The artisan from Uga, Isidro Viñoly, unveiled his 100-kilo iron sculpture in homage to the Timanfaya camel, which has adorned the town square where he was born since this Friday. Viñoly, who from an early age had creative concerns, with his father Chalo, another renowned southern artisan, as a reference, was accompanied by family members, Timanfaya camel herders and the mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda.
Noda thanked the creator "for the gesture of dedicating himself to sculpting a work that will be a source of admiration for locals and visitors." In this way, Uga opened the twelfth edition of the San Isidro Labrador Livestock Show, an event organized by the Yaiza City Council with the support of the Cabildo of Lanzarote to recognize the strength of the primary sector and its contribution to the island's economy.
"Two years ago I told Gladys (Acuña) about the project and she told me to go ahead," the artisan recalled when he decided to materialize his idea. The camel or the she-camel, because he prefers not to assign it a gender, is full of surprising details in its head, teeth and anatomy, with a particularity with which Isidro Viñoly wants to record that it is a tribute aimed at the animals that take tourists for walks in the Timanfaya National Park, and it is none other than the English saddle where hundreds of people will surely sit to take photos. "The sculpture is made of oxidized iron and then I gave it a touch of varnish that I will retouch when necessary."
The Timanfaya camel herders were pleasantly surprised with Isidro Viñoly's sculpture. His father, also proud of the work, recalled times when Isidro and his brother, as teenagers, earned the motorcycle of their dreams by working in record time to make ten English saddles for camels commissioned by him. Isidro still has some youthful marks left by the radial on his forearm.
Camel herding experience
With 30 years working in Timanfaya, Toño Morales is an authoritative voice to talk about the sustainable experience of camel herders in the Mountains of Fire. Morales in a relaxed chat made a historical tour from the arrival of the camel five centuries ago to Lanzarote, going through its importance in agricultural tasks, construction of the island landscape and tourist attraction, leaving some notes on the importance that the camel has had and has outside the Canary Islands. "The camel is a strong, noble animal, so noble that it lies down to facilitate the load, which has been essential in Lanzarote for harvesting, plowing or threshing. The Island cannot be explained without the strength and loyalty of the camels."
The afternoon in Uga focused on the figure of the camel continued with the presentation of the municipal project to create the Interpretation Center of the Canarian Camel designed for 'Casa Celodonio', a building located just in front of the town square. The architect Gregorio Prats explained the characteristics of this ambitious initiative that aims to disseminate the historical and current value of the camel and also become the starting point of the 'Camel Trail' route through the El Chupadero mountain of La Geria, understood as an activity that will diversify camel rides in Timanfaya. The rehabilitation of 'Casa Celedonio', preserving its heritage value, and the extension with an annex facility is budgeted at 450,000 euros, not including the furniture and multimedia equipment demanded by an interpretation center. The Yaiza City Council commissioned the project and is working on its development.
