Patrimonios Hermanados celebrates its tenth anniversary filling streets and monuments with whistled messages

Today, La Laguna hosted the tenth edition of Patrimonios Hermanados (Twin Heritage), an initiative that fills its streets and monuments with whistled messages every year to celebrate International World Heritage Day. The only historic city in the Canary Islands to be included on the UNESCO list, which is celebrating the 25th anniversary of this recognition, and the Gomero whistle, Intangible Heritage of Humanity, have once again come together in a participatory event, which has become one of the traditions of November in La Laguna.

Throughout the morning, the activity took place in the most emblematic streets and monuments of the historic centre, linking towers, balconies and bell towers through sound. The itinerary began with the institutional reception of the first message of the day at the Casa de los Capitanes. The event was accompanied by participatory activities and an introductory workshop on Silbo Gomero at the IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto secondary school, open to all ages.

The Councillor for Cultural Heritage of La Laguna, Adolfo Cordobés, recalled that “in La Laguna we are celebrating the first quarter of a century since our declaration as a World Heritage City, in which we reinforce our commitment to promoting the safeguarding and dissemination of the Outstanding Universal Value of the historic site and the maintenance of its authenticity and integrity”.

“And with Patrimonios Hermanados 2025,” explained the councillor, “we remember that the values of La Laguna are not only found in its monuments and urban layout, but also in its traditions, in what we hear and share. The Gomero whistle is an inseparable part of our identity, brought by thousands of Gomero families who settled in our municipality in the mid-20th century.”

Cordobés also thanked the Silbo Gomero Cultural Association, the Aula Insular and Rogelio Botanz, the driving force behind the initiative, “for keeping this tradition alive, which brings together tangible and intangible heritage and links memory, identity and citizen participation in such a special way”.The representative of the Board of Directors of the Silbo Gomero Cultural Association, Adelma Méndez, emphasised that “silbo is a living heritage, passed down from generation to generation. With this initiative, we want the citizens of La Laguna to feel that it belongs to them and to participate in its preservation”.

For his part, Rogelio Botanz emphasised that “we want to highlight and celebrate the fact that the citizens of La Laguna have two world heritage sites of which they should be proud. One, the best known, is the urban layout and historic buildings. The other, less obvious but equally valuable, is the Gomero whistle, which lives on in thousands of Gomero families and their descendants, who also helped shape the city we are today.”

The day included whistled messages sent every hour from the La Concepción tower to the Casa de los Capitanes, as well as free workshops and the “Whistled Telegrams” activity, where the public chose paragraphs from books on La Laguna’s heritage to be transmitted from the street to the balcony of the Leal Theatre.