The international referee Alejandro Hernández will be the herald of the San Ginés 2024 festivities in Arrecife, as La Voz advanced three weeks ago. On the occasion of his participation, the referee has offered an interview to Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero.
"They called me proposing to be the herald of the festivities and the first reaction caught me a bit cold, by surprise, because it is something that one does not consider," confesses Alejandro Hernández on the program Más de uno, Lanzarote. Then, it didn't take long to say yes.
"It is a very big responsibility, I was already aware of that, but now I feel that pressure even more," adds the referee, while highlighting that he feels "super proud that they have thought" of him to kick off the San Ginés festivities.
During the proclamation, he will talk about his experiences in the capital of Lanzarote, the city where his parents are from, where he was born and where he spent his entire childhood and youth. "My beginnings as a referee were also in Arrecife," indicates Hernández, "obviously if I give the proclamation it is also because of my profession, because of what we have been able to do outside of Lanzarote and outside of Spain, that topic is obviously going to be touched, but I want to focus it above all on the capital, in Arrecife, in the experiences and memories of the San Ginés festivities, like my youth and my childhood on the island."
Hernández intends for the proclamation to be as he likes to define himself: simple and discreet. "I want it to coincide with my way of being, simply try to connect with people and try to convey those memories that, although they are not too old, will be 42 years old in November, at least they are beautiful memories and very linked to Arrecife," he indicates.
During his intervention, the international referee seeks for the population of the island to know him more as a person and also to reach the youngest so they can dream. "Many times we see ourselves a little distanced from everything for being on an island and on top of that in one of the so-called minor ones. The fact that there are people, not only my case, who go outside and develop their career outside, well there are many people from the island who have achieved it in different facets, and to make the new generations see that they can also achieve things and if it serves as a hook, well the truth is that I am also proud to be able to do it."
About the San Ginés festivities, the image that comes to his head is the area of El Castillo and the soccer tournament. "It was always a reference in the Canary Islands, with visits from great teams and it was also nice to participate in this tournament and one thing was linked to the other."
"I started in refereeing by accompanying my father and my uncle, but the atmosphere that was lived within the refereeing group, with unparalleled camaraderie, we were a family, well from that moment every Monday I was looking forward to the moment of going to the Referees Association," confesses Hernández.
In this line, he adds that when he was little he didn't even think "half of half of half of what I have been able to live". To conclude, he has pointed out that as a referee he has learned to isolate himself from social networks to try not to pay excessive attention to criticism.
