The appointment of Ico Arrocha as "Favorite Son of the island of Lanzarote" means finally institutionally recognizing one of the most important and influential singers of folk and traditional music of Lanzarote and the Canary Islands.
Born in Tías, Ico Arrocha's throat, sadly silenced today, was the voice that in the Canary Islands and beyond our borders, proudly boasted of our land of Lanzarote, when he sang a conejera folía.
He said that he learned to play the guitar as a child, in the canteen, in the barber shop and in the music school of Pedro, known by all as "Perico the lame".
He was never linked to any folk group, although he attended the rehearsals of the Ajei Folk Group of San Bartolomé, in which his girlfriend, whom he later married, Margarita Perera Betancor, did participate, until at the age of 20, in 1973, he surprised his brother-in-law, Tito Perera, director of the Ajei Folk Group, and performed with them for the first time, and almost by chance, before the public of the Jameos del Agua.
Ico Arrocha was an ambassador of our island in each and every one of his interpretations. Sometimes alone and, others, hand in hand with the Ajei Group, Guadarfía Group, the Lanzarote Trio with Chente García and Gerardo Corujo, singing seguidillas with Tito Perera and Sixto Acosta or folías with Domingo 'El Colorao', and many more that, fortunately, today we can continue enjoying on the networks.
Such is the case of the recording of September 5, 2014 with the soloist Héctor González, the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and the Choir of the Canary Night in Seguidillas del Salinero at the Fiestas del Cristo.
Unfortunately, Ico Arrocha was not present last Friday at the tribute to his figure that was held in the Cabildo of Lanzarote, but it was our turn to do justice to one of the most outstanding figures of Canarian folklore and our popular culture.
There were several albums, meetings, festivals and programs in which he participated and, thanks to these, his masterful voice can continue to sound for those who did not have the opportunity to meet him.
No one is immune to a folía sung in the way that Ico Arrocha did it, with that nobility that reflected his face and that smile, a reflection of a huge heart. That is what good people and great artists have, they stay alive when we listen to them, they continue to transmit good vibes and a huge sense of peace.
That's how Ico Arrocha was, pure nobility, a very great and beautiful person and, above all, a lover of his family and a friend of his friends. His voice admitted many adjectives and praises in the world of folk music in the Canary Islands: enormous, conejero voice, unmistakable, master, prodigious, exceptional, referent, grandiose...
He was... a nightingale, our nightingale. That is how another of our greats, Juan Brito, Favorite Son of Lanzarote, described him when after his departure he said: "The Canarian and world folklore is in mourning, it is crying because the nightingale of the song of all times has flown away, never to return."
But although Ico is no longer among us, his singing, his feeling and above all his love for the Canary Islands will always be present and will continue to excite many.
For what you were, are and will be for our land, I can only thank you, teacher, for leaving the mark you have left on our folk and traditional music of Lanzarote and the Canary Islands. And I only hope that in that step you sadly took, your voice will continue to sound. As you yourself said, "what is appreciated is what is not expected".
Your well-deserved tribute coincides with the celebration of Canary Islands Day, the day of our land. A day to reflect and remember our roots, our culture and our idiosyncrasy.
Happy Canary Islands Day!!
