Attack

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Literature · Subcategory: Literary fragments · Year: 2015 · Authors: Mariano Gambín

The author of the Ira Dei trilogy, Mariano Gambín, sets the action of his novel Atentado in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with a plot revolving around an attack against the kings of Spain during their visit for the inauguration of the Masonic temple as a museum.

«Ariosto was at the door of the building known in the city as the Masonic temple, on the central San Lucas street. The image of an immense neoclassical façade hidden in a narrow and dull street struck the unsuspecting passer-by like a direct blow to the jaw.

Four impassive sphinxes with worn faces and Egyptian headdresses welcomed the astonished visitor with undisguised lassitude. A somewhat aggressive decoration for Ariosto's taste; it was not exactly an invitation to enter. After climbing some steps, there were two gigantic columns with palmiform capitals attached to the façade, crowned by a triangular pediment with an eye with radiant rays in its centre, a representation of the Supreme Being, Great Architect of the Universe, according to Masonic symbolism. Another striking decorative motif, he thought, certainly not to be confused with a church.

The main door, carved in wood with geometric motifs, was protected at its upper end with palm leaves and a shining sun that unfolded extensive eagle wings on both sides. Of a Horus eagle, of course. Ariosto observed it once more; there was no mistake about the symbolism of the entrance. This was Masonic through and through.

Ariosto had taken an interest in the history of the building. The project was carried out by the architect Manuel de Cámara y Cruz in 1900 for use by the lodge called Añaza. It took more than twenty years to build, although as the interior was finished, especially the Meeting Room and the Chamber of Reflections excavated underground, it was used earlier by the owners.

The Lodge, after some initial hesitation, placed itself under the auspices of the renewed Grande Oriente Español (Grand Spanish Orient) with number 270, although in 1923 some of its members split off. The Añaza 270 lodge continued to lead the temple until the civil war of 1936, when it was closed and the building was seized by the military government, which did not look favourably on the Masons. [...]

Ariosto looked into the Meeting Room, where the Masons had their gatherings a hundred years ago. The spectacle before him left him speechless. A large room with a ceiling almost ten metres high was impeccably restored. Two columns of dark basalt on square black wooden bases guarded the entrance to the room. On both sides, several rows of seats faced each other along the hall. At the back, up some steps, was a majestic elevated space that somewhat resembled a Christian altar, adorned with Masonic symbolism. Tapestries and banners completed the set dressing . [...]»

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