Lanzarote-based artist Rufina Santana has been awarded in the Art and Culture category of the awards given by the magazine Más Mujer BPW Canarias.
As a visionary in the artistic field, Santana is the founder of the Escuela del Sol, a project that merges art, nature and spirituality. From her residence in Lanzarote, where her studio is also located, she leads the Lanzarote Art Center - Curbelo Santana Foundation project.
Together with Francisco Curbelo and Néstor Curbelo, the foundation carries out cultural projects and activities that enrich society through various artistic disciplines.
For the founder of these awards, Rita Calero Cordobés, "one of the objectives of these recognitions is to value and make visible the talent and contribution of women in the development of Canarian society, in this case, in the field of culture."
With a solid theoretical base supported by her technical knowledge in painting and more than four decades of professional experience, Rufina Santana, in addition to exhibiting her works, shares her knowledge through conferences and courses both nationally and internationally. She has taught at academic institutions such as the Faculty of Fine Arts of Barcelona, as well as at the Universities of Miami and Boston. In addition, she has provided private consulting courses aimed at both professionals and emerging artists.
A graduate in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona, Rufina Santana merges her academic background with the unique influence that Lanzarote has on her work. For this reason, she has received a Special Mention from the Cabildo of the island in the 2018 edition of the Isla de Lanzarote and Distinguished Tourism Awards, which recognizes her as an ambassador and one of the most internationally known Canarian artists.
The edition with candidacies from all the islands
More than fifty women from all the islands have been presented to these awards, considered the most prestigious in the Canary Islands not only for being a great event that annually brings together about 600 people at the Teatro Guimerá in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, but especially for being aimed at valuing and making visible female talent, its leadership, creativity, innovation and effort, generating important references for the women of today and the new generations," according to Rita Calero.
The Más Mujer- BPW Canarias awards, which will be held on March 6, have as ambassador the president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, for being the first woman to be at the head of the island's government in its more than 110 years of history. At the moment, these awards have the support of the Adjuntía de Igualdad del Diputado del Común, the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Cabildo de La Palma and financial entities such as CajaSiete and CaixaBank, among others.
Awarded women and entities
In the Woman and Tourism category, Pilar Parejo Bello, Director of Expansion in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Madeira of the Barceló Group, one of the most important Spanish hotel chains in the world, has been selected for her merits. Parejo has more than thirty years of experience in the private and public tourism sector, where she has held the highest responsibilities of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo of Tenerife, being a true pioneer in the creation and promotion of entities that positioned the island as one of the leading tourist destinations in the world.
For its part, the Woman, Science and Innovation Award has gone to Carina González, professor of the area of Architecture and Computer Technologies at the University of La Laguna. She is an "excellent researcher" and, recently, has been highlighted as one of the 14 Canarian scientists of the scientific elite among the more than 58,000 women who make up the body of researchers in Spain.
As for the Woman and Sport category in this edition, the players of Costa Adeje Tenerife Egatesa will be awarded, the only women's soccer team in the Canary Islands in the First Division that has become a true reference in an eminently masculinized sport, promoting the values of equality, sustainability, diversity and inclusion.
For its part, the Woman and Communication Award is for Noemí Galván Luis with an extensive professional career in different media, who has specialized in communication with a gender perspective, highlighting her public defense of Equality and against gender violence. Committed to her work, she reports from the Radio Televisión Canaria with the conviction of the need to find meeting points that favor the elimination of barriers that allow women to obtain greater personal growth, as well as insertion in the professional field.
From the island of Fuerteventura comes the Businesswoman Award for the majorera Teresa Torres Rodríguez, an indefatigable entrepreneur who has managed with great effort and tenacity to position her company Lavandería El Cardón as the number one in its sector in the Canary Islands. Her personal story is an inexhaustible source of inspiration marked by obstacles, but also by overcoming, hard work and unconditional love for the family.
Within the Woman and Primary Sector category, the award goes to the manager of the Regulatory Council of the Designation of Origin of the Wines of La Gomera, Nancy Melo Herrera, one of the pioneers in the island's wine sector, especially masculinized, where she has promoted multiple initiatives for improvement and differentiation in the elaboration and commercialization of the local product.
To all these categories is also added the Professional Career Award that this year recognizes Elena Gortázar Pérez-Armas who has dedicated her entire professional career to improving the quality of life of minors in situations of social vulnerability. She has contributed to create a legal framework, currently in force, to value and enforce the rights of children. She is a woman committed to the conception of women's empowerment through her active participation in organizations, publications and media presence.
Another of the important annual recognitions that are part of the Más Mujer BPW Canarias Awards is that of the Solidarity category which, in this fifth edition, goes to ACUFADE, an entity that works in the visibility and vindication of the rights of professionals who are dedicated to the care of people, a historically feminized group.
Finally, the Promotion of Women Award goes to the Gira Mujeres project, a training program that encourages women to realize their business ideas and reinvent their projects already underway. A support for female talent and equal opportunities that, in a context like the current one, seems more relevant than ever. Started in 2016, it is open to women between 18 and 60 years old, employed and unemployed, from cities and towns throughout Spain.
History of the Más Mujer Awards
Más Mujer is a Canarian publication aimed at the female public and whose priority is to give visibility to all those women who have stood out or stand out in the different areas of our society. This publication promoted the creation of the Más Mujer Awards in 2016.
"They are independent and autonomous awards, promoted exclusively by private initiative that aim to generate a sense of belonging and regional pride by making visible projects of impact led by women, most of the time totally anonymous", they have indicated in a statement.
Therefore, it is in the spirit of its promoters that the Más Mujer Awards become an opportunity to "rescue from anonymity examples of life of extraordinary women who, with their work, have generated and generate positive transformations in their environment and, therefore, in all the Canary Islands".
