The traditional Municipal Nativity Scene of Arrecife was inaugurated this Friday in its new location: the Mercadillo de la Calle Real, an emblematic building ceded by the Cabildo de Lanzarote to the City Council to house this Christmas tradition. It should be recalled that the island's first institution purchased this property from businessman Juan Francisco Rosa for more than 2.5 million euros.
Mayor Yonathan de León (PP), and the deputy mayor of the city, Echedey Eugenio (CC), thanked the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort (CC) - also present at the event - for the transfer of the property and agreed in highlighting that "this new location will make it easier to further appreciate the artistic work of Juan José Torres, Tejure; its creator".
Both thanked the artist and worker attached to the City Council's Festival Department, as well as the staff of the company hired to carry out the assembly, for "the excellent work done" in perfectly fitting each piece to the unique characteristics of the emblematic building.
Evocative Elements
They also highlighted that the new location places the Municipal Nativity Scene in "a central, accessible, historically rich space," and that "it is part of our heritage and our identity," in line with the evocative elements that make up the Nativity.
In fact, the volcanoes, the whitewashed houses, the fishing boats, the coastal villages, the pits of La Geria, the volcanic ash, the stone walls, the palm trees… each motif of the Nativity scene evokes the human, material, and intangible heritage of the island whose capital is Arrecife.
Technical Challenges
With a surface area of 120 square meters, the installation of the Nativity scene "has involved the logical technical challenges associated with intervening in a historic building, in addition to those that have arisen from assembling it in a discontinuous area made up of nine independent spaces," explains Tejure.
"But I would say that the integration and final adaptation to the property has been remarkable," says the mastermind, along with Pedro Villalba, of the Nativity scene that has graced Arrecife's Christmas for the past five years, and which "beyond reproducing specific places, immediately makes the Island's idiosyncrasy recognizable."
Chinijas and chinijos
The event was also attended by the parish priest of the Church of San Ginés, Juan Carlos Medina, as well as public representatives from both the Arrecife City Council and other institutions, and a large audience.
He highlighted the essential collaboration provided by the present children, in the opening of the doors that give access to the Nativity scene, whose visiting hours are from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM, except on the 24th and 31st, when it will close at 5:00 PM
