El Rosario

The name of this borough is closely linked to that of La Esperanza.

La Esperanza was a site inhabited by Guanche natives, so called because of the hope (esperanza in Spanish) with which the Spaniards who managed to survive the battle of Acentejo, looked upon the Añaza camp.

After the conquest was complete, these lands were designated as farmland for the Lords that lived in La Laguna. Land was put aside for growing a kind of grass used for making blue dye, the Governor's first alternative to just growing cereals.

There was a humble church devoted to La Esperanza, right from the beginning of the settlement. The Coronado family later replaced this church with a new building in the mid 16th century, devoted to San Juan Evangelista. There was also a mayor here right from the beginning.

The church of El Rosario was an early church and the centre of worship for San Amaro (San Borondón), in Machado. Other churches were gradually built in the district.

In 1813, the area was declared a borough, with its capital in La Esperanza, and the churches of La Esperanza and El Rosario were declared parish churches in November, 1929.

In the 70's, El Rosario gave away much of its land and inhabitants to the borough of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the island.