Gunshot and canon fire were ringing in my ears as a few yards from me a second line of the Canarian infantry reloaded and stepped up to the hay bale barrier where a dead body slouched over his rifle. Running in from the sea wall a small group of British troops fell to their knees as they were picked off amid the swirling smoke and loud explosions. Were we back in the Santa Cruz of 1797 as Admiral Nelsons troops tried to add Tenerife to their list of naval conquests? A wider glance saw the battle framed by the modern hook nosed Auditorium and crowds of onlookers with phone cameras in one hand and ice creams in the other.
La Gesta commemorates a proud moment in Tenerife history when the island forces saw off the might of the British Navy under its finest commander. Nelson himself took little part in the fighting as his first step onto Tenerife soil from a landing boat was greeted by a musket blast that shattered his right arm and led to a quick return to his ship to have the arm removed. The financial crisis nearly defeated everyone this year but a late influx of 40,000 euros from Santa Cruz council saved the week long celebration, albeit on a reduced scale. One of the visiting British fighters, the Peninsula War Association told me their numbers had been reduced after recently taking part in a Waterloo battle but he assured me that their lack of numbers would not dilute the passion.
A lavish production was indeed what we got, film maker Teodoro Rios wrung every bit of emotion out of the skirmish, 70 troops took part in total, 60 kilos of gunpowder made sure it went with a bang and authentic uniforms were defended with reproduction guns like the British Brownbess and the French Charleville favoured by the Spanish. There was an uneasy peace at first as guards lined the battlements of the Castillo San Juan, usually referred to as Castillo Negro. A special soundtrack composed for the event created a miliary mood as preperations continued with rival soldiers going through their moves in their minds, then a flash of coloured smoke and a deafening blast from the Atlantic end of the coast path signalled the start of the attack.
The Spanish fired down on the invading Brits from the castle and at ground level kept two waves of riflemen trained on the enemy from the sparse safety of the hay bales. As the Union Jack was carried closer to the castle the Spanish troops went on the offensive and engaged the enemy as bodies fell among the smoke. Both sets of soldiers were a strange mix of ages, shapes and sizes, one fallen Brit looked alarmingly like Captain Mainwaring. The Brits were taking a battering and retreated back down the walkway to the sea, this gave eager swimmers in the Parque Maritimo complex a great close up view of the action as they hung over the wall dripping pool water.
Some symbolic moments were added to the re-enactment, hay bales were set on fire, Captain Troubridge who took over command when Nelson was ferried back to his ship, threatened to burn Santa Cruz to the ground if his surrender terms were not met. In the end it was a very amicable surrender at the time with a great deal of mutual respect despite the loss of 226 British sailors. Spanish Governor Juan Antonnio Gutierrez gave help to get the injured brits back to their ships and both sides exchaned gifts, Canarian wine for the Brits and a barrel of beer for the Canarian force. You can still find a couple of streets in Santa Cruz named after Nelson as well as a grubby, neglected monument to the two leaders down near the port.
There were more ceremonies to come for the official anniversary day on 25 July but as the soldiers dispersed they posed for photos with wide eyed children and some equally excited “older kids”. As the gunpowder smoke drifted away the Castillo Negro and surrounding area went back to being a popular tourist magnet but at least the echoes of this turbulent past will have touched a few more ears again.