San Andrés, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Encyclopedia
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="300px" style="font-size: 98%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"efefef
| align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor="#d3d3d3"|San Andrés
|-
! align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor="#efefef" | Statistics
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Autonomous region: || Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...


|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Province: || Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province)
Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife also Province of Santa Cruz is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic archipelago, including the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma, and...


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| Island: || 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...


{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="300px" style="font-size: 98%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"efefef
| align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor="#d3d3d3"|San Andrés
|-
! align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor="#efefef" | Statistics
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Autonomous region: || Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...


|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Province: || Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province)
Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife also Province of Santa Cruz is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic archipelago, including the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma, and...


|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Island: || 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...


{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="300px" style="font-size: 98%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"efefef
| align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor="#d3d3d3"|San Andrés
|-
! align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor="#efefef" | Statistics
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Autonomous region: || Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...


|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Province: || Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province)
Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife also Province of Santa Cruz is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic archipelago, including the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma, and...


|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Island: || 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...


|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

: || about 2,500 (2005)
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Car designation: || TF until 2001
|}
San Andrés ("Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...

") is a village located on the 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...

 in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

 (Spain). It is located 10 km north of the 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...

, in a coastal area by the Anaga
Macizo de Anaga
Macizo de Anaga is a mountain range in the northeastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The highest point is 1,024 m . It extends to the Punta de Anaga in the northeast up to Cruz del Carmen in the southwest. Anaga features the mountain points of Bichuelo, Anambro,...

 mountains. It is administratively part of the municipality of 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...

. The village is situated on a mountain slope with an urban area located near the valley and the beach. San Andrés is one of the oldest villages of the Canary Islands, and was founded around 1497.

Local names

San Andres has had numerous names throughout its history. The Guanche
Guanche
Guanche may refer to:*Guanches, an aboriginal people of the Canary Islands*Guanche language, extinct language, used to be spoken by the Guanches until the 16th or 17th century...

s called the two valleys that make up San Andrés "Abicor" and "Ibaute", being current and valleys of Cercado de Las Huertas respectively. According to some scholars "Abicor" was associated with fig trees, while others are similar to African voices to refer to the hives. Already after the arrival of the Spaniards, the valley became known in the early years of the Higueras Valley (by the abundance of them), Valle de Las Higueras and Los Sauces, Valle de Salazar (by the owners dated to the area) and Valle de San Andrés (being the saint's devotees Salazar) interchangeably. Finally prevail the current name of San Andrés. However, during the first half of the twentieth century was also known as "San Andres de Pots" by the major pottery production.

History

From 1505–1510 Don Lope de Salazar, built the chapel, on which the current church is based, and he placed two images: St. Andrew the Apostle, by special devotion, and Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy , also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from lux, lucis "light", she is the patron saint of those who are...

, in honor of the name of his wife. St. Andrew Church (Iglesia de San Andrés
Iglesia de San Andrés (Tenerife)
The Iglesia de San Andrés Apóstol is a Catholic church and parish of the village of San Andrés...

) was constructed on a structure from an earlier period. Also in San Andrés one finds a former castle
Castillo de San Andrés
The Castillo o Torre de San Andrés is located in the village of San Andrés . This castle served to protect the island of Tenerife from pirate attacks.- History :...

, which was built to defend Tenerife of the assaults of the pirates.

San Andrés has about 4,000 people and until 1940 could only be accessed by footpath. With the construction of a coastal road with Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the village became connected by road to the capital. A fortress used to exist, with a tower built in 1706, but was destroyed by storms in 1740 and 1896.

In 1973 the administration brought 4 million bags of Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...

 sand to the island into the Las Teresitas beach
Playa de Las Teresitas
The Playa de Las Teresitas is a beach in the village of San Andrés municipality of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Tenerife .Until its conversion was divided into three distinct parts that had different names: After the Arena which was the original, The Moors, in the middle and finally the area bounded...

and improved the infrastructure with parking lots. The Spanish court stopped larger tourist properties in 1984.

In a cave on the outskirts of this locality was discovered the famous Mummy of San Andrés
Mummy of San Andrés
The Mummy of San Andrés is a human mummy belonging to the Guanche culture .One of the best preserved Guanche mummies, it is a male of about 25 to 30 years partially covered with goatskin with 6 strips that surround it. The mummy was found in a cave in a ravine outside the village of San Andrés...

, a mummified body belonging to the guanche
Guanche
Guanche may refer to:*Guanches, an aboriginal people of the Canary Islands*Guanche language, extinct language, used to be spoken by the Guanches until the 16th or 17th century...

 culture. It is now held in the Museum of the Nature and the Man in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

In nearby Macizo de Anaga
Macizo de Anaga
Macizo de Anaga is a mountain range in the northeastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The highest point is 1,024 m . It extends to the Punta de Anaga in the northeast up to Cruz del Carmen in the southwest. Anaga features the mountain points of Bichuelo, Anambro,...

 one finds the zone of "El Bailadero", so named because, according to the old legends, it was the place where witches danced around bonfires and practiced witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...

.

Places of interest

  • The Castillo de San Andrés
    Castillo de San Andrés
    The Castillo o Torre de San Andrés is located in the village of San Andrés . This castle served to protect the island of Tenerife from pirate attacks.- History :...

    .
  • Iglesia de San Andrés
    Iglesia de San Andrés (Tenerife)
    The Iglesia de San Andrés Apóstol is a Catholic church and parish of the village of San Andrés...

    .
  • The Beach of Las Teresitas
    Playa de Las Teresitas
    The Playa de Las Teresitas is a beach in the village of San Andrés municipality of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Tenerife .Until its conversion was divided into three distinct parts that had different names: After the Arena which was the original, The Moors, in the middle and finally the area bounded...

    .
  • San Andrés's Maritime Avenue.
  • The fishing dock.
  • The building of the town hall (belonging to Santa Cruz).
  • The Avenue Pedro Schwartz (known as The Wall).
  • The cemetery
    Cemetery
    A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

    (one of the most ancient of the island).

Economy

Residents of San Andrés live primarily on fishing. Tourism is also an important source of employment. The town features hotels, retirement homes, apartments and villas.

Environment

Not far from San Andrés is the beach named Playa de las Gaviotas, a 200 m-long white volcanic sand beach by Igueste de San Andrés. The depth by the coastline is 180 m.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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