Photos: Sergio Betancort
"Today, the Plenary of the Arrecife City Council has the wonderful opportunity to, as I said before, ennoble itself by recognizing the merits and values of César Manrique Cabrera by granting him, posthumously, the distinction of considering him a Favorite Son," exclaimed the mayor, Eva de Anta, before a crowded plenary hall.
The Extraordinary Plenary Session of the Arrecife City Council, presided over by its highest representative, unanimously approved granting César Manrique the honorary title of Favorite Son of the city. "Today, as mayor of the city, I have the honor and privilege of proposing to those who make up the corporation that they add their votes for the unanimous recognition of such distinction," added Eva de Anta.
The mayor of Arrecife read the resolution proposal ratified this Friday by all political groups in an extraordinary plenary session:
"To name Don César Manrique Cabrera, posthumously, Favorite Son of the city of Arrecife, for the relevance of his professional career, which represented an innovation in painting, architecture and urban planning, particularly in the city of Arrecife, where he was born, but also on the island of Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands and in other parts of the national and international geography."
"For the notable merits that exist in his figure as a painter-sculptor architect-urban planner and also as an activist, recognized by various institutions and groups that have expressed their support for this recognition, highlighting the exceptional circumstances that have marked his extensive and fruitful work."
Activism and generosity. As Eva de Anta pointed out, the multifaceted artist (painter-sculptor-architect-urban planner) was also able to cultivate his facet as an activist in the broadest and most complete sense of the term.
"César forced a society immersed in a vertiginous present to reflect on the uncertainty of its future, relying solidly on a past that could not and should not be ignored," he recalled.
"Just as he was able to warn about the threats that awaited around the years, just as he had the vision that allowed Lanzarote to place itself at the forefront in the intelligent use of the territory and its landscapes, César had the foresight to consider that in order for his legacy to be for everyone, it could not remain in no man's land and, with that generosity that demands to be recognized, he constituted the Foundation that bears his name, instituting it as the universal heir and administrator of that legacy," added the mayor.
After the mayor's speech, the spokespersons of the different parties took the floor, Andrés Medina from Vecinos Unidos, Delia Hernández from Ciudadanos, Leticia Padilla from Podemos, Borja Rubio from Somos, Ástrid Pérez from the PP, Samuel Martín from Coalición Canaria, Eli Mesa from the Mixed Group and Jimena Álvarez from the PSOE.
A plenary session attended by numerous public, including César Manrique's relatives, his brother Carlos and his nephew Eduardo, as well as the president and director of the FCM, José Juan Ramírez and Fernando Gómez Aguilera. In addition, there were also members of the Cabildo Government group and opposition councilors, as well as prominent members of Lanzarote society.
