Culture impact in Canary Islands ecosystem as an EDGE Territory

Abstract

The volcanic archipelago of the Canary Islands is an intermediate territory whose historical development has established a complex cultural construct that has allowed for a constant fusion of cultures of diffuse origin, from the Roman landings to the primitive Guanche settlements, a culture of possible North African and animistic origin, which collided with the conquest of the Spanish crown in the 15th century. It is the origin of mass migrations to Latin America (Cuba, Venezuela, Texas) and back. A focal point of economic globalization with its 19th-century port infrastructure, the impact of emerging seaside tourism on its expansion in the 20th century. The Canary Islands are home to an international polarization that hosts 52 international consulates, overlapping with the development of a tricontinental priority strategy by the Canary Islands Government since the beginning of the century. With the entry of the ULPGC into the context of the European Universities project, a double convergence emerges with the Bridge to Africa project, an initiative to establish an international academic hub, consolidating awareness of an intermediate space, liminal spaces or edge spaces, spaces of opportunity for a new awareness that allows the establishment of environments for intercultural dialogue and its different social, artistic, musical, contemporary art, theater, heritage manifestations... Due to its unique level of hospitality, acceptability and assimilation/absorption, the Canary Islands offer a space for study on the processes of eclecticism and cultural transformation operating in its ecosystem as an international interface. From the European (English, German, Swedish...), American (Cuban, Venezuelan, North American), Asian (Indian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese), African (Moroccan, Mauritanian, Senegalese, Gambian, Cape Verdean) impact, the Canary Islands demonstrate a model of cultural fusion as a global model of multicultural integration, an object of study for future response towards multicultural societies.