Photos: Sergio Betancort
The FCM wants to turn Lanzarote "into a celebration of art, nature and culture" around the centenary of the birth of César Manrique, also hoping that the island will be "one of the cultural centers of the country and the great cultural center of the Canary Islands, undoubtedly." To this end, the institution has programmed a wide range of activities that will extend from April 24, 2019 to April 24, 2020 both locally, regionally and internationally, with which it wants to remember both the artist Manrique and the vindictive and critical one.
"In César's legacy, both the material work and the conscience weigh, as do his principles, his ideas, his public antagonisms and the '100 years of life' program that the FCM offers to society is crossed with conscience", said the director of the FCM, Fernando Gómez Aguilera, who this Thursday detailed the program organized by the institution, in an act open to the public in the José Saramago Room of La Plazuela, in which César Manrique's brother as well as nephews of the artist, personalities from the world of culture such as José Saramago's wife, Pilar del Río, and political representatives were present.
This centenary, 100 years of life, vindicates a culture, an art, in, from, with, for and by nature, for life, for the planet in danger of extreme unction, a culture as César Manrique understood it, rooted and universal, proactive and critical, creative and social, reflective and playful, vernacular and modern, inclusive and transversal, open, committed, innovative, ethical, kind, green and free (Fernando Gómez Aguilera)
Themes to understand what is happening to humanity
In the programming, "manifestations that can be considered of high culture have been combined with more social records", but "without ever renouncing quality". "We put the emphasis on culture, but also on leisure, so that we can also learn while having fun," said Gómez Aguilera. In addition, "decisive themes are incorporated to understand what is happening to humanity in this time of civilizational change, of the fourth industrial revolution and of the planetary environmental crisis that we are experiencing.
"The contents of the program are based on César Manrique and his own interests or connected with his ideas, values or inclinations, but also on a contemporary reading of subjects that today replace engines of thought, science or society and to which César, always curious, would not feel alien," added the director of the FCM.
All events will be free and some will take place in the Foundation's spaces, others in the towns of the island and some "in points of the continent". All of them will be broadcast in streaming on a 'minisite' that the FCM will launch within its website with all the information about the centenary.
Personalities such as Fernando Savater or Iñaki Gabilondo
Specifically, in addition to César Manrique, the program includes content on the environment, literature, art and nature, quantum physics, feminism, geostrategy, land management, quality of democracy, migrations, urban corruption, journalism, populism, public ethics, Lanzarote's heritage, landscaping, public art, territory and urbanism, citizenship, radical illustration, art and society, architecture and landscape, art and gender, limits to urban growth, anthropocene, emerging creation, information and disinformation, Canary Islands, cinema and landscape, climate change and territories for life.
Many of these topics will be discussed in meetings, conferences, conversations, round tables and seminars that will be held and in which personalities such as the philosopher and essayist Fernando Savater, the journalist Iñaki Gabilondo, the lawyer and politician Cristina Almeida, the political scientist Sami Nair, the writers Manuel Vicent and Manuel Rivas and magistrates such as Antonio del Moral and Pablo Ruz, as well as the prosecutor Concepción Sabadell, among many others, will participate. There will also be cinema, street shows, theater, workshops, exhibitions, concerts, competitions and activities aimed at schoolchildren.
Music, books and film productions
In the musical section, the presentation of Toñín Corujo's new album, which will be dedicated to the figure of César, has been highlighted. There will also be three musical dialogues led by Benito Cabrera, one of them with the singer Pedro Guerra, a concert by El Niño de Elche and a joint performance by the rapper Arkano and the verseador Yeray Rodríguez. The presence of the dj's Víctor Carballeira and Dave Watts, who will perform at a birthday party that the FCM will celebrate in honor of César Manrique on April 24, has also been highlighted.
The Foundation also co-produces a Musical about the life and work of César, with Mestisay and Clapso Producciones among others, which will premiere in September and will tour all the islands.
Also, the FCM will publish a dozen books and film productions will be carried out, including a film about César Manrique that will be directed by the filmmaker Miguel García Morales and another about Lanzarote and the footprint of Manrique that will be directed by José Luis Guerín. It will also produce multiple merchandising with messages from Cesar Manrique, as well as various content that will be broadcast on social networks.
For the elaboration of this program, the FCM has had an extensive network of collaborators such as companies, institutions, associations and cultural entities, among which is Lanzarote Media, who will convene a contest of micro-stories with the figure of César Manrique as the protagonist.
"Reproach" to the institutions for "forgetting" the centenary of Ramírez Cerdá
In addition to vindicating the figure of César Manrique, the FCM has also programmed a series of events around José Ramirez Cerdá, another "unrepeatable" character for the institution along with Manrique and of whom this 2019 also marks his centenary. "A centenary that is not commemorated. An inexcusable oversight of the insular public administration to the one who was mayor of Arrecife and historical president of the Cabildo, a figure whose recognition arouses unanimity", reproached the director of the FCM, who wanted to make a "reflection" in this regard.
"It is worth asking how it is possible that he is not remembered, that the tribute due to José Ramírez Cerdá is not paid to him, the administrative father of modern Lanzarote, the great insular political reference of the 20th century. There are inexplicable negligences and rewritings that entail responsibilities and, in case there are doubts, yes, this is a reproach, a deserved and fair reproach", said Fernando Gómez Aguilera.
