The Plaza de El Varadero hosted this Thursday the opening speech of the festivities in honor of the Virgen del Carmen offered by Antonio García González, El Chispa, which was full of numerous memories and experiences about the festivities of yesteryear. The event was also attended by the mayor of Tías, Pancho Hernández, and the Councilor for Festivities, Francisco Javier Aparicio, as well as other councilors and members of the corporation.
"At the age of 13 or 14, I already started helping the organizers of the festivals, looking for drums, palm leaves, opening holes, etc., to be able to banner the town. That was the first act of the festivals, then it continued with the children's games (...) or the famous fights of the singles against the married men, or against another town", recalled the town crier.
El Chispa took a tour of the evolution of the festivals of Puerto del Carmen or La Tiñosa, as he likes to call his town, in the last 40 years and detailed numerous anecdotes and mischief that he and other well-known young people of the town did, especially in the 70s and 80s. Thus, El Chispa recalled the fun fights "in the courtyard of the school on Bajamar street or in the alley between the house of Manuela, that of Gabriel and that of Juan Montelongo (Larin)".
"I have been baptized twice by a priest"
During the proclamation, Antonio García explained where the name El Chispa comes from. "Surely none of you have been baptized twice by a priest, well, I have, first with holy water and, on the second occasion, with three bumps, which every time I remember it my head hurts." Thus, the town crier recalled that "one day he was late for religion classes pushing and that when he reached the priest, he gave him three bumps, while saying spark, spark, you are a spark (...) and until today".
In addition to the laughter that spread to the public, Antonio García also managed to excite by remembering his longed-for mother. Just this Thursday, El Chispa, who was turning 60, also saw the dream of being the town crier of the town where he was born fulfilled.
Before saying goodbye, Antonio García referred to the old stalls, the parties and the subsequent festivals, as well as the sardine grills or fried tuna, since the traditional sancocho was not made before. Finally, El Chispa, who was also accompanied by his family, asked his neighbors to be "good hosts with those who visit us", and to all, tiñoseros and visitors, he invited them to "enjoy our parties with joy and respect".
After the proclamation, the Plaza de El Varadero hosted the lively performance of the parranda "El Geito".
