The Anti-Spanish Movement in Gran Canaria is Alive and Well

The Canarian Independence movement might be officially over, but there's still Anti-Spanish anger to be seen and understood on these Atlantic islands.

By the 1970's the movement for Canarian independence from Madrid was fizzling out. There had been political mass action, as well as small but dangerous spates of violence on the streets of Gran Canaria. Unfortunately for those involved, the movement remained small, and never really caught the attention of the population as seen in other parts of the Iberian peninsular, such as Catalunya and the Basque region of France and Spain.

However, it would be wrong to believe that the problem is solved in the minds of the Canarian population.

On a short visit to the capital city of Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, this winter the feeling of alienation from mainland Spanish identity was clear to see.

The first sign that the people of this Atlantic island, off the coast of West Africa, are not completely content is the repeated graffiti declaring "Spanish Out!" along the main promenade on la Playa de Canteras.

This popular tourist destination was quite obviously not the central area for political action in the city, but it was also clear that this graffiti is not placed as it is to attract the attention of like-minded Canarians.

Instead, the slogan is more of a marketing ploy, directed at English speaking tourists, to enlighten the sun-following visitors that for the island's inhabitants, life is not paradisiacal.

However small this insignia may be, and however overlooked it unfortunately is by most tourists, who simply come for the winter sun, these words hint at an important feeling still present with a large number of Canarians.

On the menus of most restaurants serving food thought of as Spanish staples, most notably Tapas, visitors will almost always encounter a few items described as Canarian dishes. Of course, the availability of local food, and locally sourced food, is not only found here. But the pride in these dishes, and the excitement with which owners and waiters attempt to sell these dishes, when understood in the social environment of the Canaries, illuminates the independent minds and thoughts of the people on these islands.

This pride again raises it's head when talking to the young adults of Las Palmas. Perhaps it is my inquisitive mind, but I often strike up in conversation with shop keepers, waiters, or even just those who I seek directions from on the street. Unlike other tourist destinations in Spain or France that I have visited, all of the people working in Las Palmas, that I spoke to, were local. Perhaps it is due to the distance from other areas (even the closest Canarian Island to Gran Canaria, Tenerife, is over 100 kilometres by boat), or the economic hard times that Spain has encountered since the '08 Crash. Whatever the reason for this, the important lesson I gained from these conversations with locals, is that they do not consider themselves Spanish.
I asked, perhaps naively, if they were Spanish or Canarian, whenever the opportunity arose. "Canarian, of course!" was the uniform response.


The organised mass-movement of Canarian Independence may have collapsed to all intents and purposes in the 1970s. But the graffiti scrawled along beachside walls is an important reminder that the Catalan and Basque movements are not alone in modern Spain. In the current European climate of slow economic recovery, and in the wake of successful campaigns and plebiscites for Independence that led to the historic splitting of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, and after our very own neighbour Scotland so nearly split from the United Kingdom this year, it would not be of any surprise if the Canarian people decided that the time was right to begin again their quest for independence.