History of the Festivities of the Cristo de La Laguna (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain)

In the year 1607, the Lords of Justice of the Island declared the fourteenth day of September a holiday, motivated by the miracles of the Christ of La Laguna. This was how the feast of the Sanctuary of San Francisco began, with the place where the pilgrims represented the exaltation of Christ.

Over the years, the person responsible for carrying out the celebrations would be a remarkable gentleman, who was chosen each year by the monks of the Convent of San Francisco, and who would be called «Provider of the Feast», worrying It was also customary for the supplier to give the Christ an object of silver as a memento, standing out the present cross that Christ possesses, which was given in 1630 by Francisco Baptista Pereira de Lugo, Regidor of Tenerife.

With the foundation of Venerable Slavery in 1659, the figure of the supplier disappears, designating a commission presided over by the Major Slave for the organization of the parties, and from 1966 the popular acts are entrusted to the City Council. The acts of the feasts of the Christ were enriched each year with different traditions and expressions of popular folklore, some of which are still preserved.

Note: Abstract extracted from the book The Holy Christ of La Laguna, History, Festivals and Traditions of Domingo García Barbuzano

Although for a long time it was thought that the work of the Christ was of Sevillian origin and unknown author, the research published in 1999 by the specialist Francisco Galante, professor of History of Art of the University of La Laguna, determined that it is a size Of Flemish origin whose author was Louis Van Der Vule in the early 16th century. Due to the intense commercial relations and imports of works of art from the time between the Netherlands and the rest of Europe, the Christ arrived in Venice, from there to Barcelona and then to the Cadiz town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in whose hermitage of the Vera Cruz was sheltered for some years. Finally, it is believed that in 1520, this imposing carving of the Lord on the Cross would reach La Laguna, probably fruit of the good relations maintained by the Adelantado Fernández de Lugo and the Duke of Medina Sidonia.