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Telegraph
28-03-2025
- Telegraph
How to connect with Tenerife's culture
Tenerife has been shaped and influenced over generations by many cultures. You'll still find remnants of the original Guanche people (thought to be Berber tribes from North Africa), plenty of sights of interest remaining from the Spanish colonisation of the island in the early 15th century, plus hints and highlights from people who have passed through this strategic point, from northern European tourists to South American travellers. What remains in Tenerife – and is still evolving – is an intriguing mosaic of cultural legacies, innovative arts and heritage projects, and an events and festivals calendar to rival any of the world's major cities. As you stroll up to the mighty Basilica de Candelaria on Tenerife's north-west coast, you'll be under the watchful eye of nine large bronze statues, created in 1993 by the renowned Tenerife sculptor José Abad. These are the menceyes, the aboriginal 'kings' of Tenerife before the Spanish came. Before the conquest, the island was split into nine kingdoms, the names of which are still present today in places such as Adeje, Anaga and Güímar. The city of Candelaria is famous for the Cueva de Achbinico, a cave believed to have been a place of worship for more than 3,000 years. To learn more about the Guanches, head to the Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA) in Santa Cruz where you'll discover more about these cave-dwelling people, their ways of life and their beliefs – such as in the figure of Guayota, the devil-like spirit believed to reside in El Teide volcano, unleashing flames and devastation when angered. El Teide – Spain's highest mountain – has huge historical significance for the people who have called the island home. Nowhere more so than in the pretty, quiet town of Garachico. It was once the busiest place on the island and the most important port, where produce – particularly wine – was exported all over the world. That all came to an abrupt and devastating stop in 1706 when a volcanic eruption demolished the port and part of the town. In La Orotava, a handsome town with impressive mansion houses that were once the homes of the island's wealthy nobility, you'll find the Casa de Los Balcones, an extraordinary house with many intricately carved Canarian pinewood balconies, a traditional architectural flourish that can be seen around the island. It's a similar tale in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (La Laguna for short), which was the island's capital before Santa Cruz, and is one of Tenerife's two Unesco World Heritage Sites. Its cobblestone streets are lined with grand mansions and radiant, brightly coloured houses, and its grid format was used as the blueprint for towns and cities across Latin America, including Havana in Cuba. There are many guided walks around the historic centre, and you can also find many traditional restaurants. In the (new) capital of Santa Cruz, the area of La Noria is also both historic and gastronomic. It's where the city was founded back in 1494 by Alonso Fernández de Lugo. The streets leading out from Iglesia Matriz de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción have an Old-World-meets-New-World vibe and come alive when the sun goes down. Nearby, you'll find a host of cultural hotspots that make up part of Tenerife's exciting arts scene, encompassing music, painting, sculpture and architecture. Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA) is a sleek and modern gallery and library with contemporary art exhibitions, in stark contrast to the classic MUNA museum next door. Down along the seafront the shimmering, gravity-defying white arc of Santiago Calatrava's Auditorio de Tenerife is hard to miss. This opera house and music venue has a popular programme of events year-round. In the city centre, the Museo de Bellas Artes offers a cooling respite from the sun and a fascinating collection of art and artifacts dating from between the 16th and 19th centuries. Don't miss the intricate façade of the Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero at the end of the street. Visiting the island in February? You'll be forgiven for thinking that bright costumes, music and dancing are everyday life in Tenerife – and to some extent, you'd be right. But when carnaval comes to town, everyone takes part. From street parades and parties to fancy dress competitions and comparsas (groups of traditional singers, musicians and dancers), Santa Cruz de Tenerife carnival is the largest outside of Rio de Janeiro. Be sure to book accommodation early, because it's hugely popular. If you're not lucky enough to join the party in February, a trip to La Casa del Carnaval, will give you the chance to get a flavour of the spectacle by seeing the many carnaval extravagant costumes on display. For something a little less raucous, make a beeline for the Baile de Magos in May. This is a traditional Canarian affair with typical food, music and dancing and revellers in classic Canarian dress – you can attend for free if you dress like the locals. Alternatively, head to La Orotava for Corpus Cristi in May and June to witness the incredible flower carpets that cover the town hall square in spectacular detail. Tenerife beyond the beach With multiple airlines flying direct to Tenerife from the UK every day, it's time to find out more, plan your travel and book your trip with the Tenerife Tourism Corporation
