San Juan de la Rambla (En)

Municipality: San Juan de la Rambla

History

In the times of Los Guanches  this municipality was integrated to the menceyatos of Taoro and of Ycode. The western Part belonged to the valley and Malpaís de Ycode, whereas the oriental part to Icod de los trigos (of the wheats).

When the Castilians entered to Taoro, the conquest finished. In Los Realejos they established the last royal one, but there are diverse studies that contribute that after this fact still rebels stayed sane, called Los Alzados. For what the conquerors had to enter into Icod's zone of the wheats to finish with the rebels, establishing in this place the last camp (Icod of the wheats was known this way after the conquest for being a zone of cultural of wheat, nowadays a part is Icod el Alto and other one San José)

The vast lands of irrigation were distributed to the principal participants in the conquest; the conquerors and to the merchants who financed the conquest. The zone was occupied by Genesis, Castilians, Portuguese, etc. and also aboriginal from Gran Canaria (they were established in San Juan and in Santa Catalina in La Guancha)

With the arrival of new colonists, they go away to hire the land of a perpetual way, for what the people in the village will continue growing. One of these colonists was the Portuguese Martin Rodrígez, who was established in the zone of the Malpaís, which constructed a hermitage under the dedication of the holy San Juan. About the same one, descendants and other people were establishing, being born like that the old town of San Juan. The place was known as San Juan of the Malpaís, but it was a name that they did not like and as a consequence it was called San Juan. When this nucleus joined with that of La Rambla de los Caballos (of the Horses, called this way by the stables placed in the ravine). It passed to be known as San Juan de la Rambla.

San Juan

Others of the nuclei of the lower zone it was Las Aguas, due to the springs of the zone. In this zone the products were landing and embarking due to the fact that the orography was allowing it. It was a zone of summer vacation, but due to the difficulty of acceding, the current swimming pools are constructed.

For the rest of the municipality, also population was  born in different towns having jointly in that they started all being born near natural births of water. We find Lomo de los Quevedos, La Portalina, etc.

The lands of culture that developed during these centuries, will be in the first moment the sugar cane, the grapevine, cereals and the banana that the maximum expansion was in the 20th century. As for the industry scarcely wool and linen was taking place for a local market. It has had and staggered plantation has one being the banana on the coast; vineyards, fruit trees, and cereals in the mediocrities.

Las Aguas

In relation to the population, it has been always predominated by the migration due to the economic crises, bad cultures, the alluvium of 1802, etc. This situation was doing that the local elite was acquiring the flows necessary for to be consolidated, obtaining the power in the royal mayoralties and where the rest of the population was poor due to the fact that the lands were centered in propertied absentees (rural owner or landowner who is in the habit of living far from the lands, making them careless or them yield across high revenues).

San Juan de la Rambla obtained the title of Villa in 1925. Nowadays the agriculture continues to be the principal engine of the municipality (the municipality is catalogued like rural), but the population devotes herself in majority to the sector services, construction and industry.

San Juan

Representative Buildings 

The old town of San Juan: In 1993 it was declared "Bien de Interés Cultural"  with the category of Historical Site. This declaration was realized by the need to preserve the houses, since many of them have been deteriorating; others demolished to give step to modern construction;: and other constructions have been annexed to the already existing ones.

The denominator of all of them is a functional architecture, it was adapted to the economic possibilities of every owner. The predominate elements of the houses are masonry, tile, hewn stone and carpentry. The wealthiest families of the epoch would put more adornments to the buildings.

Among the most important characteristics of the most significant buildings are: balconies of a lattice and windows of cushions with shutters. Some of them are of the XIXth, for what they present a neoclassic style.

Houses of San Juan

The Parish of San Juan Bautista: As already one was counting previously, one of the most important colonists of the zone was the Portuguese Martin Rodríguez to the being the most important person of the zone, ran with the first expenses of the hermitage, close to some contributions of the neighbors.

It is decided to construct a hermitage under the dedication of San Juan, principally, saint of the one that he was devout, since June 24 was one of the more relevant liturgical and pagan parties of the year. A big part of the construction is carried out in 1529.

The hermitage was built, where today one finds the major chapel. In 1553 and 1558 wide, due to the growth of the population. In the 18th century a reconstruction of the Church was realized.

The cover is of armor of Mudejar style of the couple and knuckle. The walls are of masonry; and the doors and windows are the moderates of stone of hewn stone. The front is simple, emphasizing both arches of hewn stone. The tower is of stone of hewn stone with modern auction.

The inhabitants saw the construction of the hermitage necessary, since it was the one that was possessing the key of the eternal salvation. Landowners, laborers, colonists, slaves, etc, had two points jointly; the work and the religion. It is for it, that one of the first constructions that they realized was that of a hermitage, to have more nearby the elements of salvation.

The Parish

Barrio de Los Quevedos: It is located in the mediocrities of the municipality, in the line of equal name (it was the best zone for the installation, since they were good lands not neither for the culture nor cattle and it was far from the riverbeds of the ravines). The neighborhood is found in the population nucleus of San Jose and in 2008 there was declared "Bien de Interes Cultural". 

