Photos: Sergio Betancort
On the occasion of the maritime procession in honor of the Virgen del Carmen of the parish of Valterra, Pablo Antonio Díaz, popularly known as Patoño, installed an exhibition with about 40 models of ships to real scale at the entrance to the pier of Puerto Naos with the help of family and friends and before the expectation of the numerous public that during the day of Sunday met in the port enclosure. The models are part of a collection, in which the ships that were vital worldwide are recreated.
Pablo Antonio Díaz 'Patoño' combined from a very early age his work in the family blacksmith shop with naval repairs, which abounded at that time thanks to the large naval and fishing fleet of Lanzarote. However, after a few years, it was diminished by the hasty departure of the canning factories that had been installed on the island, being forced to resume his work in the blacksmith shop.
Despite this, in his mind he always carried the passion of the marine world and, after a while, he expressed it with dedication and enthusiasm in naval models. In his numerous creations you can find a great variety of baviós with considerable importance for the subsistence and progress of Lanarote and vital worldwide: tugboats, coastguards, submarines, as well as ships that have been the cover of newspapers such as the Prestige, Greenpeace, Telamón, Nuestra Señora de la Luz, etc. All these works have been acquiring a very particular name, which Pablo Luis Díaz with affection and care has been labeling with names of family and friends in a gesture of great friendship.
Little by little, these models have been coming to life in the family premises located in Puerto de Naos where more than 40 years ago Pablo Luis Díaz worked in his trade as a blacksmith and where now, with his own hands and using much imagination and mastery, he is shaping those models built from just a block of raw wood. After years of valuable craftsmanship, this miniature naval fleet is presented as one of the most extensive in the Canary archipelago.
