The Canary Island flag has been flying since Monday in the Plaza Camilo José Cela in Villa de Teguise, after a symbolic act that marked the beginning of a series of proposals in honor of Canary Islands Day, which is commemorated on May 30.
The official chronicler of Teguise, Francisco Hernández, and Carmen Ramón Villalba, a member of the Esperanza Spínola theater group, recited a poem by José Betancor Cabrera, known under the pseudonym of Ángel Guerra, and a writer who in his book of verses entitled "Allá", written in 1902, dedicated some stanzas to the Canary Island flag (at that time bi-color): “You flaunt and boast with the most beautiful colors: White, with the white of glory, Blue, with the blue of the sky (…) Flag, virgin's mantle, I don't know how much I love you! You have no color of blood, you have the colors of the sky! (…) Flag of my loves, I only ask you one thing: give me your folds one day to wrap my body!”, they recite.
After the reading, the mayor of Teguise, Oswaldo Betancort, accompanied by his government team, raised the flag “against wind and tide, as a sign of respect for our Canary archipelago and the pride of living in a territory made up of eight wonderful islands with great natural, heritage and human wealth”, he said, after an act "that symbolizes the incessant struggle for the interests of the Canary Island community and all its inhabitants”.
Next, the mayor and the municipal councilors inaugurated the "Legacy" exhibition in the Plenary Hall of the Spínola Palace. A sample of the predecessors of Teguise's past, who marked the way, with a selection of costumes and images of the traditional clothing of all the folk and cultural groups in the municipality, as well as a sample of handcrafted objects of ceramics, openwork, embroidery, rosette, pita, old instruments, looms, tinplate, cochineal and objects and photographs of native sports such as hand ball and Canarian wrestling.
Oswaldo Betancort and the Councilor for Culture, Nori Machín, thanked “the care, generosity and respect of all the members of the cultural groups of Teguise, who have been kind enough to prepare this tour of the history and culture of our town” and invited “all the people of Lanzarote to learn a little more and better about the traditions that have marked the history of Teguise, and that are still alive thanks to a society very committed to its roots.”
The opening hours of the Casa-Museo del Timple exhibition will be in the morning (from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) from Monday to Sunday; and in the afternoon (from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) from Monday to Friday.
Program of events
The events of the Teguise Customs and Traditions Recovery program will continue on May 26 at the Casa de La Cultura with the Cultural Plan exhibition starting at 12 noon. On May 27, at 8:00 p.m., the book “Sin Género de Dudas” by Inés Rojas de León will be presented, and the violinist Iya Zhmaeva will perform at the Casa-Museo del Timple.
For Friday, May 28, at 11:00 a.m., a tasting of Canarian products is scheduled in the patio of the Casa-Museo del Timple; and at 5:00 p.m., the decision of the 1st Drawing Contest “The Canarian Identity”, in which the schools of the municipality of Teguise participate.
On May 29 there will be another tasting of Canarian products, the patio of the Casa-Museo del Timple; and at 9:00 p.m., concert by the Teguise Municipal Band and folk groups in the Santo Domingo Convent.
On May 30, on the occasion of Canary Islands Day, the mayor, Oswaldo Betancort, will send a congratulatory message to the residents of the municipality. And on June 3, at 9:30 a.m., the making of the salt carpets will begin with the participation of schools and cultural groups in the Plaza de los Leones.
In La Graciosa, on May 24, at 11:30 a.m., the Canary Island flag was raised on the pier; on May 29, at 11 a.m., the exhibition “Crafts of La Graciosa” will be inaugurated, and on June 4 and 5, at 7:30 p.m. will be the “Timple Encounter”, which will feature a performance by David Rodríguez “El Majorero” on the first day and by Josele del Pino on the second, also on the pier.
