Gran Canaria Tourist Guide

The craft trade in Gran Canaria owes its singularity to a constant maturing process. The pre-Hispanic dwellers on the island had already started working in clay, an essential raw material for the making of religious figures and seals geometric shapes known as pintaderas. This pottery vocation lives on to the present day at several towns around the island’s interior where they still manufacture carvings, pans, jugs and an endless array of decorative figures. Foreign influences following the Castilian conquest brought with them techniques and materials that were beneficial for the craft trade, as it brought in embroidery and lacework which was highly acclaimed, both on the islands and elsewhere. Agricultural development brought about an industry that facilitated the transport of products harvested on the land. This is how basket weaving came into being, with the emergence all kinds of baskets, tubs, bags and other objects. The Canary knife is a highly useful tool for countryfolk and their daily activities, and has acquired a great sentimental value over the years which is passed down from parents to children. No less symbolic for the locals is the timple, a wooden musical instrument resembling a guitar, with five strings on it, which has played a crucial role in folkloric culture on the islands. The FEDAC shops give visitors the chance to acquire craftwork pieces from Gran Canaria. These objects are the result of the old fashioned trades that refused to dwindle and die, and are the glowing display of local history and traditions.

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FEDAC CRAFTWORK SHOPS THE FOUNDATION FOR ETHNOGRAPHY AN DEVELOPMENT OF CANARIAN CRAFTS TRADITIONAL CRAFTWORKSHOPS Domingo J. Navarro, 7. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. (+34) 928 369 661 LA SALA (OBJECTS AND CULTURE) Domingo J. Navarro, 7 bis. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. (+34) 928 369 661 SHOP AT PLAYA DEL INGLÉS Island Tourist Centre Avda. de España esquina Avda. de los Estados Unidos.

Playa del Inglés. (+34) 928 772 445

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LEISURE GUIDE OF GRAN CANARIA