Hail César – The Magic of Manrique
Lanzarote is best known as a sunshine holiday destination. Basking in year round sunshine and temperatures that average out at around 21 Celsius all year round.
Every year close to 1.5 million visitors arriving on flights to Lanzarote from across Europe. But to the surprise of many visitors this small island located just off the coast of Morocco offers much more than just lazy days by the pool or on the beach. As the island has a strong cultural identity – forged largely by an amazing local artist called César Manrique. Who has had an enormous influence on the development of tourism here.
Manrique was born in the island capital of Arrecife in 1919 and first fell deeply in love with Lanzarote during long family holidays spent on the huge beach at Famara. Where he would spend hours gazing at the reflection of the surrounding cliffs in rock pools and the ebbing tide of the Atlantic. He went on to study at Belles Artes in Madrid before moving to New York under the aegis of the wealthy Rockefeller clan. Where he studied and exhibited his paintings whilst rubbing shoulders with other artists such as Andy Warhol.
During the late 1960’s General Franco started to open Spain up to tourism in a bid to attract much needed foreign currency to shore up his crumbling economy. A policy which laid waste to huge swathes of the southern Costas. Whilst threatening the delicate ecology and terrain of Lanzarote.
Manrique retuned to his birthplace and rallied support in the local government. Going on to succesfully secure a ban on al high rise buildings. So helping to curb the worst excesses of over development.
At the same time the pragmatic Manrique accepted that Lanzarote needed a degree of tourism in order to survive economically. As previously the island had struggled to survive on fishing and agriculture alone.
As a result he developed some incredible creations that were designed to serve a dual purpose. Firstly, they provided visitors with ecologically friendly attractions rather than water and theme parks. Whilst secondly they worked in harmony with the volcanic terrain of the island – and not against it.
The first major expression of this philosophy was the creation of the Jameos del Agua. Where Manrique transformed an underground tunnel in the lava flow into a breathtaking concert venue, nightclub and pleasure gardens. Closely followed by the construction his own home and studio in Tahiche. Which he built over five volcanic chambers and which is till today by some distance the most unusual and unique property in Lanzarote.
Manrique sadly died an untimely death in 1992. But his legacy lives on to this day. With his creations still the most popular visitor attractions on Lanzarote.
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why do we travel? Or like the song goes “does anybody know what we are looking for”?? Why do we consider travel a basic desire nowadays? I especially like how George Santayana puts it in The Philosophy of Travel: “We need sometimes to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at no matter what.” Do we travel to lose ourselves or to find ourselves? In order to find the WHERE, WHEN or HOW to travel, we need to rediscover the pure pleasure of travels and the meaning of our own inner journey and rediscovery.