Few holiday destinations around the world can boast of such a wide artistic legacy as Lanzarote. This small volcanic island, which is part of the Canarian archipelago, has a distinctly unique culture partly due to its history but also to the efforts of one man.
The artist Cesar Manrique was born in Arrecife, the island’s capital, in 1919. He went on to have a very distinguished career both at home and internationally, as a painter and also as an architect and designer. His body of work can be seen all over the island, in the form of sculptures, attractions and buildings.
Where he differs from other artists is that he had considerable influence within the government of Lanzarote at a crucial moment in the island’s development. Thus he helped to shape the way in which tourism was embraced in a number of ways.
This included the adoption of strict building controls to ensure the island didn’t end up like many other Spanish holiday destinations. Something that even today visitors taking holidays in Lanzarote can appreciate. As there are none of the high-rise blocks that blight other coastlines.
He rightly ascertained that the wonderful year round warm climate would be immensely popular with visitors from northern Europe. And with Lanzarote flights only four hours in duration from the UK, the place is very accessible.
And then there are the centres of art and culture he designed to provide a background to the island, covering its history in interesting ways. Lanzarote was once one of the main producers of cochineal, for instance.
So he created a cactus garden in the region where most of the cacti where grown in the past, using an old quarry site as the location for this attraction. Over 1,000 varieties of this spiny species are displayed to maximum effect in a series of amphitheatre style steps.
Such was Manrique’s attention to detail that even the door handles to the garden are formed in the shape of cacti, as are the light fittings in the café. This is a motif that he developed in all the attractions, with individual identities and logos for each one, such as the crab at the Jameos del Agua.
The overall effect is one that helps to seduce visitors with Lanzarote’s charm. Something that makes many people return year after year, with many enjoying one of the great holiday villas in Lanzarote as a base from which to explore the island.
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