The president of UD Las Palmas, Miguel Angel Ramirezfulfilled this July one of the challenges of the agenda of promoting patronage through the memory of historical links. A delegation of the Canary team headed by its advisor Rafael Méndez and the general director of the yellow club, Patricio Viñayohave launched the sports diplomacy plan in the US and A line of collaboration has been initiated in the technical and institutional field in this priority market for LaLiga.
San Antonio, Texas was the only one American city founded by Canaries with which the yellow team had not established an agenda. This year 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of its founding by islanders from Montevideo, and where UD Las Palmas has historical ties in its 75 years of existence.
The Canary Islands team has thus entered the United States in the same way that French economic intelligence does: with culture and sport. In the medium term, there will be projects that generate confidence and the discipline necessary to consolidate a twinning between both territories.
Atlantic Union Las PalmasThe ties that unite San Antonio, Texas (a metropolitan area of more than six million inhabitants) date back to 1731, the year it was founded by Canarian families and, for this reason, today it is twinned with Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The Creation of TexasThe origin of this foundation comes from two historical events: on the one hand, the Archipelago Canarians experienced a spectacular emigration to America in the 18th centuryas a result of poor harvests and the sharp drop in wine sales. On the other hand, at the same time, King Philip V was informed of the threat of a possible attack on Texas from French Louisiana.
These two facts combined: the the need to emigrate due to the crisis and the need to populate that area of San Antonio in the face of a threat of French invasionpromoted that ten Canarian families – 7 from Lanzarote, one from La Palma, one from Tenerife and a family and a single man from Gran Canaria – embarked on a trip that lasted almost a year.
They left the Canary Islands on March 27, 1730They arrived in Cuba on May 10, with rough seas and damage along the way. In July they set sail for Veracruz. At that time, the rumor of a possible French invasion was disproved, but the Canarian families were already in Veracruz, so their journey by land to San Antonio was organized. despite the dangers and difficulties they might encounter and did encounter…they finally arrived at the San Antonio prison after 8 months of caravan and almost a year since they left Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The city was located between the San Antonio River and the San Pedro Creek and five missions had already been established there. city was founded between the Alamo mission and the presidio of San Antonio, with a municipal government called Cabildo, on August 1, 1731. Captain Almazán calls the Canarians for the constitution of the Cabildo, which will be called the Cabildo of San Fernando de Texas, which was the first municipal government created in all of Texas. As The first Councilor and President of the Council is named as the one who was the leader, from the beginning, of the expedition of the Canaries to San Antonio, Juan Leal.
And from those Canarian families of the 18th century, 300 years later, descendants and partners created the Canary Islands Descendants Association, an entity that promotes island culture in the American state and that became twinned with the two provincial capitals of the Canary Islands in the 1980s. Association of Canary Island Descendants of San Antonio, Texas It is made up of some of the genetic heirs of the Canarian settlers and associated partners, among them also Canarians residing in the American state.
