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by Anibal Martel

by Anibal Martel

A project by Thenesoya Martín de la Nuez and Aníbal Martel presented by SPAIN arts & culture

Cislanderus is a cultural project that gives a face to the Canarian descendants of the US. The exhibition highlights these descendants of the “isleños” from Delacroix Island. During the years 1778 and 1783, around 2,500 Canary Islanders traveled to what was then the Spanish owned Louisiana territory to defend the land from the British troops. Previous to this arrival 16 families of Canary Islanders migrated to San Antonio, Texas after a year long trip through Mexico.  These migrations of  Canary Islanders, to what is now Texas and Louisiana, sent them on a journey towards a wetland full of marshes that were consistently at the mercy of frequent floods.  

Throughout the last centuries the descendants of Canary Islanders have survived floods, wars, and hurricanes including Betsy (1965) and Katrina (2005), proving their ability to overcome even the worst of hardships.  While Louisiana ceased to be a Spanish colony in 1803, the Spanish language from the Canary Islands has been preserved to the present day, although its in danger of disappearing. Their descendants currently reside in San Antonio and actively attempt to keep the history of their ancestry alive.  Each viewer will delve into their lives as fishermen, hunters, and their work to preserve a historical and cultural legacy.