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FUERTEVENTURA WITH CHILDREN, LIFE IN FUERTEVENTURA
Fuerteventura: a mix of cultures
Mar
Fuerteventura is one of the most visited Canary Islands. The open character of its people, and its privileged coasts, surely have a lot to do with the fact that millions of tourists decide to spend their vacations here or, as it has been happening lately, teleworking.
The color palette that defines the Majorero landscapes is extraordinary. Intense blues, turquoise and ocher bathe this island of just over 119,000 inhabitants, located a step away from Africa and 3 hours, by plane, from cold European cities.
This piece of paradise remains a peaceful and cosmopolitan place at the same time. Chosen, increasingly, by people around the world as a place of residence.
The mixture of cultures and religions that make up the Majorero people is something worth discovering. Of the 119,732 residents registered in Fuerteventura, in 2020, 36,400 are foreigners, and the rest (83,300) are Spanish, of whom slightly less than half were born on the island.
Germans, English, French, Norwegians, Mauritanians, Senegalese, … and so on up to more than a hundred different nationalities are wellcomed
If you wonder which is the largest community in Fuerteventura, after the Spanish, you just have to take a walk through the northern municipality of La Oliva and check that the Italian community occupies that position. There are 8,500 Italians registered on the island.
And the next largest communities? Well, since you insist … we will tell you that in Fuerteventura there are registered, in their respective town halls, 4,300 English, 3,900 German, 3,800 Moroccan, or almost 1,000 Portuguese. We even have 3 stateless persons.
Contact with the different cultures that surround us, allows us to establish an open dialogue with other traditions, bringing us irremediably closer, not only to the acceptance and understanding of what is different, but also to understand our own roots.
Therefore, do not be afraid and do not miss the opportunity to get closer to the cultural manifestations that the various groups of Fuerteventura develop.
We could name a multitude of foreign traditions that take place in Fuerteventura. For example: the Feast of the Lamb, the Hindu Diwali, the Irish Saint Patrick, the Beer Festival, or the Chinese New Year.
Unfortunately, all these traditions cannot be carried out, in a massive way, since the arrival of the restrictions, due to Covid-19.
San Patricio (St Patrick): Every March 16 and 17 Fuerteventura, and especially Antigua, are dyed green. This day commemorates the death of Patrick, a priest who began the Christian evangelization of Ireland in the 4th century.
According to tradition, Saint Patrick explained the mystery of the Holy Trinity using a three-leaf clover. Hence, it has been established as a custom to wear a shamrock in the celebration of the festival of him. It is also common to dress green and even dye beer green in honor of Ireland. The feast of Saint Patrick is celebrated in an extraordinary way by the Irish community, but also by people who like to celebrate any international event.
Diwali is the most important celebration in India. And despite being a family celebration, the Hindustani community of Fuerteventura opens its doors to the rest of the island’s inhabitants.
For many, Diwali is the beginning of a new year. The triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil is celebrated. The five days of Diwali are characterized by prayers, banquets, fireworks, family gatherings, and donations. The date of the start of Diwali depends on the Hindu lunar calendar. It coincides with the new moon of the month of Kartika, between the end of October and the beginning of November.
Eid al Adha or Aid al-Adha, better known as the Feast of the Lamb, is the major Muslim holiday, and heralds the arrival of the new year.
The Muslims who live in Fuerteventura meet in large esplanades in the most important towns on the island. Tradition dictates that, after the prayer, each family sacrifices its own lamb. The lamb is divided into three parts, one for the family, another for friends and guests and a third so that the neediest people can also enjoy this day.
This three-day festival commemorates the passage collected in both the Bible and the Koran, which shows Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his first-born son, Ishmael, as an act of obedience to God. As a divine reward, a lamb appeared and sacrificed this animal in its place.
We conclude with a historical reflection
That Fuerteventura welcomes foreigners in a cordial way is not something modern, but has been developing since the 15th century. Let’s not forget that the island was colonized with people from all the peninsular communities. In addition, the Majorero people prevented the Moors who lived on the island from being expelled.
When Felipe III decreed the expatriation of the Moors from Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, at the end of the 16th century, the lords of the island and especially the Commissioner of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, opposed and alleged to the Crown that the Moors of the islands they had come voluntarily, defended the islands against their attackers and were integrated into the life of Fuerteventura. The revocation of the expulsion of the Moorish islanders allowed the enrichment of culture, gastronomy, Majorera crafts, etc.
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