The Independent
07-03-2025
- Science
- The Independent
How a dying anglerfish became the darling of social media
In February, researchers from conservation organisation Condrik Tenerife were about two kilometres off the coast of Tenerife Island, looking for sharks, when they caught sight of something much stranger. Photographer David Jara Boguñá filmed a humpback anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii, a species of black seadevil) swimming near the surface in sunlit waters. These fish have never before been seen alive in daylight, as they normally dwell in the 'twilight zone' at depths from 200m to 600m. The video has provoked an enormously empathetic response on social media, with some seeing the fish as a feminist icon or an Icarus-like figure who swam too close to the Sun. The reaction shows our views of the deep sea – long ignored or seen as a realm of monsters – may at last be changing. The strange lives of anglerfish Anglerfish are much smaller than you probably think they are. The specimen Boguñá filmed was a female, which typically grow up to 15cm long. The creatures are named for their bioluminescent lure (or esca). This modified dorsal fin ray can produce a glow used to fish (or angle) for prey in the dim depths of the sea. The bioluminescence is produced by symbiotic bacteria that live inside the bulbous head of the esca. Male anglerfish lack the iconic lure and are much smaller, usually reaching a length of only 3cm. A male anglerfish spends the first part of his life searching for a female to whom he will then attach himself. He will eventually fuse his circulatory system with hers, depending on her entirely for nutrients, and live out his life as a parasite or 'living testicle'. It is unknown why this fish was swimming vertically near the surface. Researchers have speculated that the behaviour may have been related to changes in water temperature, or that the fish was simply at the end of her life. Watchers observed the fish for several hours, until it died. Its body was preserved and taken to the Museum of Nature and Archaeology in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it will be further studied. Sympathy for the seadevil The video quickly went viral, inspiring countless reaction videos, artworks, memes, a Pixar-style animation and a poem titled Icarus is the Anglerfish. One Reddit user commented: 'I like to think she is a respected old grandmother who has dreamed her entire life of seeing the sunlight and the world above the water. She knows her time is nigh so she bade farewell to her friends and family and swam up towards the light and whatever it might hold for her as her life as an anglerfish comes to a close.' One person described the fish as her 'feminist Roman Empire', in the sense of an inspirational obsession that filled the same role for her that the Roman Empire supposedly does for many men. Boguñá and Condrik Tenerife have since commented on the public reaction. (The original post is in Spanish, but Instagram's automated English translation is below.) 'He's become a global icon, that's clear. But far from the romanticisation and attempt to humanise that has been given to its tragic story, I think that what this event has been for is to awaken the curiosity of the sea to PEOPLE, especially the younger ones, and perhaps, it also serves that messages about marine ecosystem conservation can reach so many more people.' From horrors to heroes The outpouring of empathy for the anglerfish is unexpected. With their glowing lures and fang-filled mouths, the creatures have long been archetypal horrors of the abyss. As I have written elsewhere, the anglerfish's extreme sexual dimorphism and parasitism, along with its unsettling anatomy, have made it the 'iconic ambassador of the deep sea'. Anglerfish or angler-inspired aliens have appeared as antagonists in films such as Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Finding Nemo (2003), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) and Luca (2021). The reception of 'Icarus' (as some call her) in popular culture indicates a perhaps surprising capacity for empathy toward animals that aren't conventionally cute or beautiful. It stands in stark contrast to the fate of the deep-sea blobfish Psychrolutes marcidus, which in 2013 was voted the world's ugliest animal. Perhaps the name is a clue: people have seen in the fish a creature striving to reach the light, who died as a result of her quest. But does our projection of human emotions and desires onto non-human animals risk misunderstanding scientific reality? Almost certainly – but, as US environmental humanities researcher Stacy Alaimo has argued, it may also have benefits: 'Deep-sea creatures are often pictured as aliens from another planet, and I think that gets people interested in them because we're all interested in novelty and weirdness and the surreal […] I think that can be positive, but the idea of the alien can also cut us off from any responsibility.' The deep sea and its inhabitants face growing threats from seabed mining, plastic pollution, and the effects of human-induced climate change. They need all the empathy they can get.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Black Seadevil Anglerfish Captures Hearts Nationwide: ‘A Dream Come True'
