Arrecife is much more than its port, its white houses or its urban layout. It is its seafaring history, its traditions, its people. It is the memory of the afternoons in the Ramírez Cerdá Park, the conversations in the shade of the palm trees in the Plaza de las Palmas, the hot afternoons and the children on the Puente de Las Bolas or the facades that have witnessed entire generations. All of that is part of who we are.
And, for a long time, we were losing it. The rush to move forward, the lack of care or, perhaps, indifference, made us forget how important it is to preserve what makes us unique. But now we see signs that we are looking back inside, towards what really matters.
The upcoming rehabilitation of the Plaza de las Palmas and the Ramírez Cerdá Park are not just public works. They are a declaration of intent. They are an effort to recover spaces that have always been ours, to restore the prominence they deserve in the daily life of the city. They are, in essence, an act of respect for who we were and for who we want to be.
A few years ago, talking about protecting our heritage seemed like a utopia. Today, the processing of a Catalog of Real Estate and a future planning instrument is a reality that gives us hope. It is not just about preserving buildings; it is about preserving our collective memory, about keeping alive the places that tell us who we are.
What is most exciting is that, after a long time, we see the people of Arrecife excited. It is not just that the streets are more cared for or that urban projects are moving forward. It is that we are beginning to believe that Arrecife can once again be a city that represents us, a city that we can be proud of. Arrecife is beginning to "Lanzarotize".
I don't want this opportunity to be lost. Our heritage, both tangible and intangible, is not a luxury or a relic of the past. It is the soul of our city. And taking care of it is not just an act of nostalgia; it is an investment in our future, and also our duty.
Arrecife is on the road to rediscovering itself. But there is still much to do. We have to continue looking at our public spaces, our traditions and our history as what they are: the fundamental pieces of our identity.
A city that loses its heritage is a city that loses its identity. Arrecife, on the other hand, is showing that it is not willing to forget who it is.
Let's continue building together, because what is at stake is not only our past, but also our future.
