Miguel Páez, representing the La Graciosa, Eighth Island platform, received the Gold Medal of the Canary Islands this past Tuesday. This platform arose to demand the recognition of La Graciosa as an "inhabited island" in the reform of the Statute of Autonomy that is now being processed in the Congress of Deputies. In 2014, its promoters obtained the support of all political forces in the Parliament of the Canary Islands for the recognition of the singularities of La Graciosa and the implementation of a Citizen Council.
A medal that was presented together with the Canary Islands Awards and other Gold Medals during a gala that took place this Tuesday at the Pérez Galdós Theater. The President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, highlighted in the speech given on the occasion of the institutional event of Canary Islands Day the importance of unity and dialogue to achieve common goals. "Our commitment to dialogue has placed us at the center of the State's political stage," said Clavijo, who remarked that, precisely from that union and that dialogue, the Canarians have shown that they are capable of facing challenges that would have made many societies give up.
"We are what we are thanks to our singularities, not in spite of them," continued the president of the Canarian Executive, "and although it has not always been easy for those differences to be understood, dialogue, building bridges, has helped us so that the Canary Islands today receive what it deserves, what corresponds to it; no more and no less."
Thus, he pointed out that in order to continue advancing, a civil society committed to common development is necessary, "a society that builds from the bottom up, that emerges strong and active without understanding large or small islands because when it acts, it thinks of the sum that makes the Canary Islands", and pointed to the awards and gold medals as an example of that society.
For this reason, the President of the Government asked that the citizens of the archipelago recognize themselves in the award winners and let go of any kind of complex, "because if we owe anything to anyone, it is to ourselves. There is no higher bar than our own achievements," he ratified.
"Effort and love, union and dialogue, the desire to build a country together," continued Fernando Clavijo, who advocated "bringing out those qualities that identify us and remembering that working together we are stronger. Let's not forget that the greatness of this land lies in the capabilities and successes of our more than two million Canarians."
Affirmation with which Maximiano Trapero agreed, who on behalf of all the award winners, urged the people who reside in the Archipelago to continue working to make the Canary Islands a territory of excellence.
Trapero, who had words for all the members of the jury and for those who proposed the winners, said that "celebrating the Canary Islands means proudly recognizing the identity of being and feeling Canarian."
The Canary Islands Historical Heritage Award assured that he was doubly fortunate to have two "mothers" roots, and thanked "the luck that brought me to the Canary Islands, where I have developed as a person."
The Institutional Act of Canary Islands Day has been developed in the Pérez Galdós Theater of the Gran Canaria capital, under the presidency of its owner Fernando Clavijo. During the ceremony, the Canary Islands Awards were presented, which, in this edition, have been awarded to Catalina Ruiz (Research and Innovation), the painter Paco Sánchez (Fine Arts and Interpretation) and the researcher Maximiano Trapero (Historical Heritage).
In the same way, during this act the Gold Medals of the Canary Islands were awarded, a distinction that is granted each year to people, corporations and institutions that, inside or outside the Archipelago, have made themselves worthy of the recognition of the Canarian people. On this occasion the medals have been awarded to the Association of Special Children of La Palma (NEP), Los Guaraperos, Ramón Padrón, the Collective of Affected People of the Old Town of Corralejo, Michelle Alonso, Israel Oliver, Basilio Valladares, Pinito del Oro, the Luján Pérez School, the citizen initiative "La Graciosa, the 8th island", the Club Baloncesto Canarias and the Club Balonmano Remudas Isla de Gran Canaria.
In the course of the act, there was also a musical show created specifically under the title 'Love for the Homeland', under the artistic direction of Israel Reyes. It is a multidisciplinary montage in which 40 artists participate, with the special collaboration of the singer Braulio and the Children's Choir of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Gran Canaria. More than 250 boys and girls belonging to this formation and to the artistic school Alexia Rodríguez, the Las Palmas Dance School and the "Silvia Barrera" dance school participated in the show.
The common thread is a narration that is sustained from the game of 8 words that define each island; these words form a musical piece created by Germán G. Arias to portray the sounds of this sensory journey.
The musical closing was in charge of the singer Braulio, who performed 'Patria Canaria', accompanied by the Alexia Rodríguez and Silvia Barrera Schools of Artistic Education.?
