Yaiza was fully reunited with Christmas this past Friday by inaugurating its Nativity scene again, a long tradition that could not be celebrated last year due to the pandemic. This was recalled by Daniel Medina, accidental mayor who began his speech apologizing for the absence of the southern president Óscar Noda for being traveling, showing his joy for this "reunion with the inauguration of our Nativity scene", while reflecting on "these blows of life" that serve to value more health, family, friends and meetings like this endearing celebration.
The event began with the arrival in the vicinity of the Rancho de Pascua de Yaiza, performing carols and imbuing the Christmas spirit to all the neighbors gathered there. A highly applauded performance that gave way to Medina's speech, in which he also recalled that this Nativity scene, the one with the greatest tradition on the Island, "is not only the representation of the birth of Jesus Christ, it is a tribute to the ingenuity and historical work of our people of Yaiza and Lanzarote and, of course, to the spectacular landscape of our land", thanking the Nativity scene artist Alexander Dorta and the entire team of municipal workers led by Baltasar Umpiérrez and Orlando Caraballo "who have been day after day dedicated to raising this Nativity scene, the most beautiful and visited in Lanzarote".
After the blessing of the portal by the new parish priest of Yaiza, Jonathan Almeida Romero, Medina pressed the power button filling with light every corner of the Island represented, embellishing even more this great creative work, a culminating moment that was accompanied by new musical interpretations typical of these dates by the Rancho de Pascua, passing after the performance to the visit of the Nativity scene by all the neighbors who gathered at this important event.
Composed of about 35 models of characteristic buildings of Lanzarote made by hand by Guelo Viñoly and dozens of figures, the work occupies an area of about 200 square meters in which the seven municipalities of the island are represented through their most emblematic temples. Despite the difficulty of surprising the public every year, Dorta manages to do it again on this occasion with a more faithful representation than in previous occasions of Timanfaya or the Charco de los Clicos, with artisan ceramic figures that represent traditional scenes, an exterior wall adapted to the vision of the little ones and recovering the character of the traditional Nativity scene of Yaiza guided by Orlando Caraballo and other municipal workers who have participated in this recreation previously.
After the visit, the attention was captured by the Christmas market installed in the Plaza de Los Remedios from 5:30 in the afternoon, with about fifteen stalls where neighbors and visitors could buy from typical products of the time to ornamental items, fashion and accessories or handicrafts until late at night, accompanied by the musical performances offered by students of the School of Folklore directed by Clotildo Martín, first alone and later accompanied by the Janubio Band, and then Los Salineros de la Hoya, a group invited by the program 'Navidad Isleña' organized by the Cabildo de Lanzarote together with the municipalities of the island' with the aim of bringing music and traditional culture to all corners of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, and who was in charge of closing the event.
Medina, who was accompanied at the event by other members of the southern Corporation, also thanked in his speech "all the music groups that adorn this night and all the artists who participate in the extensive program" and congratulated the neighbors on the holidays asking to live a Christmas "without relaxations", remembering that "if we take care of ourselves, we take care of the beings we love".
The City Council encourages you to visit its Nativity scene, which can be enjoyed until the month of January, and invites you to consult the intense program that will animate the festivities, available on the municipal website www.yaiza.es, appealing to citizen commitment in compliance and respect of the recommendations, restrictions and rules established by the competent authorities to stop the advance of the pandemic.
