La Orotava

La Orotava
Municipality

La Orotava

Flag
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Municipal location in Tenerife
Coordinates: 28°23′26″N 16°31′29″W / 28.39056°N 16.52472°WCoordinates: 28°23′26″N 16°31′29″W / 28.39056°N 16.52472°W
Country Spain
Autonomous community  Canary Islands
Province Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Island Tenerife
Government
 • Mayor [Francisco Linares]]
(CC)
Area
 • Total 207.31 km2 (80.04 sq mi)
Population (2013)[1]
 • Total 41,255
 • Density 201.18/km2 (521.1/sq mi)
Time zone GMT (UTC+0)
Post Code 38300
Website www.villadelaorotava.org

La Orotava is a town and a municipality in the northern part of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands of Spain. The area of the municipality stretches from the north coast to the mountainous interior, and includes the summit of the Teide volcano, Canary Islands' and Spain's highest point at 3,718 m. At 207.31 km2, it is the largest municipality of the island of Tenerife. The population is 41,255 (2013[1]).

The town La Orotava, which is the administrative centre of the municipality and also its largest settlement, is situated near the north coast, at about 400 m elevation in the Orotava Valley. It is 4 km southeast of Puerto de la Cruz and 28 km southwest of the island's capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The TF-5 motorway passes through the north of the municipality.

The coat of arms of La Orotava was adopted by Alfonso XIII in 1906, the dragoons escorting the drago and the tree of golden apples refers to the mythology of the Garden of Hesperides, believed was located in La Orotava. In gastronomy, La Orotava was honored for the Denominación de Origen Valle de La Orotava or the Denomination of the Origin of the Orotava Valley (Valle de La Orotava) in wines.

Toponymy

It is not known with clarity which is the origin the name of the population, but the vast majority of researchers say it could be due to the situation of the town in the time of the Guanches, who called the area Arautaba or Arautápala. From the point strictly linguistic, Orotava voice belongs to a very advanced stage of deformation of the primary language Amazig, to the castilian.

History

The Guanches lived primarily in coastal areas and in the vicinity of the largest canyons and hillsides in the valley. In these places food and means of subsistence were easily found. For the Guanches, the highest peak in Spain (Mount Teide), which is situated on this township, was a place of worship.

On the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores, such as Alonso Fernandez de Lugo, the people of Tenerife resisted. Tenerife was the last of the Canary Islands to be conquered, in 1496.

The original population not suffered high mortality, for various reasons, such as to have been white, the assimilation of the Catholic religion, much like their traditions, and finally, the resistance to normal disease in Europe and North Africa.

Economy

Engraving realized by the French naturalist Sabin Berthelot of the great dragon located in the garden of the House Franchy, in La Orotava. Published in his work "Histoire Naturelle des Iles Canaries" in 1838

The export economy established by the European colonizers after the conquest in the 15th century generated large commercial and passenger movements for decades. The first foreign visitors quickly felt drawn to the beneficial qualities of the weather in the Taoro Valley.

La Orotava has a rich land for cultivation and its economy was based on agriculture for centuries, with products such as wine, tomatoes, bananas and others that were exported mainly to Europe and the UK.

It was not until beginning of the 19th century when the tourism industry began. The environment of La Orotava meant that it attracted many researchers and exclusive high-class groups from Europe. At this stage La Orotava was a leading cultural center accommodating many travellers and writers, among others William Wilde and Alexander von Humboldt.

Currently, La Orotava is frequented all year by Northern Europeans, specially during the winter months, due to its mild climate, and is particularly popular over Christmas and the New Year periods.

Subdivisions

The Orotava Valley stretches from the sea up to the mountains at 2,000 m which begins near Las Cañadas up to Pico del Teide at 3,718 m is Spain's tallest mountain. The valley includes the municipalities of Los Realejos, Puerto de la Cruz and La Orotava.

La Orotava is subdivided in various locations, among others El Rincón, La Florida, La Perdoma, San Antonio, La Luz or Aguamansa.

Panorama of Valle de La Orotava

Historical population

Year Population
1991 35,142
1996 35,642
2001 38,670
2002 39,095
2003 39,876
2004 39,909
2011 41,706
2013 41,255

Sites of interest

Photos

Persons

In literature

The English author Christopher Isherwood describes completing his novel Mr Norris Changes Trains in La Orotava in the summer of 1934 in chapter 10 of his autobiography Christopher and His Kind.

The English author Radclyffe Hall in chapter 37, section 3, of her novel "The Well of Loneliness" has her character Stephen Gordon state to her love interest Mary Llewellyn,"I'd like to get you right away for a bit, the weather seems pretty awful in Paris. Puddle once told me about Teneriffe, she went there ages ago with a pupil. She stayed at a place called Orotava; it's lovely, I believe – do you think you'd enjoy it?"

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to La Orotava.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Instituto Canario de Estadística