The Insular Library of Lanzarote hosts from this Monday the exhibition "Leandro Perdomo Spínola. Chronicle of a life", an exhibition that traces the life and work of this illustrious writer and that has been jointly organized by the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the City Council of Teguise on the occasion of the centenary of his birth.
The exhibition has been inaugurated by the Councilor for Education of the Cabildo, Myriam Barros, who has been accompanied by the also Councilor of the institution, Isabel Martín, as well as other members of the island corporation. In addition, the exhibition's curator, Félix Delgado, the official chronicler of Teguise, Francisco Hernández, and Leandro Perdomo's daughter, Alejandra Perdomo, attended the event.
This exhibition, as Myriam Barros has pointed out, pays tribute to Leandro Perdomo, who "was one of the most important writers of the second half of the 20th century". "He stood out above all as a costumbrista writer, very attached to memories and everyday experiences, without neglecting his critical spirit and his humanistic and supportive dimension aimed at building a better world. Values that we not only share, but also want to disseminate and multiply through this exhibition", added the councilor.
Therefore, as she explained, educational centers on the island will be invited "to visit this tour of the life of who was, above all, a good man who loved Lanzarote and told it like no one else".
"Leandro Perdomo was an authentic observer of reality and, in particular, of the great transformations that the island experienced in those years", Isabel Martín highlighted for her part.
Alejandra Perdomo, daughter of the writer, conveyed her gratitude and that of her family to the Cabildo of Lanzarote for this exhibition, as well as to the official chronicler of Teguise and the curator of the exhibition "for compiling and keeping alive the image, the work and the legacy" of her father, from whom she wanted to highlight his "human aspect". "His greatness lies in his humility and his generosity", she added.
The four stages of Leandro Perdomo's life
The curator of the exhibition, Félix Delgado, has made an explanatory tour of the exhibition, which includes different images and writings by Leandro Perdomo, which have been compiled thanks to the contributions of the writer's own family, the Municipal Archive of Teguise and the César Manrique Foundation.
The exhibition, as Delgado explained, is divided "into four periods coinciding with the different stages of Leandro Perdomo's life". Thus, a first block is focused on his life in Arrecife, where he was born in 1921, while another is made up of informative panels about the time he lived in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria between 1947 and 1957. Likewise, a part of the exhibition is dedicated to his life in Belgium, a country to which he emigrated in 1957, while the last part of the exhibition deals with Leandro's return to his native island, to which he returned in 1968, settling in Teguise.
Although Leandro Perdomo resided part of his life abroad, his literary and journalistic production was disseminated in the main newspapers of the Canary Islands and through two newspapers that he directed: "Pronósticos" and "Volcán". In addition, Perdomo published six books in life, which bring together a significant collection of his chronicles and stories: "Ten stories" (1953), "El Puerto de la Luz" (1955), "We the emigrants" (1970), "Lanzarote and I" (1974), "From my crater" (1976) and "Island chronicles" (1978).
The exhibition will remain in the Insular Library until June 30 and can be visited from Monday to Friday, from 08:00 to 22:00 and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 09:00 to 22:00.