The Masonic Temple in Tenerife will become a unique museum in Spain.

Jennifer Jiménez discusses how the Masonic Temple in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is preparing to become a unique museum in Spain. This temple, built in the early 20th century, is the only one of its kind to have survived the rule of Francisco Franco, who considered Freemasons enemies.

In September, the Minister of Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the Mayor of the city, José Manuel Bermúdez, discussed the completion of the temple's restoration. The works are almost finished and have been financed by the Ministry of Culture, which allocated 3 million euros.

The Association for the Recovery of Masonic Memory of the Canary Islands is very pleased with the completion of the restoration. Its president, Emilio Fresco, thanked the city council and the ministry. He believes that turning the temple into a museum is only the first step. The association wants the temple to be recognized as a place of historical memory, and for the city council to clearly define who will manage the museum.

The association has requested that the temple be granted the status of a Place of Democratic Memory, but a decision has not yet been made. Fresco emphasizes that the Technical Commission for Historical Memory of the Canary Islands also supports this idea.

According to Fresco, recognizing the temple as a place of historical memory will protect the building and highlight its importance, without changing the city council's plans to create a museum.

Minister Ángel Víctor Torres recalled that during Franco's time, Freemasons were considered enemies because of their progressive views, and many of their temples were destroyed. Fortunately, the temple in Santa Cruz de Tenerife survived, and its restoration is almost complete.

Due to the negative attitude towards Freemasons, false rumors spread about them, which still influence public opinion. Emilio Fresco notes that several generations have grown up with this negative perception. He believes that in France and Germany, Freemasons are treated more normally, while in Spain there is still some fear due to the influence of Francoism. Therefore, in his opinion, more work needs to be done on historical memory and more attention needs to be paid to the history of Freemasonry. That is why he created the association for historical memory, which includes both Freemasons and people who are not.

Fresco claims that the documents sent to the Ministry detail how people were tortured in the temple during the first months of the coup. It was also a barracks, a police station, and a pharmacy. Fresco does not know why the temple was preserved, but believes it happened by chance.

Socialist Councilor Tino Guzmán has made great efforts to restore the temple. He explains that the temple is the property of the municipality, which acquired it from the Ministry of Defense in 1999. When Guzmán came to the city council in 2007, the temple was in a dilapidated state.

Guzmán and his colleagues initiated an appeal to the Ministry of Culture for the protection of the building. Thanks to Minister Carmen Calvo, it was possible to ensure the full protection of the temple. This was the first achievement, and various initiatives were also submitted for the complete restoration of the building.

Guzmán emphasizes that the goal has always been to make the temple accessible to the residents of the city and to tell its story. Therefore, the primary task was to create a museum.

In 2011, when the socialists were in power in Santa Cruz, measures were developed to protect the temple. The main task was to reach an agreement between all political forces on the preservation of cultural heritage sites. Thanks to this agreement with the Popular Party and the Canarian Coalition, 3 million euros were received from the state for the restoration.

Guzmán also supports the installation of a memorial plaque in memory of the place of historical memory. The museum will feature exhibitions on the history of the temple, its construction, the interwar period, the Spanish Republic, the dictatorship, and what Freemasonry meant and how it was suppressed.

At the meeting between Mayor Bermúdez and Minister Torres, the Mayor expressed hope to open the temple by the end of the year. He also appealed to the state to provide funds for the Añaza Lodge. The Minister noted that he had contacted the Salamanca Archive to provide a list of funds seized from the Masonic Temple during the dictatorship, which are now in Salamanca. He plans to meet with the head of the Archive to discuss the return of these funds to Tenerife.

The Minister also stated his intention to promote the decentralization of cultural heritage, so that bibliographic collections are located where they should be – where they were originally.