The Minister of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands, Migdalia Machín Tavío, visited the Casa de Los Buches on January 8, 2026, as a show of support for traditional Canarian culture through one of Lanzarote's most representative manifestations, sustained by decades of community work to preserve the Traditional Carnival of Los Buches and the repertoire of maritime music and dance.
The visit took place at 8:00 PM, with a punctual arrival at the Social Headquarters of Los Buches, a building owned by the entity, built in 2003 thanks to the collective effort of its members to safeguard and transmit the traditions that the association defends. Upon her arrival, the councilor was received by the president, Juan Antonio Machado; the vice president, Mencey Rodríguez; the secretary and artistic director, Juan David Machado; and the first spokesperson and general director of dance, Rubén Octavio Valiente, who accompanied the regional representative through the exhibition spaces, rehearsal rooms, and common areas, as well as other facilities that embody the historical weight and social relevance of the institution.
During the tour, Machín was able to learn about a collection of artistic and heritage assets linked to the memory of the entity, including pictorial works by Julio Viera, a piece by Pancho Lasso, the bronze sculptural sketch of the monument to Los Buches located in Charco de San Ginés (work by Evelina Martín), as well as historical photographs by Gabriel Fernández, in addition to buches and objects of a traditional nature. In this context, the Board of Directors conveyed to the counselor the roadmap that the association is promoting to conserve, disseminate, and project Canarian traditional culture, moving towards the recognition of Los Buches and the Parranda Marinera as Assets of Cultural Interest, with the aspiration of strengthening their projection within intangible cultural heritage.
In her address to partners, associates, and attendees, the councilor emphasized the identity and community value of this tradition. In Machín's words: "Los Buches and their house represent the cultural history of Lanzarote. To speak of them is to speak of a unique identity that the people recognize as their own; it is to speak of the seafaring Arrecife, of attachment to the sea, and of Traditional Carnival."
During the visit, the counselor also learned about some of the recent projects that have placed the entity in a prominent position within the conservation of Canarian cultural heritage. Among them, the reconstruction, using traditional riverside carpentry, of a Canarian boat rigged with a Latin sail, carried out in 2023 thanks to the support of the Centers for Art, Culture, and Tourism (CACT), recovering a typology linked to 19th-century port logistics in the bay of Arrecife. Likewise, she was able to delve into the project for the recovery of historical clothing of workers and seafarers, as well as the clothing of Los Buches according to the canons of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, developed in 2024 with the support of the Cabildo de Lanzarote. Similarly, she was shown the facsimile project (synthetic buches) that guarantees the continuity of the dance, financed 50 percent by the CACT and the other 50 percent by Turismo Lanzarote. The counselor also learned about the musealization process of the Social Headquarters, currently in a decisive phase of transformation, and was able to witness part of the rehearsals of the music and dance corps aimed at activating the Traditional Carnival cycle.
From the presidency of Los Buches, Juan Antonio Machado conveyed urgent maintenance needs to the counselor, as well as a call to strengthen institutional support to underpin the continuity of the association's work, which was recognized in 2023 with the Gold Medal of the Canary Islands. For her part, Machín reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of the Canary Islands to safeguarding the cultural manifestations that form the living heritage of the archipelago.
At the end of the meeting, the councilor signed the guest book of Los Buches, which contains signatures of personalities linked to the institution and Canarian culture, including César Manrique, Manolo Millares, Jesús Soto, Julio Viera, Pedro Perdomo, or Blas Martínez, among other intellectual, artistic, and political figures.