On the afternoon of this past Thursday, the new website created by the Data Center of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, within the Digital Memory of Lanzarote project, was presented in the José Saramago Room of the César Manrique Foundation. This is Memoria Sonora de Lanzarote, a digital sound library that brings together about 90 records and more than 800 songs of popular and traditional music from Lanzarote and La Graciosa and that has also had the collaboration of the University Library of the ULPGC.
The musician and popularizer Benito Cabrera, coordinator of the project, was in charge of presenting this sound archive in which he has been working for more than a year, and in which recordings made in Lanzarote and La Graciosa since 1963 are collected.
The nearly 90 records have been compiled thanks to the research work carried out by Benito Cabrera and the donations, mainly, from private collectors, musical groups and record companies. A large part of these records are out of print, but now they can be listened to in streaming thanks to this new repository of free access.
Musical categories
Memoria Sonora de Lanzarote is dedicated to the popular and traditional music of Lanzarote and includes, among others, lullabies, songs of Canarian roots, serenades, children's songs, marine folklore, American and traditional Canarian, choral and instrumental music, parrandas, etc.
The list of artists is also very large: Los Campesinos. Ajei, Acatife, Florián Corujo, the Trío Lanzarote, the Ranchos de Pascua, Guácharo, Domingo Corujo, Los Buches, Alexis Lemes, José María Gil, Guadarfía, Ico Arrocha, La Perla, Parranda Los Toledo, El Pavón, Toñín Corujo, Amigos de Portonao, Maxi Ferrer, Charco de San Ginés, etc.
Although the project has initially been dedicated to traditional music, it is expected to be extended in the future to other genres such as pop, rock, etc., as well as with ethnographic interviews and oral testimonies.
A unique project in the Canary Islands
The Councilor of the Data Center of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Ascensión Toledo, present at the event, stated that “this is a beautiful project with which a large part of the musical legacy of Lanzarote and La Graciosa will be preserved, and that it is now accessible to be listened to. Scholars, researchers, historians, musicians or simple music lovers and fans of popular music will now be able to enjoy these songs, which are part of our history and our culture, thanks to the great work done by Benito Cabrera and the Data Center of the Cabildo de Lanzarote.”
For his part, Benito Cabrera thanked the Cabildo de Lanzarote for having trusted him to develop this project and assured that “this project is unique in the Canary Islands. There is no archive like this in other islands. The Cabildo de Lanzarote has done a great job supporting the creation of Memoria Sonora de Lanzarote. And this is just the beginning. We trust that, thanks to the generosity of individuals, groups and record companies, new recordings will appear and we will expand the catalog. And that, in addition, new musical genres will be incorporated. The ultimate goal would be to have a physical sound library where all the funds could be enjoyed in their original formats.”
Programming of 2nd Memoria de los Jueves 2025
After the success of its first edition last year 2024, the Data Center of the Cabildo de Lanzarote has organized a second edition of Memoria de los Jueves, which this year will feature a program of five talks, to be held between January 23 and February 20.
The next conferences of Memoria de los Jueves 2025 are:
- January 30: Memory of La Graciosa.
- February 6: Recent history of photojournalism in Lanzarote. February 13: Documentary: “Javier Reyes. The artisan look”.
- February 20: Compared islands: Menorca, Ibiza, La Palma, Lanzarote. Who organizes Memoria de los Jueves?
The Memoria de los Jueves conference cycle is organized by the Cabildo de Lanzarote through the Data Center, with the collaboration of the César Manrique Foundation.
What dates, time and place does it take place?
Thursdays, January 23 and 30 and February 6, 13 and 20, 2024. Always at 7:00 p.m. in the José Saramago Room of the César Manrique Foundation, in Arrecife.
How can I get a ticket?
Admission is free, until full capacity. The maximum capacity of the room is 100 people. It is advisable to arrive early enough to get a seat.
How can I watch the conferences if I cannot attend in person?
No problem. The five conferences will be broadcast in streaming on the websites: www.memoriadelanzarote.com and www.memoriadelosjueves.com
Where can I get more information about each talk?
Well, on the event website, www.memoriadelosjueves.com. There you have more detailed information about each conference and a small curriculum of each speaker.
