Nativity scenes have become, around the world, one of the key elements of Christmas. Since in 1223 Saint Francis of Assisi made a first representation in a cave near the hermitage of Greccio, in Italy, of the birth of Jesus Christ, this action has become a tradition that has acquired its own peculiarities depending on the place.
In Provence, in the south of France, the nativity scenes include hundreds of figures that represent all the traditional trades and professions of the region; in Catalonia, the "caganer" is included, which represents a peasant defecating as a reference to the agrarian cults related to the fertility of the field; and in areas of Latin America and the Canary Islands, the figure of the Child Jesus is always placed after the arrival of Christmas, once "he is born".
Also in the Canary archipelago you can find multiple ways to make this evocation of birth, ranging from living representations to those made with sand.
In the specific case of Lanzarote, the island, for many years, has adopted the technique of making large nativity scenes where each municipality represents itself, recreating the landscapes and buildings of each of them and accompanying them, in some cases, with recreations of traditional conejero lifestyles or crops typical of the territory.
Tías, bigger and bigger
In the municipality of Tías, both the main portal and the one located in the center of Puerto del Carmen are made, for eighteen years, by the local council worker Luis Acuña.
Together with the Roads and Works staff and some volunteers, Acuña has been "making the town known and spreading its peculiarities" through his models, which total 25 plus the characters.
"When I was little I made the nativity scene in my house with my family, and when I grew up, as I also do the stage for the Carnival of Puerto del Carmen, the council proposed me to take charge of this Christmas representation," recalls the creator.
The artist indicates that the most complicated part of nativity scene making is the effort it entails: "It is not only thinking of a novelty every year to make it attractive, but also reviewing the models that may have been damaged by the passage of time or the humidity of the rain, thinking about how to add water, lights...". However, all that work is rewarded "when people visit and enjoy it".
In this 2022, the Tías nativity scene -located in the Plaza de la Iglesia de San Antonio- has the peculiarity of being a little bigger than the one in 2021, a fact that has been happening for some Christmases, with the aim that, each time, it has a larger size.
San Bartolomé, "simplicity" as a banner
In the case of San Bartolomé, since 2007 the artist César Corujo is in charge of representing "his place": "Every year I make the design and bring it to reality with the help of my team".
The also artistic creator of the local council, explains that this nativity scene is characterized by its "simplicity", through which "reproductions of the island's landscape and replicas of emblematic houses are made". In addition, since last year, it also includes a miniature of the Farmer's Monument.
As a novelty, this 2022 has added an "invented" version of the manger, a fountain and the Casa Ajei.
Like his counterpart in Tías, Acuña confirms that the most difficult part of being a nativity scene maker is in "having to go against the clock": "Every year we make the representation in a different way, you are innovating, doing new things, changing places for others... I enjoy doing it very much, but it is complicated due to the little time we have".
A deeply rooted tradition
Despite the difficulties, the artist from San Bartolomé also highlights the enjoyment of the people when making the traditional conejera nativity scene route.
"This custom is going to continue to be maintained for many more years because both the institutions and the neighbors are very involved. Throughout the national territory in general, not only in the Canary Islands, it is very rooted, so I think it will last much longer," defends Corujo.
For his part, Acuña agrees, stating that, on each new occasion, "we are lucky enough to see the squares full during the inaugurations of each municipality, a fact that is also maintained throughout Christmas".
