Throughout history, the residents of Arrecife, whether native or long-term residents, have cared for, pampered, and protected "the port" as if it were our own home.
We have not done it out of whim, obligation, or legal imperative. Not even for the latter, which is so common when talking, gossiping, or reporting in very diverse forums about the capital and its current state with the political management behind it.
We have always boasted about our Charco de San Ginés, El Reducto, the immense possibilities of one of the most beautiful marinas in the world, while hiding and/or disguising that certain "shame" we feel when asked or talked about it. Beware, that shame I am writing about is not a feeling, it is an imposition... because Arrecife is unfair to us and forces us to lament when, deep down, what we should share with others should be compliments.
How many times have we passed by during visits from family or friends who do not reside on our island to avoid giving explanations about our capital?
Before, we could at least cross the Avenida Marítima and show them the Old Park, the Old Parador, the Government Delegation building, or our Castle of San Gabriel, they saw the tower of the Church of San Ginés in the distance and without going into detail, we defended the essence of an area with so many possibilities.
We have been deprived even of that, even of offering those who visit us a promise of a city that is not a city and much less a capital after having been the victim of the neglect of those who should have pampered it as it deserves.
And if the downtown area declines like an old queen who does not want to abandon her crown, the neighborhoods agonize without feeling that they are part of something bigger... they have grown with their backs to the center in a disconnection that leads us to think that they are not part of a whole, which ultimately leads us to think that Arrecife is not a city, despite being "the third capital of the Canary Islands".
You only have to visit the "other capitals" to realize how far we are from even reaching that future that we all want for Arrecife. Because wherever you go, there is dirt, decay, and sadness in a city more typical of an underdeveloped society than of the first world.
But? What am I saying?
I remember when my grandmothers and the neighbors went out to the street to sweep or scrub the sidewalks, when despite the poverty, Arrecife was a clean city. Which makes me reflect and feel that we are still a town of humble, honest, hardworking people... but above all patient, very patient. And it is that we, the people of Arrecife, must fight to improve and promote our city. Our town has always done it, all its life. We are the ones who have defended, generation after generation, the little we had and that political inefficiency has been taking away from us, consciously and gradually, over the years.
Now, what is left of that town, of that port that we dreamed would one day become a great city, not in size, infrastructure, or services, but for being our main sign of identity and pride and for growing at the pace of the needs of each and every one of us who strive every day to enjoy what Arrecife offers us?
Nothing... or very little.
At this point, a small reflection is necessary, because it must be clear that it is not Arrecife that is unfair to us, but those who manage it, those who champion progressivism tied to acronyms or ideologies within family clans who seek more their personal gain than the well-being of their neighbors, those who have irrevocably led us to the situation we find ourselves in with a more than clear deterioration of the institution they represent and which they do not seem to respect, and what is worse, those who have made it reach that kind of apathy or reluctance that makes us remain impassive despite the circumstances.
No, Arrecife is not a city because if those who are supposed to manage the city turn their backs on us... where is that city? How many of us feel that we are part of it?
Yes, elections are approaching.
It is time to recover what is ours. It is time to complain. It is time to reflect. It is time to demand justice for Arrecife, its neighborhoods, and its people to later boast, once and for all, of the more than deserved and FAIR denomination of "CITY OF ARRECIFE".
By Nayra Callero, Socialist Group for Lanzarote
