The House of Sanmao – Ruta Sanmao

The House of Sanmao.

House of Sanmao. (Love) 爱

Love, joy, growth, spirituality, wisdom and serenity, these were all the values that characterized Sanmao.

She was able to transmit them to the thousands of readers of her books, but also to people she crossed paths with. In a way, Echo Chen came to Gran Canaria to enrich the streets she walked along and touch the lives of the people she became very close to.

They are universal values at the end of the day, anywhere around the world. She brought them in abundance and cultivated them, and didn’t lose them becasue she shared them, showed them and gave them away. She took them with her no matter how far she travelled.

The house where she lived with her partner José María Quero is situated on Calle Lope de Vega, in Playa del Hombre, Telde. The house today displays a harmonious simplicity and is adorned with flowers.

Echo Chen even had a special sensitivity for homely matters. She was able to choose the caring hands to look after the house when she knew she could never be happy again. She did so under truly hard circumstances, following the death of her husband.

What was once Sanmao’s former home now attracts many visitors who come to see the place that she described in her works. Here they will see a plaque with the image of the faces of Sanmao and José María, and the word “love” in both languages.

What Sanmao says about love:

“What was love? Why was it so bitter and painful? Once you have it, don’t let it slip away, even in the face of death. Even when you look death in the face resist letting it get away”.

What Sanmao says about love:

“What was love? Why was it so bitter and painful? Once you have it, don’t let it slip away, even in the face of death. Even when you look death in the face resist letting it get away”.