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San Lorenzo, LPGC’s urban village
We’re from London, so the metro-village concept’s a familiar one. We lived in Primrose Hill (Village) and Loughton. The latter had its own cricket ground and Epping Forest next door. Making living there feel like being in rural Essex rather than Zone 6. Now we’re in Arenales, which ain’t no village but we’re close to San Lorenzo which clearly is.
The view from San Lorenzo
Blue sky, green grass, it must be San Lorenzo
Parroquia de San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo parish church
The green, green grass of San Lorenzo
The countryside’s never very far away in San Lorenzo
Tunnel vision
Look in most directions in San Lorenzo and you’ll see green
Siesta and fiesta
We enjoy a post-interview coffee with Sheena Gallagher from Canary Property Market, a Gran Canaria estate agency sharing a birth year with Mr GCL. Sheena, a third-generation Brit expat, is engaging company. Bringing life to the sleepy Plaza de San Lorenzo which is also lit up in early August as part of the Fiestas de San Lorenzo. The fireworks display‘s one of the biggest in the Canary Islands. Boom boom, shake the room.
The lost municipality
Sitting in the square, it’s hard to picture San Lorenzo’s bloody history. Prior to the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, it was a municipal capital. Then its last elected mayor, Don Juan Santana Vega, a communist mason, was shot dead by fascist forces, in March 1937. Following his murder, San Lorenzo was annexed to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, although there have been legal attempts by locals to restore their home town to its former glory.
San Lorenzo’s market activity
Apart from the Fiestas de San Lorenzo, the busiest San Lorenzo gets is on a Sunday. When the Mercado del Agricultor comes to town, bringing local farmers selling fresh fruit and veg from early morn to past noon. There’s also beauty products made from aloe vera grown in the Vega de Gáldar, bread from neighbouring La Milagrosa, and a cheese stall. Don’t forget your wallet. So you can pick up some edible mementos.