Guatiza

Teguise municipality: Guatiza
	Guatiza, view from the west
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Canary Islands
Province :	Las Palmas
Island:	Lanzarote
Comarca :	35544
Coordinates	29 ° 4 ′ N , 13 ° 29 ′ W Coordinates: 29 ° 4 ′ N , 13 ° 29 ′ W
Height :	95 msnm
Residents :	812 (2013) INE
Postal code :	35544
Area code:	35024000600

Guatiza is a place on the to Spain belonging Canary Island of Lanzarote in the town of Teguise . Guatiza has 812 inhabitants (as of 2013) .

history

Opuntia fields north of Guatiza

Santo Gusto Church

The first settlements were to the west above today's town of Guatiza opposite the bypass road, where the cemetery is on the slope of the mountain. In this way, arriving merchant boats could see the settlement from the sea, which they used as an advantage and plundered the residents' houses several times. That was the reason why the residents moved to the lower-lying, present-day local area, as the surrounding volcanic mountains Volcan de Guenia , Tinamala , La Caldera and Las Calderetas offered privacy protection here.

In and around Guatiza and the neighboring village of Mala, two kilometers to the north, large fields of opuntia spread out behind low walls. Once they formed the basis for the island's wealth: The cochineal scale insect was bred, which to this day provides the coveted and natural red pigment of carminic acid . Lanzarote has been an important supplier of this raw material since the middle of the 18th century. Among other things, the dye is used for cosmetics , and the famous Campari owes its intense red color to lice breeding in Lanzarote. Around 150,000 larvae have to be scraped from the cacti to produce one kilogram of carmine red. Even today you can find little sacks on the leaves of the prickly pear cacti, in which the farmers lock up the mother scale insects so that they do not cause too much damage to the plants.

In Guatiza, which has mainly spread along an avenue of eucalyptus , there is the single-nave church of Santo Gusto with the onion tower-like tower and a tall lantern. The corners and edges of the small white church are set off with black volcanic stone .

The Guatiza atlético football club, founded in 1987, is based in Guatiza .

Jardín de Cactus

The attraction of the place is the cactus garden Jardín de Cactus on the northern edge of the village, which is indicated by an oversized metal cactus at the entrance. In 1989 the Lanzarote artist and conservationist César Manrique began to build this botanical garden in the middle of the opuntia fields in an abandoned quarry - his last major work before his death. In 1990 the Jardín de Cactus was officially opened. A restored Gofio mill is located on its northern edge . The cactus garden is laid out in terraces like an amphitheater, elements that are reminiscent of Japanese gardens also characterize the architecture. The ground is covered with volcanic lapilli , volcanic ash that stores the nocturnal dew and is also used for dry farming. In total, more than 10,000 specimens of 1400 different cactus species thrive on 5000 square meters. Architecturally sensitive, Manrique also had the associated bar-restaurant built from the volcanic rock in the area.