The neighborhood is constituted by a dozen of real estate of traditional typology. They are still a few bosses of rural architecture: they have a rectangular plant with thick walls of basaltic masonry and employment of a rudimentary mortar of lime and sand.

The buildings possess one or two floors, the above mentioned being characterized by the existence of exterior stairs well in wood or in masonry that they would lead to the top level. The covers are of tile Arabic and arranged for two and four waters on a structure of girders.

The vegetation of this zone has been transformed by the agricultural and cattle uses.

Los Quevedos

Church of San Jose: The  neighborhoods of the high part of the municipality went to San Juan to be baptized, to marry, etc. This happened until the hermitage of San Jose was declared Parish in 1964.

From the 18th century, the neighbors have the need to possess a hermitage, given the distance that supposed to go  up to San Juan, specially to have to go every Sunday to mass. It is not known the exact date of the construction, but if that already in 1764 was constructed and that already for 1780 was finished (it is mentioned in some testaments).

It was a simple construction, of the rectangular floor with cover of tiles to four waters. In the main face, to the western one, one of the doors places, framed by making round arch of stone, a simple reed-mace of hewn stone with a bell uses as auction to the front.

Church of San José

Molino de Gofio del Risco de las Pencas:  It was constructed in the 16th century. It was in functioning until the middle of the 20th century, and served to lead the water up to the village. Still, one preserves the bucket, the building, the stones of the mill and the wheel with the spades. It was declared BIC, ethnological site in 2007. 

The mill  is to the left of the Ruiz Ravine, under a great natural roque of cylindrical morphology. It consists of two buildings of rectangular plant, walls of blocks of reddish tufa and masonry, with a cover of tiles

There exists an attached building, which possibly was destined for housing of the miller, store or stay for the users of the mill. It completes the installation, a few drainpipes. In 2009 the town hall carried out a reform.

The mill

The houses of La Rambla: These former household tasks were including house, press and warehouse, some of which remain. Close to some that another neoclassic copy, they can find some housings of the traditional Canary architecture of rural character.

To see the houses since they are, there is crossed the real way of the coast of west to this one beginning for the Stone of the Rooster. From here we can find some houses.

House in La Rambla

The Real way for the Coast: For four centuries, this one was one of the via that Taoro's communication with San Juan (apart from that of the mediocrities). Still the step along The Ravine remains in its entirety, being the principal pedestrian route, bordered by more modern ancient and some houses.

It was dangerous for the neighbors and also there was difficulty in trasporting the goods that were not coming by sea. It was possible to circulate neither with cars nor wagons since they were not fitting.

Nowadays only there is reported what passes across The Ravine, and nothing stays on the way that was passing for the quiet one, due to the batterings of the sea.

The route

The Hermitage of the Cross: The neighbors of Las Aguas did not see the need to realize a hermitage, given the nearness to San Juan. Nevertheless, it was a custom to celebrate the holiday of the cross, May 3. Quite the neighbors were possessing across in the houses, which in this date it was extracted to the streets and courts, adorning them to see the one who was making it nicer

One of the neighbors who were possessing across decided to put it of permanent form in a small chapel. It was constructed in an  volcano that was used as a square, for what the place turned into the backbone of these holidays. Passed a time, with the support of the Town hall and neighborhood, the place turned into the square, it was inaugurated in 1930.

The Hermitage

Houses of Las Aguas: The first houses were constructed next to the shore of the Royal Way, near the beach, and taking advantage of the lava of the volcano. Initially they were constructed at the edge of the way that was coming to the neighborhood of The Ravine.

Of the first housings it remains very small, due to the fact that some of them have disappeared and others have been remodelled. But there remains some if the Royal Way.

Las Aguas

The Cemetery and El Calvario: From the 16th century the until middle of the XIXth, the people were buried in the soil of the Church. Though from 1787 there had been abolished the habit of burying them in the Church. This one did not have the effect in the municipality until the middle of the XIXth. Due to small capacity that they had and that the situation already was untenable, the Town hall with an instance of the top authorities takes the decision to construct a cemetery to the exit of the people. 

The wall of the entry appears in a triangular form with auctions of hewn stone and frame of the same thing in the door. The lateral niches finished off by columns and arches of hewn stones.

The burials took place in the soil, except the niches on both sides of the chapel. For this motive the wealthy families in the last third decide to raise the own pantheons. For such an end they use the best stone extracted from the quarries

The structure is that of a chapel with the front of stone carved and framed by lateral columns that support a fronton, being of the same material that the ceilings, the soil and the altar frontal of the small altar. (From 1983 another cemetery exists over the village due to the fact that there was no any more space for extension)

The cementery

Close to the cemetery it is found El Calvario, an element that was not in the habit of being absent in any village. Generally it was consisting of a small construction, which sometimes had a few crosses or some images that reminded Jesus' death. The enclosure it forms a small court, a pulpit of stone and an altar closed by a window. All this crowned by a fronton of edges of stone and auctions of hewn stone, in whose eardrum, there is a small niche with a painting of the face of the crucifix.

El Calvario

We never forget that we find good examples of real estate of Canary typology along the whole municipality, for example in La Vera and Las Rosas (cores that have not been mentioned).