana crops which required new labour to work the plantations.

In 1924 the growing population had growing spiritual as well as economic needs, so the residents commissioned the construction of the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Chapel was demolished in 1987 and new larger parish church built was on its place in the centre of Los Cristianos.

In 1934 a larger port was constructed in the bay of Los Cristianos which could accommodate larger ships and allowed for the development of fishing and increased the importance of commercial shipping. A new and bigger port was built on the same site in 1975 and saw the inauguration of a daily ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 service between Los Cristianos and the neighbouring Island of La Gomera
La Gomera
La Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.- Political organization :...

.

Around the time of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, a number of fortifications, at least 3 small bunkers were built along the Los Cristianos Coastline, possibly as defences against a planned British invasion.. During World War II Spain was officially neutral, but considered Axis friendly as the Nazis had financed the fascist victory in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. Some of these fortifications remain intact today.

Tourism

The origins of tourism in Los Cristianos lie with a Swedish man, Bengt Rylander (known locally as Don Benito) who came to Los Cristianos in 1956 suffering from multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...

, hoping the warm climate and clean air would help ease his ailments. He convalesced well and spread the word of the mild and sunny climate he had discovered to his friends in Sweden, and since he was formerly a writer and TV commentator, word spread quickly. In 1957 he was joined by several friends who suffered from poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...

 and rheumatic diseases.

So the origins of tourism in Los Cristianos during the late 1950s and early 1960s are as a resort for ailing & convalescent Swedes. These unlikely pioneers have left their mark on the town, with the main high-street in Los Cristianos known as “Avenida de Suecia” (Avenue of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

) and the “Casa Sueca”, now a Swedish Lutheran Church, located on the seafront.

Tourism was not limited to the Swedes, growing numbers of visitors from other Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an countries. The 1960s saw the construction of the first large buildings in Los Cristianos to house the growing number of tourists, these included Cristianmar, Rosamar and the four-star Oasis Moreque Hotel. The steady number of disabled Swedish visitors also led to the opening of the Vintersol public rehabilitation clinic in 1965.
If you would like to see some old photos of Los Chritianos in the early days visit the Hotel Princesa Dacil just up from the beach, there are many old photos from the late 1960s and early 1970s in construction for visitors to view.

Whilst tourist numbers in Los Cristianos grew steadily in the 1960s and 1970s, it was only after the inauguration of the new International Airport in the south of Tenerife (Reina Sofía) that tourism really began to boom in the south of the island.

A number of huge hotels and apartment blocks were built during the 1970s to house the growing number of tourists and workers, but it was in the 1980s when the town began to expand massively. As well as holiday makers, Los Cristianos began to attract a number of British expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...

s who emigrated either permanently or semi-permanently to escape the cold British winters. As English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 is as widely spoken as Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, there are also a number of British owned bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

s, restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

s, shops and services aimed predominantly at the tourist sector.

Beaches

Los Cristianos is home to two world-class beaches: The main beach (Playa de Los Cristianos) is a sandy beach sheltered by the Harbour and boasts a number of facilities including watersports, beach volley ball, showers and a children's play area. Las Vistas Beach is located in the next bay beyond the harbour and is man-made, protected by break-waters, it also boasts a number of facilities including watersports, showers and a tourist information site. In December 2008 the Los Cristianos promenade, which was originally constructed back in the seventies, was given a well needed facelift.

There is also a rocky, black-sand beach in the "Rincón" area of Los Cristianos, (between the headland near the Puerto Viejo and the cliffs of Montaña Guaza.)

Economy

Nowadays Los Cristianos is a busy tourist resort, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Dozens of hotels and self-catering holiday apartments are available; many can be booked direct or through major tour operators. Tourism related industries are the main employer in Los Cristianos.

Los Cristianos is also home to a plethora of bars and restaurants of varying styles, from ‘tapas’ bars to high quality local and international cuisine. Eating out is inexpensive; so many visitors opt for half-board or self-catering accommodation.

