The Board of Official Chroniclers of the Canary Islands awarded Agustín Pallarés Padilla the title of Memorist 2015 on the island of Lanzarote last Friday, November 13. This distinction has been created by this organization and delivered in the different islands, in order to "recognize the work of those people who, in an altruistic and vocational way, have stood out in the recovery of the collective memory in the closest cultural sphere."
The one who has been described, among other attributions, as "researcher, chronicler and teacher of our history", received recognition for this work of "more than fifty years of dedication as a chronicler and researcher of the past" in an act that was held at the Castle of San José. The act, which Pallarés attended accompanied by his wife, Rosario Lasso Toledo, had the collaboration of the Cabildo of Lanzarote.
Agustín Pallarés was supported by the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, the Minister of Tourism and Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands, María Teresa Lorenzo, and the president of the Board of Official Chroniclers of the Canary Islands, José A. Luján Henríquez, who presented him with the Memorist 2015 award, together with the official chroniclers of Teguise, Haría and Arrecife, Francisco Hernández, Gregorio Barreto and Antonio Lorenzo, respectively.
They all had words of recognition for the work carried out by Pallarés and also made a small sketch of the personal and professional career of this majorero, born in La Oliva in 1928, but very linked from a young age to the island of Lanzarote and Alegranza.
For his part, the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, said he felt "very proud" of this deserved title and of the work carried out by Pallarés, whose appointment as a memorist recognizes his work, "built from serious work and vocation", he stressed.
In relation to the prolific work of Pallarés, the president stressed that "it is a brilliant reference for all of us who want to know about the culture of the Canary Islands, a kind of reliable and prominent lighthouse that has helped us to locate ourselves and better understand the great ocean of memory that our islands treasure."
Adoptive Son of Lanzarote
Likewise, San Ginés made a public commitment to contribute from the Cabildo of Lanzarote to "disseminate his work and recognize the work" carried out by Agustín Pallarés "as guardian of our memory." Thus, the president of the Corporation announced that the Culture Area of the Cabildo of Lanzarote "already has the task of initiating the process of naming him Adoptive Son of Lanzarote, so that the honoree by the Board of Official Chroniclers of the Canary Islands will also be recognized on the island with this deserved and fair institutional distinction."
During the event, the councilors of Education and Culture of the first Corporation, Carmen Rosa Márquez and Óscar Pérez, respectively, and the councilors of the opposition in the Cabildo José Juan Cruz and Benjamín Perdomo, among others, were also present.