Playa Blanca paid tribute this Monday to the neighbor Aquilino Martín de Ganzo, on the eve of the Great Day of the Virgen del Carmen. Through this heartfelt tribute in which his mother Elena and close relatives, families from the southern town, members of the festival committee, public representatives from Yaiza and neighbors participated. The town conveyed all their affection and recognized him as an essential figure of the town and a great heart.
The tribute was a cheerful, fun and exciting seafaring and revelry journey through the life of Aquilino, with anecdotes remembered by himself and by people who in one way or another have been by the side of the 'Big Kid' of Playa Blanca. Among them, Tomás Quesada, founder of the wrestling quarry of Playa Blanca, who always has in Aquilino a mainstay of the exhibitions of the native sport on the small beach of the town.
Likewise, Loly Rodríguez and Águeda Cedrés, monitors for years of the Social Dynamization area of Yaiza, also revealed some anecdotes experienced with Aquilino in municipal excursions, Canarian ball tournaments and artistic performances with the group of elders of Yaiza. Águeda Cedrés is currently councilor responsible for Social Dynamization and Attention to the Elderly.
And just as Tomás, Loly and Águeda were at the event held in La Aurora de Playa Blanca, other people closely linked to the culture, folklore and southern daily life also participated through video messages, such as the reveler Benito Rodríguez with whom Aquilino and Los Salineros de La Hoya recorded an album. Benito loves Aquilino like another son and knows that he, more than anyone, is the first defender of the parranda, and so much so that he gets "pricked" when a neighbor dares to tell him that there is another parranda better than his.
Aquilino is a good example of inclusion and how people with cognitive disabilities can participate in a variety of activities. He is currently 62 years old and is the sixth of ten siblings in the home formed by Marcial and Elena. Aquilino Martín is passionate about music, plays the timple and sings, as he did in his tribute accompanied by revelers from the municipality and as he usually does in folkloric offerings at patron saint festivities in the municipality of Yaiza. Since he was a child he likes to fish and shellfish and boys and girls from the town who have grown up with him highlight his good humor and how he likes to "escape" from his house to have a good time in the center and promenade of Playa Blanca where everyone admires and greets him.
Aquilino received a timple given by relatives, a municipal plaque and a beautiful tenth from the poet Jaime Quesada, but above all he received the manifest affection of the people of Playa Blanca, who also enjoyed the exhibition of old photographs where he is the main protagonist with family moments, fishing, revelry, carnivals and Canarian wrestling.
The City Council of Yaiza congratulates Aquilino Martín de Ganzo for this well-deserved recognition from his beloved town of Playa Blanca that shouts for something: "These parties are for you!".
