Photos: Sergio Betancort
Teguise pays a simple but emotional tribute to the former titular priest of the only parish in which he exercised his pastoral mission for 41 years, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, José Fajardo Morales. Born in Betancuria, Fuerteventura, he was ordained a priest on December 17, 1927. He was a man who was not limited to being a spiritual father but contributed to making youth more cultured, healthier, not only of the soul but of the body. Getting Teguise to shine with its own light in all fields, during almost half a century that he served as a priest he recovered many of the traditions of the island.
An enterprising man, he directed plays, bought a movie machine and devoted himself completely to various cultural events. The residents of Teguise say that "he worried a lot about young people, helping them to study, on many occasions he used his contacts in Las Palmas to facilitate the stay there of many who wanted to pursue university studies." Bishop Infantes Florido appointed him Honorary Canon of the Cathedral, he was chaplain of Nuestra Señora de Las Nieves and chaplain of the Dominicas de Arrecife. In his record there are many good works that the people of Teguise, no matter how many years pass, will always be very grateful for.
For all these reasons, the residents of Teguise, Cáritas Parroquial, Grupo de Teatro Esperanza Spínola and the Agrupación Folklórica Guanapay decided on Thursday night to pay him this heartfelt tribute as a thank you. The act began with the screening of a video where the Official Chronicler of Teguise, Francisco Hernández, made an exhaustive biography of the honoree. Then Nicanor Bermúdez Páez, current parish priest of Teguise, thanked the initiative of paying this tribute to the mission carried out by José Fajardo, then giving the floor to the priest, Olegario Peña Vega, 91 years old, who was in charge of taking care of José Fajardo until his death.
Afterwards, the members of the Guanapay folklore group made their entrance into the church singing a carol, with the actors of the Esperanza Spínola theater group taking over, staging the play, The Childhood of Jesus or Auto de Reyes. This work was brought from Betancuria by José Fajardo, who did everything possible to have it premiered in Teguise on January 5, 1961.
The tribute also had charitable purposes and many of the people who attended collaborated by bringing non-perishable products destined for the neediest families in the municipality.