Garafian peasant, oil on canvas, by Manuel González Méndez Santa Cruz de la Palma isn’t exactly the centre of the art world, but we do pretty well for such a small town. The Island Museum currently holding an exhibition to celebrate the centenary of a local artist. Manuel González Méndez was born in Santa Cruz de la Palma in 1843, in Calle Virgen la Luz. By the time he died…
Photo: Nick Smith, taken on August 14th at the Roque de los Muchachos In honour of the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon, and the International Year of Astronomy, the observatory is hosting an exhibition about the moon. It covers the history of lunar observations from the first time Galileo pointed his telescope at it in 1609 to the present. You don’t have to…
Of course there’s more than one exhibition space in La Palma – there are at least four in Santa Cruz alone. But the Island Council runs a very nice one on the main street, just south of the Plaza España. The exhibitions there usually run for two weeks each. At the moment, it’s an artist from Puntallana called Rosa Vidal, who makes her own paper. Rosa’s exhibition is open from…
The 15th of August is a public holiday on La Palma. (Concepción Inmaculada, the Immaculate Conception) Most of the shops will be closed. If you can get to the village of Concepción, above Santa Cruz de la Palma, they?l be having their annual fiesta: lots of mobile bars blasting out salsa music, lots of stalls selling cheap toys, a religious procession, and probably a live band.
Here’s a Google map with the locations of the two star parties, at the top and bottom.View La Palma Island in a larger mapClick on one of the blue map pins for details.
Wednesday night (August 12th) should be the best night of the year to see shooting stars. Shooting stars happen when the Earth passes through a cloud of dust left behind by a comet’s tail. To celebrate, the amateur astronomers on La Palma and Astrotour are holding two star parties. You’ll be able to observe the sun through a telescope (safely!) in Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Plaza España…