The Councilor for Culture and Heritage of the Teguise City Council, Olivia Duque, together with the Councilor for Social Services, Nory Machín; and the official chronicler of Teguise, Francisco Hernández, presented the project "The memory of our elders as a heritage of sustainability" at the Municipal Theater of La Villa, together with one of the organizers of the proposal, Leonor Hernández, from Tágora Estudios e Intervención Social at the Municipal Theater of La Villa.
This project will culminate on Friday the 13th, starting at 9:30 a.m., when a group of 43 children from Soo and Los Valles will tour the streets of La Villa with five elders from the municipality. According to the City Council, "these guides will explain to them, among other experiences, that crises can be overcome, that they have always existed and that solidarity is the best way to overcome them."
The children will depart from Las Caleras and tour ten points in La Villa. The elders, who are between 64 and 81 years old, will explain to them trades that existed before; how the houses were built; the importance of some buildings; how a day passed in Teguise; or how resources were used. Each guide has chosen the points to narrate the route based on their memories.
The project director, Leonor Hernández, explained that "the work began in November 2012. In the first part, we conducted an investigation, interviewing elders from the municipality. In the second part, we worked with the material to create an assembly and in the third place, a group of five elders were prepared to teach them how to be guides (the content of their speeches, adapting their language to children, how to tell experiences in a richer way?); and finally, the didactic units were carried out to develop them in the schools."
The children, who are 8 to 12 years old, will learn, according to Hernández, to "recover useful learning for a critical present, the solidarity that existed before, the exchange of work between neighbors, the recycling of tools, readjusting the economy of a house; or saving resources, which was previously practiced naturally, will expose aspects that should return and probably help society to get out sooner and have a better time during this time of crisis."
The councilors indicated that this proposal can be repeated if any other center is interested. For this, they can contact the Heritage Area of the Teguise City Council.