IMAGES: Sergio Betancort
Antonio Pérez López's opening speech officially kicked off the festivities in honor of Our Lady of Carmen, in Puerto del Carmen, this Thursday. The event took place at 9:00 p.m., next to the stage set up in the Plaza del Varadero.
There, the Councilor for Festivities of the Tías City Council, Francisco Javier Aparicio, welcomed the public who were in the surroundings of the square and gave a brief summary of the numerous events that have been prepared for these festivities. Next, the mayor of the municipality, José Francisco Hernández, spoke, who highlighted the figure of the town crier.
Precisely, Antonio Pérez made an extensive journey from his childhood to the present, detailing how his beloved "Tiñosa" was transformed into what is now known as Puerto del Carmen. The town crier nostalgically recounted the arrival of the first tourists in the 1960s.
At that time, he related that visitors were interested in the traditional maritime culture such as, for example, the fish drying areas, the nets spread out in the sun or the small boats stranded at the doors of the houses. But at this time, tourists were also surprised by how children ran barefoot and how they bathed naked in the crystalline coves of "Tiñosa".
Antonio Pérez had his family and neighbors very present and recounted how they managed to get ahead with hardly any resources, without mentioning the word crisis. He also reviewed the festivals of yesteryear, explaining how the neighbors got involved to carry them out and with what enthusiasm they made the famous paper flags so traditional in the area.
The town crier could not avoid getting emotional when he reached the end of his speech, at which point his voice even broke. The public responded with prolonged applause. Antonio Pérez, a carpenter by profession and a sailor by vocation, ended his reading with cheers to the Virgen del Carmen, the sailors and the festival committee.
The mayor, José Francisco Hernández, presented him with a replica of a miniature boat. The night continued with the performance of timplista Gabriel García and the mariachi El Reposao.
