The municipality of Teguise has hosted a workshop, taught by the master artisan, Margarita Zerpa, on the elaboration of palm hearts for Holy Week.
The workshop was organized by the Federation of Folklore and Cultural Associations of Teguise and by the Cabildo of Lanzarote, with the collaboration of the City Council of Teguise. The workshops were totally free, and had the participation of 20 people.
Margarita is a great connoisseur of this ancestral tradition, and she explained with great care the guidelines to follow until achieving the set objective. As she explained, first of all you have to start by opening the palm heart leaves, and then make the braids on all four sides. Once finished, rosettes or other designs are added with the same material, and finally the upper part of the palm heart is crowned with a satin ribbon.
The palm heart takes on special importance on Palm Sunday, as they accompany the faithful in the celebration of the Eucharist and the subsequent procession of the "Lord of the Little Donkey". This is because on that day Christians commemorate the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
The closing of the "Crafts and Tradition Workshops" took place at 13:00 last Wednesday, with the presence of the Councilor for Crafts, Commerce and Consumption of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Carmen Guadalupe, the Councilor for Culture of the City Council of Teguise, Nori Machín and the president of the Federation, Noli Pereza. The people attending the course received an accreditation diploma and "Los Palmitos", which will remain on display until Friday in the exhibition hall of the Casa de la Cultura de Teguise.
The councilor, Carmen Guadalupe, and the councilor Nori Machín shared with the Master Artisan, Margarita Zerpa, taking an interest in this ancestral tradition with so much roots with the commitment to continue promoting it, so that the new generations also make them their own.