On January 26, 2025, scientists worldwide were shocked to learn that a black seadevil anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii) had ventured from the ocean's dark depths to the surface near the San Juan beach off the coast of the Guía de Isora, Canary Islands. This marks the second time in history that this type of fish has ever been documented on camera. 'When I first saw the video, I honestly didn't believe what I was seeing,' Kory Evans, a fish biologist at Rice University, told National Geographic. 'I thought it was A.I.' Following the swim, the black seadevil anglerfish passed away from the extreme change in pressure and its previous injuries sustained during the journey. It is now housed at the Museum of Nature and Archaeology in Santa Cruz, Tenerife. 'It was like a dream come true,' says David Jara Bogunyà, a marine wildlife photographer with the NGO Condrik Tenerife who helped capture the footage, told National Geographic. 'When I was a kid, I had a book with some deep-sea creatures, and I loved the illustrations. They were crazy to me. The animals didn't look real.' Still, their story has since gone viral on all social media platforms, with people posting videos of the fish's journey and captioning it things like 'This poor fish is just spending her literal last seconds trying to do something beautiful.' Read on to discover everything you need to know about the fish, including why it went to the surface in the first place! The black seadevil anglerfish is a deep sea fish best known for its sharp teeth and 'fishing pole,' which serve as its light source in the ocean's dark depths. They mainly feed on crustaceans—crabs, lobsters, shrimp, etc.—and are believed to be 'soft and squishy,' according to Evans. 'They are ambush predators…They kind of sit there, bobbing around, so seeing this one doing something active is kind of shocking,' he added. 'Their whole deal is not moving.' Because of their hatred for moving, many scientists and civilians are wondering why the seadevil—whose scientific name Melanocetus johnsonii translates to 'black whale'—traveled to the surface in the first place. 'A lot of things could be going on,' Ben Frable, the senior collection manager of marine vertebrates at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in Southern California, told The New York Times. 'The animal could have been in distress, or worked its way into shallow water accidentally, or was being pursued by a predator.' As of publication, scientists still don't know the real reason the fish chose to come to the surface from the deep sea, but maybe he just needed a break from producing their own light and being surrounded by never-ending darkness. 'The deep ocean habitat is the largest living space on Earth, and it's home to most of the animals that live on this planet. We are exceptions,' Bruce Robison, a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, told National Geographic. 'We know so little about what's down deep.' Robison was the first scientist to record a video of black seadevil anglerfish in 2014—which he did by sending a remote camera 1,900 feet deep in the ocean. Despite it only being the second time the black seadevil anglerfish has been caught on camera, 'They've been captured in nets going back to the 19th century,' according to Robison. 'These animals have been known for a very long time.' The one discovered off the coast of the Spanish Canary Islands was a female and was about six inches tall, which is pretty common for the species since they are believed to have their female offspring be the bigger, bolder and more ferocious gender. As of publication, details on how old she was remain unclear, but scientists are avidly working to learn more about her identity, life, and why she looks the way she looks. 'They live in a very different environment; they're going to look weird,' Frable told The New York Times. But they are not gruesome or horrific.' 'People don't see them as valuable to protect, as a panda bear.' There are believed to be around 200 different species of anglerfish, all of which live in the deep sea and are rarely seen near the surface. For more trending news, keep scrolling! Westminster's Best in Show Winner Is a Giant Schnauzer! Learn More About This Majestic Breed Groundhog Day 2025: PETA Suggests Predicting the Weather With a Color-Reveal Vegan Cake Instead Bill Nye Walks in Fashion Show To Raise Money for Prostate Cancer—See the Viral Runway Photos!
