Search

Guanches, magos, turistas e inmigrantes parecen remitir, respectivamente, a cuatro terrenos bien diferenciados en los estudios canarios: los guanches a la prehistoria, los magos -los campesinos- a la cultura rural, los turistas a la economía y los inmigrantes a los problemas sociales. A su vez, siendo asuntos distintos, su estudio y gestión están vinculados a los más diversos investigadores y expertos: los guanches a los prehistoriadores, los magos a los antropólogos, folkloristas, concejales de fiestas y expertos en contenidos canarios, los turistas a geógrafos, economistas, empresarios y consejerías de turismo y los inmigrantes a un sector de las ciencias sociales, a las ONGs, a la Cruz Roja y a la policía. En este texto, por el contrario, se mantiene que estas cuatro categorías están estrechamente interconectadas, al tiempo que se enfatiza su inherente relación con los procesos identitarios en Canarias. Se intenta mostrar, en esa línea, que la tradicional separación de estas categorías es una convención académica que impide dar cuenta de las manifestaciones, altamente complejas, de la identidad cultural en las Islas. Guanches (aborigines), peasants, tourists and immigrants, seem to refer, respectively, four diferent areas in the studies on the Canary Islands: the Guanches to prehistory, the «magos», the peasants, to the rural culture, the tourist to economy and immigrants to social problems. In turn, being separate issues, the study and management are linked to many different researchers and experts: the Guanches to prehistory, the peasants to anthropologists, folklorists, party planners in local authorities and Canarian culture experts, the tourists to geographers, economists, entrepreneurs and ministries of tourism, and immigrants to a social science sector, NGOs, the Red Cross and the police. In this text, by contrast, argues that these four categories are closely interconnected, while emphasizing its inherent connection with identity processes in the Canaries. It also shows that the traditional separation of these categories is an academic convention that does not explain the manifestations, highly complex, of cultural identity in the Islands.

People have always been fascinated by mummies. In Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), the mummified remains of its ancient inhabitants are a source for superstition, fear, respectful recognition, collecting greediness, nationalistic pride, or scientific interest in modern Canarians. This paper discusses the different values and meanings that the cultural industry-mass media included-has bestowed on these mummies. Sensationalist approaches, identity issues, and diversions from the scientific discourse inserted in the news, reports, and opinion articles published in local newspapers and Spanish periodicals are examinedparticularly the influence exerted by the Archaeological Museum by way of scientific publications and press releases regarding the mummies’ social and political uses. This paper also analyses how the museum’s visitors perceive the displayed mummies and their accompanying messages, in order to track if previous ideas released in the media have influenced them.