"JAMEO" is a word that defines the part of a volcanic tube whose roof has fallen down because of the weight or gas accumulation, what remains is a whole in the open light. Two of these wholes and a lava canal between them was the base for the construction of "Jameos del Agua", the first tourist centre designed by César Manrique, on the Lanzarote landscape.
The first phase of this work was inaugurated in 1966, when César was still living in New York, and the works finished in 1976, with the construction of the auditorium. Inside the centre there is a natural lake of transparent waters, regulated by the closeby ocean, where an endemical species of the island, the "jameitos", some tiny, albino and blind crabs of unknown origin live. They are also the image chosen by the artist as plastic symbol of the "Jameos".
The restaurant, the bar and the dance floor, "the most beautiful nightclub in the world" according to Manrique, are the perfect combination of leisure, culture and a taste for esthetics. Both "jameos" are joined through a lateral corridor that goes from "Jameo Chico" to "Jameo Grande", where the auditorium is situated in front of a pool of emerald waters. In both "jameos", exuberant vegetation grows; whose green colour makes a great contrast against the black rock. The stage, in the inside of a new section of volcanic tube that runs along for several kilometres to the ocean, has a perfect sonority and it has become the best place for the prestigious Festival of Visual Music of Lanzarote, the celebration of congresses, meetings and artistic and musical events. "Jameos del Agua" is one of the most beautiful examples of artnature binomial that César inculcated on the island spirit.
Cesar's last aim to impress the visitor was the addition of strange elements such as plants and pool which finally have become part of the whole. The visit to this tourist centre cannot be complete without visiting "La Casa de los Volcanes" (The House of the Volcanos) a volcanic research centre dependent on the Council of Lanzarote which has been incorporated to the upper architechtural part of Jameos. The centre offers information about volcanos in general throughout the world and on the Canary Islands in particular. This information can be seen on monitors and screens placed on the walls. It is also possible to observe some temperature measure instruments and earth movements. "La Casa de los Volcanes" (The House of the Volcanos) receives every year an intemational meeting of experts on this matter and offers at the same time didactie talks for all kinds of Public.
