Villa y Puerto de Tazacorte (La Palma)

This is the smallest and most recently formed municipality of La Palma. It extends over 11.7 sq. km along the coast from the mouth of the Barranco de Las Angustias ravine to Las Hoyas, the place where the San Juan volcano spilled out in 1949, increasing the size of the island . It borders with Tijarafe to the north at El Time, and with Los Llanos to the east through an arbitrary line. 
The large beach at the port of Tazacorte was the place chosen by the Spanish to begin the conquest of La Palma around 1492.
The best lands were soon divided, as were rights to the water coming from the Caldera crater. Wealthy families from the capital city bought important estates, as did Flemish traders who saw a prosperous future in the sugar industry. 
The country estates of Argual and Tazacorte, together with the sugar mills of the Monteverde, Vandale and Sotomayor families, to whom all the land and water belonged, soon became the economic motor of the island. 
The port at Tazacorte was the second most important in the island after that of the capital, Santa Cruz. During the 16th century national and foreign ships stopped there to collect sugar, wine and other island products. Frequent visits from corsairs and pirates forced the owners of the estates to build small forts (no longer in existence) to protect their interests. 
Despite this economic drive, most people lived in quite poor conditions. Tazacorte was a district within Los Llanos, mainly inhabited by farmers and fishermen. Cochineal and sugar revitalised the economy in the second half of the 19th century, but continued crises nonetheless accelerated emigration to America. 
Bananas were not grown extensively until the end of the First World War, with the arrival of the English company, Fyffes Limited, among others . In Tazacorte, wealth and businesses remained in the hands of a handful of employers who employed the rest of the population to do the work.
The struggle for independence or segregation from Los Llanos became heated at the beginning of the 20th century. With 2,316 inhabitants in 1923, Tazacorte was the most populated area in the municipality of Los Llanos and the most economically developed area in Valle de Aridane.
The definitive battle for emancipation took place, as much in Madrid as in the island itself, during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. On 16th September 1925, Tazacorte was granted independence by decree.
Three years later an epidemic broke out - the Plague of 1928 – still a sorrowful memory for the inhabitants. 
Nowadays Tazacorte is striving to develop and maintain its fishing and trade port, banana production and tourism. 

The fishing trade

Tazacorte has traditionally been associated with the fishing industry. Ships sail from its port along the cliffs towards Fuencaliente , or off into the distant horizon. 
Fishermen, highly skilled in their craft , work while others sleep, braving the rough seas and high waves. Their tanned , salty faces look patiently into the winds, discerning whether storms are likely or whether the seagulls have found a shoal of fish. Hauling ropes and nets ages their hands as the years pass. With tradition, skill and expertise they catch the fish which satisfies the market. 

On the shore, the arrival of the boats is eagerly awaited and the fishermen proudly display their gifts of the sea, which include conger eels, parrot fish, trigger fish, cardinal fish, dogfish, morays, horse mackerel, and bream , which wriggle about on the boat before being unloaded.
On the land, women, children and the elderly collect limpets and winkles . With white cloths and a spike they capture octopus and at night-time they dazzle unsuspecting crabs with lights. Eels and are attracted by chants and song, and the marine snakes are lured to their death by these human voices. 
Such are the everyday occurrences in the traditional life of fishing folk who face their uncertain future with hope.

The infamous episode of the MARTYRS OF TAZACORTE

Around the year 1570 a group of Jesuit missionaries set sail from Lisbon in seven ships, bound for Brazil to spread the faith. The Santiago was taking merchandise to the island of Madeira, the island of La Palma and Brazil, with a stopover in the port of Tazacorte , perhaps to collect sugar. There , Father Acevedo met an old school friend and descendent of the wealthy Monteverde family, who generously invited the group to his house , where they stayed several days. 
The religious man said mass in the San Miguel chapel. As legend goes, it was in this moment that he was startled by a revelation of the martyrdom they were about to suffer. The silver chalice still bears the marks of his teeth where he bit it in shock. The chasuble worn by the holy man on that day is still preserved in the chapel.
On July 13th the ship set sail in the direction of Santa Cruz de La Palma, but failing winds left them stranded off the coast of Fuencaliente until the 15th when they were attacked by five French Huguenot ships. After a hard battle the crew of the Santiago were finally subdued. The missionaries were tortured, mutilated and cruelly murdered. However, Father Acevedo inspired his companions to die with faith in defending the sacred Church. The corpses were thrown overboard into the sea. Forty crosses now rest at the bottom of the ocean in the place where the sad episode of the Martyrs of Tazacorte took place. 


