The history of our island is a crossroads of cultures, of bloods, of travelers who came and went, of people from all corners who found here the end of a journey that was perhaps another. That mixture is in our Creole society, in
our language, in our old buildings and streets. In our way of being and being. That melting pot where the values of the world's cultures are mixed is precisely the trip to which the Mercado de las Artes Performativas del Atlántico Sur (MAPAS) invites its light in Tenerife, like a shining beacon, next July. .
MAPAS celebrates on our Island the second edition of a professional market that serves to attract and connect the performing arts and music from Southern Europe, Africa and Latin America. And for its diffusion in international circuits. It is an event where all kinds of artistic activities come together: music, dance, theater, circus and street arts. And where more than fifty free performances will be held, open to the public in cultural spaces on our island. We are talking, therefore, of a market where agreements will be managed between those responsible for programming theaters, festivals and cultural spaces, coming from all over the world. And where the artists will be able to present their shows live.
In its first edition, MAPAS mobilized more than one hundred and thirty-four proposals from artists - many of them with live shows - who had the opportunity to meet more than a hundred programmers. For this year, there have been more than 1,300 registrations from sixty-two countries. These data make MAPAS a major international reference forum for cultural and creative industries, with more than 130 programmers from 42 countries participating in “business rounds” with 170 artistic groups from 29 nationalities. Tenerife will be transformed for a few days into a true market: business, yes, but built on the artistic talent of people from all over the world.
A map allows us to locate ourselves in geography. Know where we start from and where our destiny is. With MAPS, the island of Tenerife is moving steadily towards that horizon that we have set for ourselves: a society open to progress and culture. That path that we are traveling step by step. And with the MAPS, another step.
Carlos Alonso
President of the Council of Tenerife
