IMAGES: Sergio Betancort
The Municipal Library of Teguise hosted last Wednesday the presentation of the second edition of the book "Women and Culture in the Canary Islands", by the Gran Canaria researcher María del Carmen Reina Jiménez. The event began at 8:00 p.m. and was held on the occasion of the Carmen festivities.
The author María del Carmen Reina, who prefers to be called a researcher rather than a writer, cited some of the stories of the 104 women from the Canary Islands who appear in her book. Women who had to fight hard to make their dreams come true in different fields such as painting, pottery, dance, theater or music.
The book includes the biographies of women from Lanzarote such as Esperanza Spínola, in the theater section, or the potter from Muñique, Dorotea Armas Curbelo. The author was researching in all the historical archives and libraries of the Canary Islands to be able to write this book. The work took her about six years. In addition, she highlighted that in the Historical Archive of Teguise she found "a lot of very valuable documentation."
During the presentation, the duo formed by Adrián Niz and Sara Bermúdez performed. The singer performed Armando Manzanero's well-known song "Contigo Aprendí" and Violeta Parra's song "Gracias a la Vida."
Later, the president of the Canary Islands Women's collective, Isabel Suárez Manrique de Lara, spoke, who not only gave some brushstrokes of the stories contained in the book, but also gave an extensive account of the difficulties suffered by women of the time for the simple fact of being a woman.
The Councilor for Culture, Olivia Duque, thanked the author for deciding to present this book in Teguise and presented her with a replica of the famous Diablete de Teguise, as well as a bouquet of flowers. The author was signing several copies among the public.
