The proclamation by the Afilarmónica Las Revoltosas opened the San Bartolomé festivities on Thursday night. Thus begins, officially, two weeks of recreational, cultural, sports and religious events that aim to "be a meeting point for the entire island of Lanzarote," said the mayor, Isidro Pérez.
The event, held in a Municipal Theater that registered full capacity, began with the performance of the local mezzo-soprano Belén Elvira. Next, Isidro Pérez spoke to highlight the importance of "the quintessential festivals of our town" which, in this 2023, include "endless activities" and are the result of the effort of many people, groups and families from all over the municipality, as well as the municipal workers who during these days are dedicated to preserving even the smallest detail.
As he recalled, since last weekend the soccer and petanque matches that traditionally represent the prelude to these patron saint festivities have been held, as well as the chinchón, ronda and envite tournaments with absolute success in participation.
"Las Revoltosas, symbol of a town"
In his speech, the mayor highlighted that Las Revoltosas is the pioneering female murga in the Canary Islands, founded in 1983 and awarded this year with the Gold Medal of the Canary Islands. “I must refer today to Las Revoltosas as a group of brave women who are a reference for several generations and who represent, among many other things, the authenticity of a town,” he said. He stressed that Áurea, Dulce, Lina and Veneranda, presidents of the Afilarmónica and town criers of the festivities, have been in the act "the visible face of dozens and dozens of women who have wanted to be part of this project that has involved work, effort, hours of rehearsals, desire to improve, perseverance, creativity, ingenuity and humor.”
The mayor valued, on the other hand, that today, in any place in the Canary Islands, "thinking of San Bartolomé is thinking of Las Revoltosas, and also today, talking about Carnival on the island of Lanzarote is, inevitably, feeling a huge pride for having witnessed the history of this murga, the female murga of the Canary Islands.”
The town criers agreed on that feeling of pride, who expressed their emotion at being participants in the project. With their words they made a journey through their memories and their life story, highlighting the importance of the feeling of belonging not only to Las Revoltosas, but also to a municipality where the participation of the Afilarmónica in social and cultural life has been notable.
Áurea, Dulce, Lina and Veneranda expressed their gratitude to the San Bartolomé City Council for what they consider "an honor", to pronounce the proclamation of the patron saint festivities where the many members of Las Revoltosas have historically left such an impression.
The event ended with the performance of the San Bartolomé Municipal Band, which performed several pieces such as Moments by Ennio Morricone or España Cañí by Pascual Marquina.
With the delivery of details to the town criers and the performance of the Municipal Music Band, the act ended, after which the mayor inaugurated the exhibition of the historical photography contest 'Nostalgia of a town', which will remain installed on Doctor Cerdeña Bethencourt street during these weeks.