The show "Souls, in the sun of the bells" was presented this Monday in the Plaza de Remedios, in Yaiza. The staging mixed folklore, theater and poetry to symbolize the Night of the Finaos, "one of the most popular traditions of the Canary Islands", they emphasize from the Yaiza City Council.
Attendees were able to enjoy the representation of the tradition of yesteryear of All Saints, in which "the mourners prayed and remembered their dead by telling anecdotes and sharing songs", such as the classic "Remedios is in Yaiza and in heaven my hope".
The members of the show recalled that November 1 was a special day to visit the cemetery. "Flowers were brought and the more affluent brought tin wreaths and placed them on those wooden crosses. There were no wooden niches, the priest went from tomb to tomb saying the responses in Latin,” they pointed out.
The theater group also explained that "the youngest went out" to ask for the "alms" of all the Saints. “We went with those little cloth bags to the homes of family and acquaintances, and they gave us overripe fruit, leeks, some oranges and cake.”
"The El Golpito band, the soloists Izan Ortega, Vicky Rodríguez and Adrián Reyes, the dance body of the Rubicón de Yaiza Folkloric Group and the Teatreros y Comediantes scenic group carried the weight of the show, also enriched by the story of the meaning and details of the tradition narrated by the poet Reyes Tabares, who also recited a poem in memory of the deceased," they describe from the Council.
Tabares recalled that on the Night of the Finaos many cried in silence for the people who had left. "I remember seeing them very mournful and sad not to have them. They put a little oil on a plate and with some lit candles, one for each deceased, they also prayed to the blessed souls in purgatory,” she explained.
The script for the night also gave space for the presenter, Laura Afonso, to conduct small interviews with the plastic artist Cintia Machín, author of sculptures such as the tribute to the sailors of Playa Blanca and to the life and work of El Salinero, which presides over the Plaza de Las Breñas. She also interviewed the Rubicón Folkloric Group, represented by Tere Gutiérrez.
“We are more than satisfied with the attendance of the public and especially with the acceptance of the proposal. Our people enjoyed the show in a warm and endearing atmosphere that then invited them to share experiences between chestnuts and a glass of wine. The objective is to create meeting points around our culture to keep it alive with its representation, oral tradition and publications,” concluded the Councilor for Festivities of Yaiza, Javier Camacho.
