Martín Rodríguez Camacho kicked off the Femés festivities this Wednesday with his proclamation, in which he shared with his beloved town, visitors and authorities present in the historic hermitage of the town, experiences of his childhood through the San Marcial festivities. These experiences were adorned with micro-stories about characters from Femés, which not only enriched the narration, but also made it much more enjoyable. In addition, the proclamation had touches of good humor, which on more than one occasion brought laughter from the public.
Martín Rodríguez drew in his retrospective that Femés very visited by pilgrims from all over the island and also from La Graciosa and Fuerteventura to honor the Patron Saint of Lanzarote and the Canary Islands. "I saw how those roads from Femés back to the church, those sharp slopes, the Castillejo slope, were filled with cars; and how around the cistern of the square were the camels huddled and lying on those flagstones of the street that went all the way around the church and square," said the neighbor in the proclamation.
Before, the mayoress of Yaiza, Gladys Acuña, had anticipated "the close emotional ties that unite the herald with Femés and his feeling of rootedness and affection for this piece of the municipality of Yaiza". Acuña, accompanied by the Councilor for Festivities, Javier Camacho, welcomed the herald and attendees to the opening ceremony of the Festivities, among whom were the vice president of the Island Council, José Juan Cruz, the mayor of Tías, José Francisco Hernández, councilors of Yaiza and public representatives from various institutions of the island.
From the humor of stories to old experiences of the festivities
The proclamation of San Marcial had time to focus on the popular humor of stories such as that of Doña Petra Figuera: "and speaking of donkeys, my grandmother had a very sweet donkey, which one day went to the enclosure of Doña Petra's potatoes, and seeing her ran to where my father Andrés was and said to him: so, so, so, where is the donkey, that your mother is in the potatoes?". And he also addressed longings for old celebrations of San Marcial where there was more participation of neighbors and more time dedicated to the preparation of the Festivities: ".From the month of May many of the women sent a brief telegram to the husbands who were embarked with the following phrase: in the month of May the naked girls and San Marcial on top and I thinking that San Marcial was a pervert". And so Martín Rodríguez kept the attention of the public until the end of his story skillfully combining his longings with the stories of characters from Femés.
Before saying goodbye there was a moment of great emotion when he quoted deceased neighbors of the town while the timple of the musician Gabriel Cubas sounded, who then offered a small equally exciting performance. This one counted with lyrics dedicated to San Marcial in the voices of the soloist Araceli Bravo and the small singers Auristela Cubas and Paola Vera, accompanied by the strings of Gabriel Cubas himself and the child Aarón Vera. Martín Rodríguez thanked the invitation of the City council of Yaiza exteriorizando the illusion that it produced to him and his relatives to be named herald of San Marcial 2017.
