The Abama Owners Cup is not only our largest annual gathering of residents, but a time to reflect on what makes the Abama experience unique. There are so many extraordinary aspects of this special place we call home. The focus each aspect deserves is the reason we pick a theme every year: to give each facet its due attention.
In 2023, we’ve turned our gaze to the ocean, and this was reflected in our Owners Cup celebration as well. We welcomed experts and artists whose lives are deeply connected to the marine environment, and they gave us some extraordinary insights into this unknown world.
We’re grateful to the members of our community for sharing their knowledge with us, and to all the residents that give Abama life. And a final and hearty thanks goes out, too, to our sponsors, without whom we wouldn’t be able to celebrate this wonderful event: Ayuntamiento de Guía de Isora, Turismo de Canarias, Bodegas Perelada & Chivite, Oris, Eva Divine Boutiques, El Gusto por el Vino, Label Fine Perfumes, Stellanella, Black Lava, Green Mowers, Engel & Völkers, VIVA Sotheby’s, Caja Siete, Garden Design, Restaurante Muelle Viejo, and Atlantic Jazz Lab.
The Owners Cup Golf Tournament
Nothing beats a round of golf at Abama…except a round during the annual Owners Cup! 75 players kicked off the weekend with our highly anticipated Single Stableford tournament, always a hotly contested event.
Decked out in this year’s polo shirts and caps that came in our goodie bags, our first players teed off at 8:30 on a beautiful sunny day. After the front 9, they took a break at our Hole 10 space designed by Garden Design, with refreshments provided by our Clubhouse restaurant and cava by Bodegas Perelada & Chivite.
Congratulations to winners Alexandra Wagner and Thomas Maurovich, who each repeated their triumphs of last year!
Fragrance Workshop
Angela Ciampagna, the owner of Label Fragrances and the expert who has assisted us this year in the creation of our Abama signature fragrance, was on hand during the Owners Cup with a fragrance workshop for residents not playing in the golf tournament. We retreated to the charming secret garden of the Golf Clubhouse to discover the secrets of les nez.
It was a unique opportunity to craft a personalized fragrance and learn more about the science and the art of perfume creation. Participants in the fully booked workshop received a base, upon which they could build with the essences that attracted them, creating a series of experimental recipes before achieving the perfect combination.
Book Presentation: Abama Blue Ocean
The stretch of the Atlantic between Tenerife and La Gomera, the Franja Marina Teno-Rasca, is one of the most special marine environments in the world. Our new book, Abama Blue Ocean, is the perfect place to discover it. This large-format book is filled with pictures of some of its most spectacular inhabitants, taken by the best underwater photographers in the Canary Islands, and also showcases the work of several NGOs and academic institutions that are studying and fighting to protect it.
We are thrilled that the project to which we have dedicated so much time and energy this year will soon be available to the public, and our owners received a preview during the Owners Cup in a special presentation given by two of the principal photographers; a marine biologist whose work is featured in the project; the Head of the Department of the Environment of Guía de Isora; and a representative from Oris Spain.
The Blue Ocean Experience
Providing habitat and sustenance, the ocean is the center of island life. For many residents of Tenerife, a wide variety of local fish form as much a part of their diet and common knowledge as vegetables or cuts of beef might in other parts of Spain. Our Blue Ocean Experience of Friday night was crafted to introduce some of our non-local residents to the incredible bounty and variety of the Atlantic.
Residents were picked up at Abama and taken by transport to Alcalá, a beautiful neighboring town on the coast of Guía de Isora, where we first gathered at the old pier for a presentation of the most important local fish used in Tenerife cuisine and a carving demonstration of red tuna given by biologist Agustín Espinosa and restaurateur JC Clemente.
These same fish then reappeared in the delicious tasting meal residents were served in Clemente’s Muelle Viejo restaurant. It was a delightful combination of creative dishes, including carpaccio of wahoo with limpet and sea snail, a salpicon of bluefish, octopus, and seaweed, and a bonito in mojo sauce. An incredible selection of wines was provided by El Gusto por el Vino, and dinner was accompanied by local jazz musicians José Félix Álvarez and Jesús “Pingüino” González on voice and 7-string guitar. They wove a tapestry of musical language that paid homage to the history of the Canary Island seafarers, threading an emotional connection through the Portuguese Fado, the Brazilian Bossa Nova, and the cantos de isa and folias of the archipelago.
Tennis Expo
We opened Saturday morning with a tennis expo at Abama Tennis between two professionals, which injected a welcome air of excitement at the top of the day. David Marrero, a former World No. 5 doubles player who won the ATP World Tour Finals with Fernando Velasco, faced off against Hillel Rousseau, who represented Haiti in the Davis Cup.
The spectators watched from the new Abama Tennis bar and lobby area, where they enjoyed a glass of cava and an introduction of the players by former Golf & Tennis Director Brendan Breen. After the match, residents were invited to play and take photos with the players.
Abama Sunset Festival Presentation
Abama was delighted to host the Abama Sunset Festival for the first time this year, but before the main event in November, our owners were invited for a preview during the Owners Cup. Hosted in Plaza Abama’s Tágara, it was a quiet jazz concert featuring performances by Jess Fraser on vocals, Natanael Ramos on trumpet and Virxilio Da Silva on guitar.
Savana Boutique Fashion Show
Directly after the Sunset Festival preview, we moved out onto the Tágara pool deck for the Savana Boutique fashion show. With a runway that circled the infinity pool, the event was a relaxed and elegant preview of the upcoming season of designs by Eva Divine. Popcorn and a cocktail service from Tágara accompanied the three-part show that featured swimwear, athleisure, and red carpet looks from Philosophy, Ermanno Firenze, Joseph Ribkoff, Chiara Boni, Marc Cain, Paradise Canarien, Bogner and Elisabetta Franchi. You can look forward to the upcoming opening of Savana Boutique in Plaza Abama.
Gala Dinner
A truly spectacular sunset greeted residents as they arrived in the evening for the pre-dinner photocall of the Owners Cup Gala Dinner in the Abama Event Garden. Owners gathered around our cocktail tables and parasols for a welcome cocktail provided by Perelada and a menu of small bites catered by island favorite Drago Gamonal (owners of the restaurant Mesón El Drago). From quail eggs with Canary Island chorizo to hibiscus flowers stuffed with ham, wild plants, and toasted pinenuts to gofio-battered duck prosciutto, it was an incredible review of the products that make the archipelago so special.
Accompaniment was offered by Vientos de Salmor, a musical project of renowned Canary Islands flautist Pablo Díaz. It featured the pito herreño, a traditional flute used by the aboriginal peoples of El Hierro, as well as guitar by Félix Morales, one of the archipelago’s great multi-instrumentalists and virtuosos, and Amílcar Mendoza, one of the island’s best drummers.
As guests migrated into our tented dinner area after the welcome cocktail, they were welcomed by Jorge Monje, the Director of Operations of My Way, and Marketing & Communications Director Elodie Casolà, before enjoying the Gala Dinner catered by renowned island restaurant El Drago.
The dinner performance was given by a string trio from the Canary Islands. Itahisa Darias (violin), Chaxiraxi González (violin), and Yurena Darias (cello) interpreted several pieces in genres that ranged from classical to contemporary with their customary grace and singular performance style.
The awards ceremony followed dinner, with a number of incredible prizes from our sponsors distributed to the winners of our tournament and the raffle, and we finished the evening with several hours of dancing under the stars. It was another incredible Abama Owners Cup, and we look forward to seeing our growing community again next year!
