With the reading of the proclamation by tenor Pancho Corujo Perdomo, the patron saint festivities of Arrecife in honor of San Ginés officially began this Friday. The institutional event took place at the Atlántida movie theater, beginning with the first deputy mayor and Councilor of Festivities of the City Council, José Alfredo Mendoza, who was in charge of welcoming the citizens and all those who visit the capital these days, also expressing his sadness for not being able to celebrate the festivities as they would have liked.
Thus, he reiterated that a "prudent and responsible" program has been chosen due to the health crisis, but "without losing its essence", recovering cultural, sports and leisure activities in general, complying with all prevention measures. Alfredo Mendonza also had a few words for the parish priest, Miguel Hernández, pointing out that he has been fundamental in the organization of the festivities, thanking him for his "invaluable collaboration" with the City Council and highlighting that he will be "greatly missed", since he is leaving for a new destination. "Here he leaves an indelible mark, in addition to many friends and parishioners who will always remember his time in our community."
The councilor also expressed his gratitude to Pancho Corujo Perdomo, for enthusiastically accepting the responsibility of being the town crier of the city where he was born and for not hesitating for a moment the day he called him by phone to propose this task. Mendoza said goodbye by calling on the responsibility of each and every citizen when it comes to enjoying some festivities that, although atypical, will be "the festivities of illusion and recovery."
Next, the mayor, Astrid Pérez, took the stage to read the biography of the town crier. "His voice, his ability to charm on stage, his knowledge, his overwhelming personality, but above all his good work in bel canto, have deeply penetrated Canarian society and culture followers in general, where he is considered one of the great references of the lyrical genre that this land has given birth to. Despite his importance in this complex field of art, I insist, reserved for a select few, for us he is still the same boy we saw taking his first steps in music, because our beloved Pancho belongs to an important saga, Los Corujo, among whom concert performers, luthiers, folklorists, virtuosos, musicians who stand out for their knowledge and skills have stood out and stand out, but above all for their humility and special talent," the mayor said.
In addition, she recalled that the town crier has already accumulated more than 15 years of career that have led him to perform under the orders of the best opera directors, such as Plácido Domingo, Jesús López Cobos, Phillipe Entremont, Josep Pons and Giancarlo Del Monaco.
After the presentation, the town crier took the floor, who began by pointing out that "for the first time in his life" he was behind the stage of a theater without "that nerve of waiting to go up to sing", without "the need to seek musical concentration" and without having to "vocalize a little". "After so many years of experience, I recognize that today I am much more nervous than in those days of concerts or opera performances, and it is because of trying to be fair and live up to the expectations and affection that the inhabitants of this small town of ours have shown me, not so much a town anymore, nor so small," he added.
"Thinking about what I could tell you here today, countless memories came to mind, mischievous and happy memories, which had their epicenter in a small doorway of the Plaza de la Constitución, which we all know as La Plazuela. Memories between adolescence and adult life that I now realize definitively marked this character who speaks to you here today, without knowing very well what he is doing, or why he has been given this luck and at the same time trap, of proclaiming his festivities, our beloved "Sangineles"," he pointed out, noting that he felt "as overwhelmed as grateful."
"I have preferred for today, to try to recover previous memories, of the child that I was, of a child and a city that grew connected to their traditions and their avant-gardes," he explained, adding that he is still "a big child." As a first memory, he referred to the roadside inn that Rafael Arráez set up on a vacant lot near the La Vidriera bar and in which he installed "an artifact that was causing a sensation: karaoke."
"I remember asking my father to take me, we took a walk around the fair and there we left my sister and my brother with my mother in the little cars. Imagine, a seven or eight year old boy, chubby, smiling and probably armed with a plastic gun and a Sheriff star on his chest, on stage singing Granada or Mexico Lindo y Querido. I still didn't understand the stimulus and attraction that music and the stage produced in me, but it was certainly already a necessity. Furthermore, at those hours still of the day, as the only spectators I had my father, Rafael behind the bar and a group of pigeons who enjoyed the show on the wall that faces Luis Morote street," he recalled.
"I was a very imaginative child and I saw the San Ginés fair as in the movies, huge. In my childhood fantasies I created daydreams that had to do with impressing some girl in the shooting range stalls, dressed in those fantasies with a baseball jacket and cap, and surely the girl would call me Bill or Jack, and I was blonde... in August in Arrecife." He also referred to the parrandas, the roadside inn on the Pescadería dock and all those who passed through there, such as "Los Toledo de La Graciosa with their particular folklore or Los Gurfines de La Vega singing in the roadside inn or in the Yacht Club. Also the voice and guitar of Paco Toledo -"whom I admired so much"- and Ramón Martínez together with Chente in La Democracia, "and more than once Ico Arrocha", as well as the Habaneras Festival of the Friends of Porto Nao and "the sound of Taillo's unmistakable voice."
He linked his passion for music to all of them, and also to the moments singing with his father, his brother Ciro, his sister Rosa, his cousins, the Mendoza brothers, Perico Orosa, or "the old Pepe Suárez "Grafiña", the lord of war, the last forito player with his bullet wounds in his leg and his inspiring way of narrating." He explained that he learned the first couplet of isa marinera that he remembers from him, and that he sang a cappella during his proclamation: "I do not say that my boat, is the best in the port. But I do say that it has, the best movements."
The town crier continued telling many more anecdotes and experiences from his childhood, and concluded by singing an excerpt from "Barranco de Abajo," by the great Canarian verse writer Yeray Rodríguez: "Because this landscape knows, much more about me than I do, before I was born and will be when I am finished, within its boundaries fits, what I have and what I gave, what I forgot and learned, what I receive and offer, what I celebrate and suffer, what I will be, am, and was."
With a Happy Holidays! he concluded his speech, receiving a warm and extensive applause from the public. Next, the mayor and the Councilor of Festivities presented him with the sculpture "Puente de las Bolas", a symbol of the city of Arrecife. In addition, Ástrid Pérez surprised the town crier by giving him some baby booties, because he will soon be a father.
The event ended with the performance of the Lanzarote Classical Orchestra, formed by the string quartet, three violins and cello, acting as soloists the soprano Desireé López and Pablo Araya Violín, who performed pieces by the composers Jean Sibelius, Haëndel, Massenet, Mozart, Astor Piazzolla and Arturo Márquez, performance that was highly applauded by the public that attended this opening ceremony of the capital's festivities.