Benahoare, “my land,” was the island the original inhabitants arrived at, lost in the mists of time.  They defended it with all their soul, but they were subjugated, sold and massacred.  Their spirit has survived in the memory and the idiosyncrasies of the Palmeran people.

One defining feature of Benahoarita culture was the love, art and beauty with which they did everything: the enigmatic and diverse rock carvings, the marvellous ceramics, the enormous assortment of things they made with bones and shells, particularly pendants and beads for necklaces.  These same virtues are all perceptible today in the Palmerans' pleasure in things well made and work done well.  You can see it in the magnificent and varied architecture of La Palma.  In many cases, the buildings are unique, or so well adapted to the surrounding countryside that it becomes almost invisible.   You can also see it in the conservation of almost-intact ancient woodland and the passion for defending their territory.

The historical sources indicate that the aborigines were very melancholic.  This behaviour is perhaps not so surprising when you see the stark and bare landscapes that define much of La Palma: the precipices of the Caldera de Taburiente, the wild cliffs on the northern coast, the gloomy mouths of the volcanoes on the Cumbre Vieja and the permanent mists that cover and smudge the laurel woods.  An invisible power fills many of these landscapes with an extraordinary and inexplicable, force that makes us feel close to creation. Only a divine spirit imbued with the power of nature and the elements of the island could have created the marvellous rock carvings at the sanctuary of Caboco de la Zarza, in Garafía.