Canary Islands and Mexico: discover how they compare as filming locations

Its similarities with Mexico as filming locations

Film and advertising are looking for places with visual authenticity. The Canary Islands create a backdrop of Latin landscapes. Some Canarian villages and Mexico preserve their colonial essence, their traditional architecture and a powerful aesthetic that makes them ideal natural settings for filming, documentaries and video clips. Below, we compare four pairs of villages with unique filming locations, perfect for productions with character.

Canary village square (Canary Islands) – San Antonio, Aculco (Mexico)

Town square – Canary Islands Aculco – Mexico (Javier Lara)

Both villages stand out for their rural simplicity, with one- or two-storey houses, cobbled streets and an atmosphere frozen in time. This Canarian village and Aculco are perfect for shooting intimate stories, traditions and local customs with an organic and authentic aesthetic.

Village in the distance (Canary Islands) – Jala (Mexico)

Village in the distance – Canary Islands Jala – Mexico (Kris Ubach)

Small, historic and surrounded by nature, this Canarian village and Jala convey a sense of seclusion and depth. Their ancient churches, modest squares and open landscapes are ideal for contemplative films, religious narratives or documentaries on cultural identity.

Yellow houses (Canary Islands) – Izamal (Mexico)

Yellow houses – Canary Islands Izmal – Mexico (Food & Pleasure)

This Canary Island town surprises with its white façades, but also with houses in ochre, yellow and blue tones. Izamal, ‘the yellow city’, shines with its chromatic coherence and pre-Hispanic-colonial heritage. Both offer a warm, intense and symbolic palette: perfect for emotional spots, tourist pieces or colourful fictions.

Village of cobbled streets (Canary Islands) – San Sebastián del Oeste (Mexico)

Village of cobbled streets – Canary Islands San Sebastián del Oeste – Mexico (Food & Pleasure)

This Canarian town imposes itself with its volcanic sobriety; San Sebastián enchants with its mist and mountain architecture. Two towns with a living history, ideal for recreating past eras, auteur cinema or stories full of nostalgia.

These villages not only set the scene: they tell visual stories in their own right.

After the comparison we can see that the Canary Islands is a great setting for Latin landscapes.

At Locationow we are dedicated to managing everything you need for your location production. We are location managers and fixers, and we offer customised services for all budgets and scales. If you are a production company, agency or brand, we will be happy to accompany you in your process. Feel free to contact us without obligation, and if you want to know more, visit our blog and follow us on social media.