The candidate of Unidas Sí Podemos for mayor of Arrecife, Nona Perera, has made a call for the "responsible management of the historical and cultural heritage of the city." Following the controversy generated and "the exchange of accusations" for the rehabilitation of the Hotel Oriental, the current director of Historical Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands has defended that this case cannot be "a reason for political confrontation."
Perera's statements arise in response to the dispute between the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the Arrecife City Council. The municipal body led by Astrid Pérez authorized in September 2021 the rehabilitation works of the Hotel Oriental of the capital. However, the Department of Historical Heritage of the Cabildo declared its precautionary halt. Not satisfied with the resolution, Arrecife took the case to court.
Last week the Contentious-Administrative Court number 1 of Arrecife sided with the Department of Historical Heritage of the highest island body. The Court considered proven the existence of values that justified the protection of the Hotel Oriental and revalidated the paralysis imposed from the Cabildo.
The candidate for mayor of Arrecife defends that the historical and cultural values of the city must be a matter of "general interest, consensus and dialogue." "Heritage is there to protect it and to value it, not to throw it at the head of the electoral opponent," said the archaeologist, who emphasized the importance of responsible and respectful management of Arrecife's cultural heritage as a necessary condition for the "dynamization of commerce and cultural life."
Regarding the future of the Hotel Oriental after the paralysis of its rehabilitation, Perera insisted on the "need" to intervene comprehensively in the aforementioned property, "respecting each and every one of its architectural values, both exterior and interior, without the need to make it a groundless fight.”
"The Hotel Oriental is part of our urban identity, of our collective memory and of our cultural wealth. Its recovery must be far from partisan struggles and political disputes, and be approached with an integrating and respectful vision of our past and our present," said the candidate of Unidas Sí Podemos during the first tour of the route 'Por Arrecife con Nona' held this Saturday.
This route, focused on showing the historical and heritage values of the city, toured during its first day the surroundings of the Charco de San Ginés, the Plaza de Las Palmas and part of Calle Real.
