Crossing the Guiniguada ravine towards Puerto de la Luz is the Triana neighborhood, named for the similarities that it originally had with the homonymous neighborhood of Seville . The neighborhood was structured around Calle Mayor de Triana , a road of great architectural beauty and a long commercial tradition. Nearby are buildings such as the Pérez Galdós Theater , the Literary Cabinet , or the Church of San Francisco .The Triana neighborhood has been a historical constant in the urban evolution of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria , almost from the same moment in which the first population center of the city had its origin, from the last third of the 15th century. The choice of the name of Triana by its former inhabitants may possibly be related to the Triana neighborhood of Seville, given the important Andalusian population contribution that arrived in the Canary Islands in the first moments after the conquest.
Modernist facade on Calle Mayor de Triana .
For some years now, the heritage values ??contained in the historic center of the city have been recognized. Vegueta was declared a National Historic-Artistic Complex in 1973 and, years later, in 1993, the historic center of Triana was recognized.
The Triana neighborhood was a century ago, until the construction of the Port of La Luz and Las Palmas in La Isleta, a fishing district. Today the only thing that remains to be remembered for its maritime atmosphere is the Hermitage of San Telmo, originally built at the beginning of the 16th century. The current hermitage was built in the 18th century. Inside, in addition to its Mudejar coffered ceiling and the altarpiece, the "Immaculate" from the Convent of the Bernardas, attributed to Alonso Cano, deserves to be seen; the image of the "Señor de la Burrita" that opens the processions on Palm Sunday and the one much venerated by the faithful "Niño del Remedio".
Main facade of the Literary Cabinet in Plaza Cairasco.
The surface of Triana was traditionally delimited by the Guiniguada ravine to the south, the sea to the rising, a mountainous structure to the west, and a defensive wall perpendicular to the sea, built in the 16th century next to that of Vegueta to protect the urban area from possible attacks or invasions. In the middle of the last century it was demolished to favor the expansionary process of the city, but it is possible to imagine its original location following the layout of the current Bravo Murillo street.
However, throughout the seventeenth century, the Triana neighborhood was consolidated, defining the area through which it would have to expand in coming centuries. The urban design was organized, according to the agreements and ordinances of the Cabildo, following a more or less reticular layout that persists today, and can be seen on the roads perpendicular to Calle Mayor de Triana.
New hermitages such as San Telmo, San Sebastián, San Justo and de la Concepción were built, the latter starting point of the San Bernardo nunnery established at the end of the century. Likewise, in the last third of the 16th century, military constructions destined to defend the population were erected, such as the north wall and the Santa Ana tower , next to the Charco de los Abades or Caleta de San Sebastián (San Telmo), which for almost For four centuries it was the main entry and exit point for passengers and goods.
Cairasco theater and square at the end of the 19th century.
After the invasion of the Dutch Van der Does in 1599, a process of urban reconstruction began that would develop throughout the seventeenth century, since this event had affected the most important religious, military and private buildings. In addition, institutions such as the San Lázaro hospital moved from outside the façades to within the walls. This charity center was located on a site located in the orchards of Triana, in the space that would later be occupied by the nursing home and, at present, the Insular Center of Culture. In the same way, the convent of Santa Clara, close to that of San Francisco, was inaugurated in this century, thus contributing to accentuate the conventual character that the city had since the 15th century.
The Pérez Galdós Theater , the work of the architect Miguel Martín Fernández de la Torre , occupies the same place as the previous Tirso de Molina Theater, which was destroyed in a fire. The murals painted by the architect's brother, Néstor Martín Fernández de la Torre , which adorn the interior of the theater, deserve special attention .
In the 19th century the city was made up of the neighborhoods of Vegueta and Triana. With the confiscation of the Church's assets, the Clarisas convent became the current Alameda de Colón, and the Cairasco Theater is where the Literary Cabinet is located today .
Modernist facade on Calle Mayor de Triana.
In the 19th century, different architectural typologies began to appear in Triana, such as theaters, avenues and promenades, conceived to attend to the social concerns of the bourgeoisie residing in the bank, enriched by agricultural and commercial activities. The nineteenth-century confiscations led to the privatization and sale of the three convents established in Triana, with their orchards and respective dependencies, leading to the creation of new streets, squares, houses and public buildings.
Starting in the last third of the 19th century, two fundamental constructions in the neighborhood's appearance were raised at both ends of Triana, such as the Tirso de Molina theater (later dedicated to Pérez Galdós), on the shore of the mouth of the Guiniguada; and the Military Government at the confluence of Calle de Triana with the so-called Paseo de los Castillos (Bravo Murillo). In the same way, the alignment of the main thoroughfares, especially Calle Mayor de Triana, was attended to.
At the beginning of the 20th century, modernist architecture formed a very characteristic type of building in the neighborhood. Currently, the buildings on Calle Triana 76, 78, 80 and 82, as well as the Rodríguez Quegles Palace on Pérez Galdós Street, are the best examples of this movement, the five BICs being themselves.
Modernist facade.
Many of the wealthy families that resided in Triana undertook the company of renovating and beautifying their homes as a sign of social distinction. We find many of these decorative facades on Calle Mayor de Triana and its perpendiculars.
The rationalist architecture of the 20s and 30s, led to the construction of another of the emblematic buildings of Triana, such as the headquarters of the Island Council of Gran Canaria , the work of Miguel Martín Fernández de la Torre , on the corner of Bravo Murillo streets and Pérez Galdós, on a site where cockfights were previously held.
On the other hand, technical and industrial progress also reached the Triana neighborhood, especially as regards its streets and squares. The old lighting of oil and petroleum streetlights was giving way to electric lighting. Likewise, until the years of the Second World War and the post-war years, a tram popularly known as "La Pepa" circulated along Calle Mayor de Triana, a coal-fired locomotive that was inaugurated on San José's day (hence its name) in 1890 It carried out the service between the historic center and the port of La Luz. Its rails remained for decades in full view of everyone, until they were buried by the asphalt and the subsequent paving of this road, currently pedestrian.
Among the prominent characters in the cultural and artistic life of the city, we must review as residents of Triana the names of the universal writer Benito Pérez Galdós , the poet Tomás Morales and the politician Juan Negrín (last president of the Second Spanish Republic ). Likewise, we must not fail to refer to the image that some Canarian painters have bequeathed us from certain parts of the neighborhood, such as José Comas Quesada , Nicolás Massieu or Juan Betancor .
In 2013, the Triana area (Asociación de Empresarios Zona Triana) received the National Award for Open Shopping Centers, which is awarded by the general direction of Internal Trade of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain , aimed at awarding commercial associations aimed at promotion of Open Shopping Centers (CCA).
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