La Laguna Expands Youth Program to Reach Peripheral Neighborhoods

San Cristóbal de La Laguna is stepping up its efforts to bring youth activities to every corner of the municipality. The Department of Education and Youth has expanded the "Pasaporte Joven 2026" program, an initiative designed to ensure that young people living outside the city center have the same access to leisure and culture as those in the heart of town. This push to include peripheral neighborhoods and rural villages aims to fix the long-standing imbalance in how recreational resources are shared across the area.

The program features 100 free activities held across 63 different locations, including Las Chumberas, Punta del Hidalgo, Tejina, Las Mercedes, Valle de Guerra, La Barranquera, Taco, and the Obispado neighborhood. Sergio Eiroa, the head of the department, explained that the goal is to ensure that where a young person lives doesn't limit their access to healthy entertainment, such as digital workshops, video games, live music, and cinema.

The current schedule, which runs through Sunday, September 6th, is highly mobile. On Thursday, September 3rd, the "La Joveneta" mobile unit will visit Las Chumberas from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., featuring a screening of Zootopia 2. That same day, Ready Player One will be shown in Punta del Hidalgo, and the evening will wrap up in Tejina at 10:00 p.m. with the Noches de Fantasía show, featuring Víctor Hubara, Nacho Peña, and La Maldita. On Friday, September 4th, the mobile unit heads to Las Mercedes for an afternoon of workshops and sports.

This effort, which concludes with the Barranquera Festival 2026 this weekend, is part of a broader plan to build stronger communities through active participation. By hosting events in the midlands and along the northeast coast, the City Council is moving beyond the traditional city center and university areas, aiming to boost the local economy and bring neighborhoods closer together.