La Orotava Expands "Valor-es" Initiative to Celebrate Local Community Heritage
La Orotava City Council has expanded its "Valor-es" initiative to additional neighborhoods, empowering residents to document and celebrate the local figures who define their community's intangible heritage.
La Orotava City Council is expanding its "Valor-es" (Values) initiative, a project dedicated to strengthening community bonds by celebrating local history. Led by Delia Escobar, the Department of Citizen Participation and Cultural Heritage launched the second phase of the program following a successful pilot last year.
Unlike traditional heritage projects that focus solely on preserving buildings, this initiative highlights "intangible heritage"—the people who define a neighborhood's identity. The program empowers residents to take the lead, allowing them to identify local figures whose life work and dedication best represent their community’s values.
After a successful 2025 launch in Aguamansa, La Perdoma, Pinolere, and Camino de Chasna, the project has now expanded to include La Luz-Las Candias, La Florida, La Piedad, and Benijos. Between March and August, residents and local groups participated in forums and workshops to share their stories. Mayor Francisco Linares emphasized that this work is vital for documenting local history before those memories are lost.
The initiative aims to formalize social recognition through a "living archive" of testimonies and photos, similar to the traveling exhibition held after the first phase. For the local government, this project is more than just a tribute; it is a way to pass down community history to future generations. The expansion follows requests from other neighborhoods eager to include their own local heroes in this growing map of shared identity.