The Arrecife City Council will dedicate the entire next year 2024 to commemorate the '225th anniversary' of the founding of the capital of Lanzarote. The municipality had its origin on December 27, 1798, where, by vote, the first mayor and his councilors were elected. On that day, according to the documents provided this Wednesday at the institutional act held at the Agustín de la Hoz House of Culture, the activity of the new municipality began on January 1, 1799.
Mayor Yonathan de León presided over the institutional act on Wednesday night where the commemoration of this important anniversary in the history of Arrecife began. The entire Municipal Government Group and the representatives of all political parties present in the capital Corporation were present with the mayor. The president of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, and former mayor of Arrecife, Astrid Pérez, was present at the official act.
Several former mayors of the city attended the act, following invitations from the mayor's office, as well as the accidental president of the Cabildo, Jacobo Medina, and presidents of associations, groups, and social agents of Arrecife and Lanzarote.
The director of the Municipal Archive of Arrecife, the well-known historian, researcher, and writer Benchomo Guadalupe, offered a documented talk about the origin of the city, its consolidation as a port and commercial enclave, and detailed the events that allowed the founding of the municipality on December 27, 1798, after the creation of the parish of San Ginés, on June 25 of that same year.
The prior existence of the parish, under the patronage of San Ginés Obispo, made possible the founding of the municipality of Arrecife, as accredited by Benchomo Guadalupe in his speech at the official act.
Very precisely, the director of the archive conveyed the details of the first votes with the designation of Lorenzo Cabrera López as the first elected mayor of Arrecife, and the councilors who were part of his Corporation.
Benchomo Guadalupe remarked that the "great strength that the Port of Arrecife had as a commercial port in the exports of barilla, cochineal, wines, fish, and sea salt, made possible the settlement of families in the surroundings of the Charco de San Ginés and the Marina", in front of which the "first port of La Cebolla, the germ of port expansion" was built.
New brand of the '225th anniversary'
The act has allowed the unveiling of the new brand of the '225th anniversary' and the actions that are being put in place, and others to be developed throughout 2024. Mayor Yonathan de León detailed in his speech that "very accurately, the official image of the '225th anniversary' merges the bell tower with the Puente de Las Bolas, and the sun that appears every day in front of our marina. Three elements that symbolize Arrecife."
"History, continued the mayor, tells us that the original project of the church of San Ginés had two towers and bell towers. But the money of the time was not enough to erect the second one. And so, that bell tower has been the highest building that Arrecife has had in these two long centuries of history, until the late 60s with the construction of the Gran Hotel."
The mayor detailed that the city will dedicate, from now on, and throughout the next twelve months, many acts to highlight this history of the Port of Arrecife during these 225 years.
Arrecife received the 'Royal Cédula of King Charles IV' authorizing the creation of the municipality. It was November of the year 1798. Before, communications were not so instantaneous, and it took time to reach the island this designation. In the capital, the good news always arrived through the port. "That same port that throughout 2024 will be valued", emphasized the mayor.
Yonathan de León announced that he has "sent to Coasts the request for the integral renovation of the José Ramírez Cerdá Park, the oldest in the city and accompanying La Marina". There was the first port enclave.
The city council informs that this project has been "approved by Heritage", and has the "financial file" to undertake the integral rehabilitation as soon as "the approval of Coasts arrives, because as those present here know, the tide reached there and all are lands won from the sea", pointed out the mayor.
Arrecife, with the approval of the municipal budgets, has planned with its own resources and the collaboration of other island and Canarian administrations, "to open to the sea the primitive dock of Puerto Naos". "The garden project for that area contemplates it, and is in pre-drafting".
The mayor concluded the act, emphasizing that the "current House of Culture is part of our past, which has bequeathed us more than two centuries of history, and here was the Consistorial House for decades".
During the intervention, the mayor had "emotional" words for outstanding sons born in Arrecife who have been part of the history of the city, and cited: the only Canarian who until now has belonged to two Royal Academies, the RAE and the Royal Academy of History, Francisco Fernández Bethencourt. To the father of magnetism in Spain, and the promoter of modern physics, Blas Cabrera Felipe. He highlighted the genius of ecology, César Manrique.
In addition, he had praise for the architects of the first seawater desalination plant in European territories, the brothers José and Manuel Díaz Rijo. He highlighted the humanity and dedication of the father of family medicine in Lanzarote, Dr. José Molina Orosa.
In the relationship, he highlighted one of the outstanding figures of journalism and to whom the name of Culture has been dedicated, Agustín de la Hoz. For her part, of the singer Rosana Arbelo he said that, from her native neighborhood of La Vega, she has "spread her talisman of overcoming throughout the world". He spoke of the actress Goya Toledo or the film costume designer Paco Delgado, winner of several 'Goyas', and a good representative of Spanish talent in the 'Oscars'. And he concluded this relationship, highlighting the 'Arrecife Tourism Award 2023', to the great international referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández, born in Arrecife. Of all he emphasized that they are "united and have left their mark on the history of Arrecife throughout these 225 years".
Remembering that we are in Christmas dates and the welcome to 2024 will be given, the mayor closed his speech at the act indicating that his Government group, and the Municipal Corporation, "will join forces to continue rowing to aspire to the best for the capital".
The musical performance of the timplista 'Benito Cabrera' brought the closure to this institutional act at the beginning of the 'commemoration of the 225th anniversary'.