FESTIVITIES

In the locality affectionately called París chiquito or little Paris, people celebrate festive events with true passion. The people in Tazacorte are liberal, progressive, tolerant, and great music-lovers with a creative spirit. 
Amongst the most important celebrations are those of July 16th, when fishermen take Virgin of Carmen out to sea in a procession, and September 29th when the biggest celebrations in honour of Saint Michael Archangel, Patron Saint of the town and port of Tazacorte and of La Palma, take place.
People eagerly await the unique dance of the Caballos Fufos. These are horses with cane bodies dressed in strips of tissue paper which jig along the streets to the rhythm of the music. The jockeys try to control their beasts which rear up, neigh and snort amongst the crowds. 

SUGGESTIONS

A favourable climate, water resources and the tenacity of its inhabitants have made this place one of the most prosperous agricultural areas in the island. Bananas are cultivated intensely, forming a great blanket of vegetation which spreads across the land right to the coast.
After taking a relaxed tour of the town we suggest a walk down to the fishing port where you can buy some fresh fish or take a boat trip to the large cave of Cueva Bonita under the cliffs of Tijarafe.

In the restaurants and bars of the area you can enjoy various seafood dishes - grilled, stewed or fried.
Recommended leisure activities include aquatic sports which can be practised all the year round, as well as cycling, caving in volcanic tubes , and hiking along the footpath of the coast (including climbing to El Time).

PLACES OF INTEREST

San Miguel Church

In the town we recommend the area around San Miguel church, constructed on the site where the island's first chapel was built. Alonso Fernández de Lugo began the conquest of the island at Tazacorte in 1492 and his dedication to Saint Michael Archangel led the latter to be named Patron Saint of the island. The saint is represented in the coat of arms of La Palma wearing military uniform and holding a sword which protects the Church. 
A quiet peaceful air surrounds this pioneering temple that became a parish church in 1922. The church houses the relics of the Jesuit martyrs and an interesting art collection. 
The building is surrounded by a plaza and it has an Andalusian-style pergola with Seville tiles which supports a tangle of bougainvillea , which casts shade over the pathway. 

Charming spots

In the urban centre, hidden amongst banana plantations, buildings in traditional style mingle with modern architecture. Tazacorte has an abundance of old stately homes, and narrow side streets lined with trees which flower continuously in this climate of eternal spring. 
The original town centre was in the neighbourhood of El Charco where the Monteverde family's prosperous sugar mill was located. Naturally t he surrounding areas soon began to expand with the houses of skilled employees from the mills, workshops, and other facilities. 
The famous surnames of Monteverde, Vandale, Sotomayor, and Massieu were traditionally interlinked in marriage, thus ensuring the safekeeping of their estates for many centuries. These families lived in their ancestral homes, sharing pride in their past in the Netherlands. Of particular interest are the Vizconde del Buen Paso palace, the stately home of Almirante Díaz Pimienta, the Massieu house, and that of the martyrs, all dating to the 16th century.
The percentage of the working class population dedicated to agriculture was always very high, and public recognition of this sector is reflected in the sculpture of the poor farmhand, located in front of the town hall. 

Tazacorte is an Atlantic town overlooking an ocean horizon. Numerous bars and restaurants line the foot of the cliffs of El Time, close to the surf, where the smell of fried fish mixed with the fresh sea air, creating a peaceful setting in this popular tourist spot.

The coast 

The port of this fishing village has always played an important role in the history of the island, and in the economy and development of the area. Nowadays it is a multi-purpose yet picturesque fishing port where multi-coloured boats, many of them yachts, tie up at the pier. 
One of the most popular beaches is Playa del Roque with the El Time headland in the background, and the mouth of Barranco de Las Angustias, the outflow from the Caldera de Taburiente, to the north. This municipality also includes the Tenisca and Hondo ravines, which appear as old scars on the landscape.
Gentle landscapes slope down towards the coast, until they fall as cliffs at the shores of the Atlantic. Beautiful black sand beaches , like those of Los Guirres or Playa Nueva, are tucked away from the trade winds. The lighthouse at Punta de Las Hoyas headland marks the border with Los Llanos at the coast and lights up the navigator's path.


Geology

The plateau at the foot of the Valle de Aridane valley is broken up by the Barranco de Las Angustias , a ravine which has been declared a protected landscape. Year after year, the force of the water washes down more alluvial soil, expanding the size of the channel and eventually forming deposits along the coast. 
The landscape of Tazacorte has been moulded by lava flows from the volcanoes of Tacande or Montaña Quemada and San Juan. There are four volcanic cones next to one another, protected by the Law on Natural Areas (Ley de Espacios Naturales). Two of these, Todoque and La Laguna, stand out from the landscape with their coat of banana plantations.
Concealed below ground are unusual volcanic tubes such as Los Caracoles in La Laguna, Cueva de Hércules or the better known Cueva del Perdido. The latter is 1,288 m in length, and is a complex intertwining labyrinth, with four mouths that open out along the cliffs of the municipality's coast. 

Copyright. Asociación para el Desarrollo Rural de la Isla de La Palma ( ADER-La Palma ). (Association for the Rural Development of the Island of La Palma)