Francisco José Navarro
On the night of Thursday, June 23, Haría experienced the magical night of San Juan, in which everything is burned and purified around the bonfire. As planned in the festive program, at 9:30 p.m. the Haría square, an unparalleled setting with a night that accompanied it, was packed with people. The event began to listen to the proclamation of the 2005 festivities with a welcome greeting from the northern mayor, José Torres Stinga, to this year's herald, José Domingo Pérez Núñez.
Once presented by the mayor, Pérez Núñez went to the lectern to read the proclamation, which pleased the entire audience. It was not one of those proclamations that compile published articles from the newspaper archives, but was based on his experiences and the people were the protagonists. Neighbors were named who, with their effort and work, have made Haría the town it is today.
One of the moments in which Pérez Núñez was interrupted was when he recounted the festival events that were celebrated in the past. When he came to the section on Canarian wrestling, he named several wrestlers from that time, including José Martín, better known as Camurria. José Martín is the father of Toni Martín, who recently passed away. When José Domingo mentioned Toni Martín, the square broke into applause and he had to stop reading so that the neighbors could pay tribute to the young man.
José Domingo Pérez Núñez concluded by asking the mayor and the corporation for a theater and an institute. In addition, he requested that the festivals become more participatory again, with greater public involvement, more like before, where there was less money but the public was more involved.
José Domingo also emphasized that the traditional games with which he enjoyed should be preserved. In short, it was a proclamation full of longing.
Haría Awards 2005
Once the proclamation was concluded, José Domingo Pérez Núñez was presented with the gold pin of Haría, as well as a silver shield and a book of old photos recently published by the City Council, which is authored by two distinguished graphic chroniclers of the municipality: Javier Reyes and Asterio Acuña. José Domingo was moved by the public's reception and the distinction that the mayor gave him. He was accompanied by his wife, María Luisa, who was presented with a bouquet of flowers.
Immediately afterwards, the Haría 2005 awards ceremony began, with Carmen Gloria Figuera González and Ambrosio Delgado Santa Cruz as instructors.
Carmen Gloria Figuera was responsible for making the profile of the first award winner, Javier Reyes Acuña. The profile of this Haría resident was completed with the screening of a biographical video, in which his experiences were narrated, how he began in the world of photography and his professional career.
Javier Reyes Acuña received the gold pin of the municipality from the mayor, the volume of photographs of which he is co-author with his cousin Asterio, and the Haría award, which consists of a palm tree symbol of the municipality. Javier Reyes dedicated a few words of thanks to the corporation and the assembled public, while his wife Domitila Barreto accompanied him on the stage.
Then it was time to present the second of the awards. Ambrosio Delgado recounted how the Democratic Center of Máguez was founded, about which a video was also shown. Once concluded, the president of the Club, Juan Acuña Rodríguez, the former presidents and the members of the Board of Directors were called. Everyone received their souvenir pin of this moment.
The two Haría awards, the festival herald, the mayor and the rest of the corporation met on stage. José Torres Stinga ended the event by thanking all the attendees and asking the young people to get involved in the tasks of the municipality, because he considered that Haría's progress depends on them. José Torres had a very measured and successful speech and was interrupted by applause from the public.
After listening to the anthem of the Canary Islands, the public broke into applause. All the neighbors went to the esplanade in the vicinity of the craft workshop, where the great San Juan night party began with spectacular fireworks that illuminated the entire town with colored lights. Afterwards, the neighbors enjoyed the burning of the Facundo and the staging of the fire dance, which was accompanied by a delicious sancocho.