The Flamenco Route: Flanders and the Canary Islands by Facundo Fierro

1. The trade winds: Atlantic highway

Before engines existed, the trade winds were the most revolutionary technology. These constant northeasterly winds turned the Canary Islands into a nautical "hub" from the 15th century onwards, the starting point for ships connecting Europe, Africa, and America. Christopher Columbus himself stopped in La Gomera because he knew the reliability of these winds.

Facundo Fierro personifies the trade wind in multiple canvases: swirls in acrylic, watercolor strokes that rotate like taut sails, and, at times, human silhouettes that seem to let themselves be carried away by an invisible current. The result is visual poetry that recalls the Flemish master Pieter Bruegel the Elder, yet rooted in the Canarian volcanic geography.

2. Flanders and the Canary Islands: 500 years of commercial and artistic exchange

16th century: Flanders buys Canarian sugar and exports textiles and sacred art.

17th–18th centuries: Flemish merchants settle in Santa Cruz de Tenerife; families with surnames such as "De La Roca" and "Van Harte" are born.

20th and 21st centuries: collaboration is revived through the tourism industry and European cultural projects.

The exhibition "The Flemish Route" revives this synergy through fifteen large-format pieces (acrylic and mixed media) and seven sculptures in reclaimed dragon tree wood. The works engage in dialogue with paintings by Joos van Cleve or Jan Swart van Groningen that the museum houses in its permanent galleries, producing an intergenerational face-to-face encounter.

3. A language of its own between Flemish and Atlantic

“It is an emotional journey where the viewer can feel the warmth of the islands' landscapes and the energy of the trade wind, along with the majesty of the Flemish works” – Facundo Fierro.

The artist trained in Versailles and established himself with the "Volcano Poem" series; however, his recent evolution focuses on building bridges.

Dual chromatics: volcanic ochres and laurel forest greens engage in dialogue with Prussian blues and vermilions typical of the Flemish Renaissance.

Rhizomatic composition: Fierro intersperses historical scenes—nautical maps, spice still lifes—with atmospheric abstractions, so that the viewer oscillates between chronicle and daydream.

Sustainable materiality: frames made of heartwood and local mineral pigments, consistent with the defense of natural values that characterizes the artist.

4. Guided tours and talks with the author

During the two months of the exhibition, the museum scheduled guided tours by Fierro himself and round tables with art historians. Topics covered included:

Iconography of wind in European painting.

Canarian watercolor: from Valentín Sanz to Facundo Fierro.

The sugar economy and its artistic impact.