Arrecife's old Mercadillo reborn: €3.5 million to make it the home of Lanzarote's identity

For decades, number 14 calle León y Castillo was where Arrecife socialised: home to the Sociedad La Democracia, it hosted films, theatre, talks, carnival dances and adult literacy classes. Later it became the Mercadillo. Now the Cabildo wants to give it that role back in a new form: a centre devoted to the identity of Lanzarote and La Graciosa.

The figures

The Cabildo bought the building in November 2024 for €2,543,044. Architectural restoration is estimated at around €3.5 million, plus the cost of the exhibition design. Architect Alejandro Muñoz was commissioned in October 2025; the museum project, contracted in April 2026, is funded by SPEL, the island's economic development agency, and designed by Elena Pol and Mikel Asensio (Interpretart). The basic project is already with the town hall for permits; tenders and funding for the works will follow as approvals come in.

What will be inside

The restoration aims to recover the building's historic structure by removing later additions. Inside will be a multi-purpose space built around what the island has been: ethnography, farming, traditional housing, crafts, gastronomy, landscape and social change.

"Our greatest asset for competing in the world is our identity," said Cabildo president Oswaldo Betancort, describing it as a place for cultural interpretation, reflection and learning. In plain terms: somewhere visitors can understand where they are, and islanders can find their roots — right in the centre, a few steps from the Charco.