Photo: Sergio Betancort.- Well, the San Ginés festivities have come to an end. Many have described these festivities as quite weak, to say the least, but many others have had a great time during the last two weeks. And not in vain, thousands of people have passed through the Covered Pavilion of the Fairground to witness a multitude of traditional and not-so-traditional events that have filled the program of the celebrations this year.
And Wednesday night was no exception. The Fairground was packed to the rafters to attend the traditional Festival organized by the Los Campesinos group. Hundreds of people crowded the venue and many had to stand.
Yesterday was the big day of San Ginés. And in addition to the solemn procession and mass held in the Parish of San Ginés, many citizens enjoyed the spectacular fireworks at the end of the night that bid farewell to the festivities until next year. Fireworks could be seen all along the maritime avenue, Playa del Reducto or Charco de San Ginés, and people did not miss the opportunity to see an impressive pyrotechnic show. And even though we may not agree on the success or failure of the festivities, defenders and detractors of the program prepared by the City Council enjoyed it like one of the fireworks.
The Arrecife Gran Hotel, for its part, offered lovers of strong emotions the possibility of contemplating the spectacle from the height of the Alta Mar restaurant, located on the top floor of the hotel complex. Its terraces delighted the spectators, because in the Arrecife Gran Hotel one can feel the force of the gunpowder a few meters away while enjoying a great wine or a good drink.
The experience was successfully resolved, because the hotel managers conscientiously prepared for the expected magical night. In the words of the hotel director, Don Miguel Álvarez: "it was a different sensation that only this building can grant, I had not seen a show like this".
On the other hand, yesterday was the day that was indeed the last musical act of the festivities. Despite being the big day for the faithful and for religious people, lovers of fun and revelry were also able to enjoy the festive program. The Fairground hosted the XVII Habaneras and Sea Music Meeting "Braulio del León" from nine o'clock at night. As guests to this great musical event, the last of these festivities, the singer from Catalonia Mar Endins attended, as well as the group Amigos de Portonao and the soloist Alborada Encarnación Rodríguez.
Finally, yesterday was also the day of the delivery of the trophies of the countless contests and sports tournaments, as well as games, that have been organized during the last two weeks in the capital.
Los Campesinos Festival
On the other hand, the great event on Wednesday was the XVI Campesino Festival, which took place, as usual, in the Covered Pavilion of the Fairground. This event was organized by the conejero group Los Campesinos, who, in addition to performing themselves, brought Benito Cabrera as a guest.
The response of the people of Arrecife was surprising with this penultimate artistic event of the festivities. And even, among the hundreds of attendees who crowded the Fairground, more than one foreign tourist could be seen, who did not want to miss the opportunity to see Canarian folklore on their vacations.
The Councilor for Festivities of the Arrecife City Council, Encarna Páez, also attended the event, who days ago stated in declarations to LA VOZ that she was very happy with the reception of the festivities, because despite the fact that many people have complained through sms messages to local television channels or through a survey carried out by the digital edition of this newspaper that the festivities were bad, the Fairground did not stop filling with people. "I don't think there is such a bad program, but people don't attend the events organized by the City Council," said the councilor, adding that "people from outside are the ones who are participating the most." "The important thing is that even if twenty people come, our satisfaction is that those who want to hear us come," said Páez after the celebration of the Gala Maesarpey, a musical association of which the councilor is a part.
After the end of the Festival, and taking into account that Wednesday was the eve of the big day, and as it could not be otherwise, the people of the city turned to the last night of their festivities and flocked to the great popular verbena in front of the Fairground, which featured the participation of several orchestras, which over the past two weeks have been enlivening numerous events organized by the City Council.