As a consequence of the tourism boom agriculture went into terminal decline and the last banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

 crop was harvested in the early 1990s. A small fishing fleet still operates from the harbour, but commercial shipping has all but been replaced with pleasure cruises and ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 services to the neighbouring islands of La Gomera
La Gomera
La Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.- Political organization :...

, El Hierro
El Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is the smallest and farthest south and west of the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 10,162 .- Name :The name El Hierro, although phonetically identical to the Spanish word for 'iron', is generally thought...

 and La Palma
La Palma
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...

.

Los Cristianos is also a major commercial centre for the south of Tenerife, with a vibrant high-street offering a range of small stores, catering for both tourists and residents alike. There are a number of small shopping malls as well as a number of major national-chain supermarkets.

Los Cristianos is also rapidly replacing Arona as the administrative centre of the south of Tenerife, with its own “Centro Cultural” which takes on many of the roles of the town-hall and Los Cristianos is also home to the “Juzgados de Arona” (County Courts).

Transport

Los Cristianos is connected via the TF1 Motorway
TF1 Motorway
The TF-1 is a superhighway encircling the eastern and the southern parts of the island of Tenerife . The TF-1 motorway runs from the capital Santa Cruz in the north to Adeje with its major tourist resorts Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas in the south of the island...

 to the island's capital city Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital , second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009...

, and to the Tenerife South Airport
Tenerife South Airport
Tenerife South Airport , previously known as Tenerife South-Reina Sofia Airport, is one of two international airports located on the island of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands . Between its opening and the end of 2006, a total of 173,912,207 passengers passed through the airport...

. The town has its own bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

 terminal with regular services to other parts of the island. Daily ferry services to the neighbouring islands of La Gomera
La Gomera
La Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.- Political organization :...

, El Hierro
El Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is the smallest and farthest south and west of the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 10,162 .- Name :The name El Hierro, although phonetically identical to the Spanish word for 'iron', is generally thought...

 and La Palma
La Palma
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...

 also leave from the harbour of Los Cristianos operated by the Naviera Armas
Naviera Armas
Naviera Armas Ferries is a company in Spain, founded in the 1940s, which operates at least 10 ferries.The company operates mainly in the Canaries, although services are available to the island of Madeira and Portugal, further north.-The Current Fleet:...

 and Fred Olsen Express ferry companies. The Fred. Olsen Express
Fred. Olsen Express
Fred. Olsen Express is an inter island ferry service based in the Canary Islands, Spain. The company operates a fleet of six modern fast ferries, including the world's first trimaran fast ferry, the Benchijigua Express, which entered service in 2005. Fred Olsen Express operates five routes...

 firm has replaced the route which was previously operated by low-cost ferry start-up Garajonay Express
Garajonay Express
Garajonay Express was a ferry company in the Canary Islands which ceased operating in November 2008.The firm was named after the National park Garajonay on the island of La Gomera. See article: Garajonay National Park.-Routes:...

 who went bankrupt in 2008.

The town itself is best explored by foot, as it has a number of wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...

 friendly pedestrian walkways and a long beachfront promenade. Taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

s are readily available within the town. The port area of Los Cristianos is in first place in Spain in terms of passenger traffic through its links with the ports of San Sebastian de La Gomera
San Sebastián de La Gomera
San Sebastián de la Gomera is a town and also an administrative district on La Gomera in the Canary Islands. Its population is 2,176 , its density is 47.6/km² and the area is 114.78 km²....

, La Estaca in El Hierro
El Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is the smallest and farthest south and west of the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 10,162 .- Name :The name El Hierro, although phonetically identical to the Spanish word for 'iron', is generally thought...

 and Santa Cruz de La Palma
Santa Cruz de La Palma
Santa Cruz de la Palma is located on the eastern part of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second largest city and is the capital of the island...

.

Sources

  • Pedro de Olive Diccionario estadístico-adminstrativos de las Islas Canarias. 1865.
  • Nelson Díaz Frías History of Los Cristianos. 2004
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK