The mayor of Puerto de la Cruz, Marco Antonio González, visited the headquarters of the César Manrique Foundation (FCM) last Friday, "the institution that preserves, cares for and promotes the artistic legacy of the Lanzarote native who, in the late 60s, projected on a napkin what later became the flagship of the tourist town, Lago Martiánez".
During this visit, on his first official trip outside of Tenerife, González held a meeting with the director of the FCM, Fernando Gómez Aguilera, and both showed their enthusiasm "for the recovery of relations that have been practically broken for years," according to the FCM.
"From this new government, we are especially excited, from a cultural, historical and artistic point of view, to restore the fluid and open dialogue with the FCM to work side by side and thus highlight all the possibilities that César's work gives us in our municipality, which continues to contribute like no other to the unique identity of our city from every point of view," said the mayor of Puerto de la Cruz
A program to honor Manrique
One of the first actions set by both institutions is the design of the program to honor César Manrique on the centenary of his birth. "We are working against the clock from the City Council to ensure that this year the figure of César can be remembered and respected as the beacon that was, is and will be for a municipality that he transformed with his universal message of progress and respect," said González.
To this end, the mayor announced the convocation for this Thursday, September 5, of the first meeting of a commission composed of personalities and groups from the city to combine ideas that have a place in this special year in the work of Manrique in Puerto de la Cruz. The Foundation has made itself available to the City Council to collaborate in the design of the commemorative events.
According to the FCM, the mayor of Puerto de la Cruz made it clear during his visit that this commitment will be transferred in the form of an institutional motion that will be presented in plenary session so that, far from a simple verbal commitment, it is agreed and guaranteed from budgetary obligations to the proper maintenance of the work.
Letter of apology and recovery of El Róbalo
Likewise, the institution that watches over the legacy of César Manrique affirms that González handed over a letter to the director of the Foundation in which, "in addition to offering institutional apologies for the treatment given to it, it intends to serve as an incentive to accelerate all the steps that lead to the recovery of the sculpture of El Róbalo, a toy of the wind that the municipality lost years ago." "This is a popular demand to which we are already giving full response and we have no doubt that El Róbalo will be back with us sooner rather than later," he said.
The mayor of Puerto de la Cruz pledged to involve the FCM in all decisions, both municipal and from other administrations, when it comes to initiatives that have to do with César's work. Without going any further, "González regretted that during the processes that have given rise to projects already awarded for renovation and improvement, the FCM has not even been consulted," the institution states.
"The municipality itself, beyond the invaluable work carried out by the FCM, must be the first defender of the integrity of Manrique's work, which, of course, must be maintained and improved, but in no case endangered as has unfortunately been happening not only in Playa Jardín but also in the swimming pool complex of Lago Martiánez," said the mayor of Puerto de la Cruz.
Protecting Manrique's legacy
According to the FCM, both González and Gómez Aguilera agreed that respect for the sensitivity that Manrique's work distills should be the way to protect this legacy of the visionary artist from Lanzarote, "who achieved the perfect balance between nature, art and urbanism for the enjoyment of everyone".
In this regard, it is pointed out that the mayor of Puerto de la Cruz stated that the commitment that this government team has initiated "is irreversible", since he is sure that this process of rapprochement towards the Foundation should be "the hallmark" of the portuense policy from now on. "Because what César gave us in the form of a historical, artistic and cultural legacy must be pampered by every portuense, and even more so those of us who have public responsibilities, as if our lives depended on it, because if we do not respect ourselves, who will?", he pointed out.
