PHOTOS: Sergio Betancort
A new sculpture, located in the Clavijo y Fajardo square of Teguise, pays tribute to the victims of the "Tela", a boat that suffered an attack in Sahrawi waters in August 1978, as well as to all the sailors of Lanzarote and the Canary Islands. Almost 36 years after this attack, the City Council wanted to recognize the work and value of the sailors, personalized in the figure of the fisherman Andrés Parrilla Acuña, a resident of La Villa.
According to the chronicles of the time, the fishing boat "Tela" was owned by the shipowner from Arrecife, José Rodríguez Cabrera, and had eleven men on board, including Parrilla Acuña. This fisherman was wounded in a thigh and in the gluteal region and his prognosis was serious.
The crew members then indicated that they were being signaled from the land to approach the shore. When the boat was close, that's when they started shooting at them. After being machine-gunned, the "Tela" received assistance from the Spanish corvette "Nautilus".
Despite the serious injuries suffered by the fisherman Andrés Parrilla, he managed to take the helm of the ship and moved it away from the African coast, thus saving his life and that of his companions. This event happened three months before the attack suffered by the "Cruz del Mar". Precisely, the survivors of this tragedy were the ones who proposed that Andrés Parrilla be the protagonist of this new sculpture.
The work has been done by the sculptor residing in Teguise, José Arada.
