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The Canary Islands and the City of San Antonio have a long-running relationship that extends nearly three centuries.
A small group of families from this small archipelago off the northwestern coast of Africa were the region’s first civilian colonists, some years after the establishment of a presidio and mission.
The Canary Island of Lanzarote signed a sister city agreement with the City of San Antonio in March. Lanzarote officials are returning to the Alamo City on Sept. 4 & 5 for an event called Lanzarote 360°-Texas 2025. It’s meant to forge new business partnerships and celebrate the deep historical connections between the two communities.
Steve Alfonso Chiscano is a local attorney and Spain’s honorary consul in San Antonio.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
CHISCANO: The history, the impact that the islands have had on the city of San Antonio are profound.
300 years ago, 56 family members arrived to develop the first civil government here in this area, which is now the state of Texas. So, 40 of those 56 family members were originally from the island of Lanzarote.
So, San Antonio has a sister city relationship of 50 years with Las Palmas. Gran Canaria has a 43-year-history sister city [agreement] with Santa Cruz at Tenerife. And we felt that it was important that Lanzarote having 40 of the 56 family members that arrived here, 1731, we should also have a sister city relationship to keep the bonds between San Antonio and the Canary Islands strong.
MARTINEZ: And you have also Canary Islands in your heritage. People may be familiar with your father [Alfonso Chiscano], who was a huge champion of the Canary Island history here in the San Antonio region. Do you have any lineage to that original colonization here in San Antonio?
CHISCANO: You know, interesting, I don't. But my father used to say the history was of 17 families — 56 — but 17 families came when it was 16. So, I think he felt he wanted a Chiscano as the 17th family [in] 1731. But no, the Chiscano family came in the early 1970s.
MARTINEZ: But I think if it weren't for the Chiscano family, there probably wouldn't be quite an elevation of this connection between the two communities.
CHISCANO: I agree. My father was the engine. He was the Energizer Bunny that really pushed for the last 40-50 years to make the bridge a lot stronger, to make the history a lot more present. And he really instilled in my mother, Mary Alice, my siblings, Christy, Karina and Todd, we had to fight for that.
We have to push to continue to build stronger bridges and build a stronger future between the islands and San Antonio.
MARTINEZ: Well, the city of San Antonio and the community of Lanzarote, they have an event, or two events actually happening this week, Sept. 4 and 5. It's a really great exchange of culture, of food. Can you maybe go into details as to what is going to happen here in San Antonio with the two communities?
CHISCANO: Yeah. So, it's such an exciting moment, and again, another project designed to merge the two cultures to build a stronger future.
So, for Thursday we have a beautiful reception at the Thompson Hotel, which is really designed to bring some of the producers and the products of Lanzarote, whether it be wine or cheese or marmeleda, things very typical of the islands, to bring them to San Antonio to introduce them to the culinary world of the amazing products that are being produced today on this little island called Lanzarote. So, Thursday is designed, really, as a business-to-business [event], to really get the gourmet industry of San Antonio excited about what Lanzarote is producing.
And then on Friday is an event in the evening at the Alamo, which is a perfect location for this. [It’s] really designed as more of a food festival environment where we can really experience … we're bringing in chefs. You'll have live cooking. You'll have typical food of the island there, music from the island there, and really get a flavor of what the island can deliver.
MARTINEZ: It’s going to be disappointing for people listening to know that they can probably only smell the aromas that are going to be wafting towards them. These are private events, not necessarily open to the public, but it is not an effort that is necessarily closing out the public. Because I know that this partnership between the two communities, it's meant to expand far beyond just these two days.
CHISCANO: Absolutely. The brainchild of this is really a concept in Lanzarote called Saborea. Saborea is one of the largest food festivals in all of Europe, and it's produced annually by Lanzarote. So, last November, I went and I witnessed all of this amazing cooking and food and recipes of the islands. And I thought, “We have to bring this to San Antonio.”
So, this is year one. We have to develop, plant the seed, and develop the idea. And the future of this is to open it up. The future of this is to bring it [into] more of a public environment. But we had to plant the seed. We had to start somewhere. So, year one is, here we are.
MARTINEZ: And San Antonio, just going back to sort of the culinary angle, we have established ourselves here in San Antonio as sort of this global mecca. And it's been recognized by UNESCO as being really a coming together of so many different cultures.
And I'm wondering if, Steve, if there may be any types of cuisines that you know of here in San Antonio, any chefs who might be specializing in some of these dishes that may be unique to areas like the Canary Islands.
CHISCANO: For sure, you know, it's very interesting. Sergio Remolina, a very well-known chef here with the Culinary Institute of America, has really taken a lead in this project. So, he has helped put together chefs from the Canary Islands with chefs from the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, and they will be collaborating together on the various recipes and concepts.
And it's amazing. I'm not a foodie guy, I'm not a chef, and I'm not good at it, but to watch them work their magic with these recipes of two different worlds and combining them is really quite exciting.
And I know we're going to be visiting with H-E-B and maybe some concepts, putting some of these ideas in Central Market.
And to see these chefs at work to really blend the two flavors and the ideas and the salsas and the recipes, it's going to be very exciting. And I'm excited to see what they can put together.
MARTINEZ: Well, we're talking about Lanzarote, but I don't know if people might have an idea of what it might look like. And I've seen some pictures, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Can you maybe give our listeners a brief description of if they were to visit the island of Lanzarote or anywhere else in the Canary Islands, what are some of the sights and sounds and smells that they might encounter?
CHISCANO: Yeah, it's so interesting, because you don't just have Lanzarote, you have the 13 islands, and each one is so different. The volcanic islands, for example, Lanzarote, you may see parts of the island, you're going to think you're on the moon. It looks very rocky, lunar. And you're like, “How can anybody survive this place?”
MARTINEZ: Oh, and I did read that that's where there are some space agencies that train their astronauts there.
CHISCANO: There are. And they're looking to do more of that, actually. Hopefully we're working on, potentially doing some collaborating with port San Antonio, who is learning how to build houses in the caves in the moon. So, there may be some future opportunities there.
But other islands are very plush, very green with a lot of rain.
Lanzarote has seven days a year of rain. And they are producing some of the best wine you can imagine with seven days of rain. It's really incredible.
But you may go to Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and you have volcanoes. You may have, in parts of the year, snow on the volcano and 70 degrees down at the base of the mountain. And you have plush rain forests on some of the islands and beautiful, beautiful beaches. It's really amazing.
MARTINEZ: Are there any final words about the partnership between San Antonio and Lanzarote or the events coming up this week here in San Antonio?
CHISCANO: So, I just would encourage the city to be excited about this opportunity. We have tremendous history to build a future on. And I think this is a project about food and gastronomy and our Michelin chefs and things, but it's so much more than that.
We're sending artisans to the Canary Islands from San Antonio. We're bringing soccer teams from UD Las Palmas to San Antonio.
We have amazing projects, and with the history, we will do great in the future with one another. It will be amazing.
MARTINEZ: Well, Steve Chiscano, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today.
CHISCANO: Thank you so much for having us. It's a true honor.
