With the reading of the proclamation by the neighbor Azucena Rodríguez, the patron saint festivities began in honor of Our Lady of La Candelaria and San Blas in the municipality of Tías.
An act that took place in the church with full capacity to accommodate the authorities, family, neighbors and friends. Everyone wanted to hear the experiences and anecdotes of the proclaimer, a very committed and beloved woman in the town, always willing to help others, committed to the church in the tasks of catechesis, liturgy and songs in the celebrations, a true artist of the performing arts who is part of the theater company "Lila García" of Tías, where she has performed important works as the main actress.
Azucena Rodríguez was accompanied at the presidential table by the mayor of Tías, José Juan Cruz, the parish priest of Tías, Adrián Sosa, and the councilor of Fiestas Miriam Hernández. The proclaimer began her speech by putting a note of humor emulating the proclaimer of the Middle Ages when they proclaimed the festivities using the 'turuta' to attract the attention of citizens, instead she used a megaphone to address all those present and thus begin to relate her experiences and anecdotes.
One of the anecdotes she told was when councilor Miriam Hernández informed her that she had been chosen as the proclaimer of the festivities in this 2025 edition, at which point a kind of indecipherable film began to pass through her mind, an endless number of concerns, thoughts and mixed feelings, a mixture of joy, illusion and, above all, pride in representing her town. And at the same time, fear of the challenge, of the responsibility of not being able to live up to everything her municipality deserves.
With regard to the festivities, Azucena stated that they are a reason to meet, share, celebrate and party, take a break and reflect on how things have changed in the municipality, how tourism has brought progress, change, prosperity and well-being, like everything else, with growth and globalization, we gain in advances in society in general, but also inevitably, the true essence of a town is lost. Of a group of neighbors where everyone knew each other and treated each other like a family that came together to prepare the festivities, feeling part of them because the festival committee was made up of the town's residents who organized and actively participated.
Azucena recalled what those festivals were like where the young people of the town participated, the fashion shows, the gymkhana, the horse races, the election of the queen and the television contests like "Un, dos, tres", and the long-awaited verbenas in the Unión Sur society of Tías. The proclaimer and her family have always been linked to the parish church of Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria, a temple dating from the 18th century that arose after the volcanic eruptions of Timanfaya. Here is where Azucena received the sacrament of First Communion at the age of 6 and recalled with great affection the gift that her beloved aunt Lila gave her '50 pesetas', 60 years have passed since that moment. Here she also got married, baptized her children who have continued with the legacy of their mother. The proclaimer also had a memory for the priests who have passed through the parish, for the neighbor Benigno Díaz, Lázaro Martín for continuing to preserve the traditions so rooted in the town, such as the May novenas and the nativity scene at Christmas.
These experiences and many more anecdotes were shared by the proclaimer on a very special night that she will always remember. The proclamation also had its musical part enlivened by her sons Blas and Ruyman, her brother Pedro and the neighbors Raico Hernández and Carlos Bonilla who performed a varied repertoire of couplets with airs of folías and polkas. Azucena finished her proclamation by reciting some tenths of her own creation. The mayor, José Juan Cruz, presented her with a sculpture with the frontispiece of the church of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria