As the commemoration of Canary Islands Day approaches, the institution that I am honored to preside over, the Order of the Canary Puppy in Lanzarote, addresses the public officials of the island and reminds them that the Order is a cultural association whose ideology is to rescue, live, transmit and defend the Canarian identity and the customs and traditions of the Islands. Therefore, we take care to ensure the conservation and dissemination of issues related to the hallmarks of Canarian identity: customs and popular traditions, language, music, traditional culture, etc.
Modestly, we believe that the Order in Lanzarote has been contributing to conserve, investigate and promote various cultural manifestations, and to prevent the disappearance or deformation of cultural heritage. Thus, out of a sense of responsibility to the public, out of commitment to our ideology and in order to contribute as much as possible to the improvement of the aspects included in the aims and objectives of our association, we annually develop and/or participate in a series of periodic activities, such as Canary Islands Day, the salt carpets of Corpus Christi, the celebration of the Equinox, the Day of the Cross, the Pilgrimage of Los Dolores, San Andrés and the wine harvest or the Ranchos de Ánimas for the Day of the Finaos.
However, we have set ourselves other objectives that overwhelm us because they are the responsibility of the Public Administrations, such as giving continuity to the Project of Dissemination of Agricultural Works among the school population in the Agricultural Museum El Patio (Tiagua), having a Museum of the Sea and Fishing in Arrecife to exhibit and disseminate the culture of the sea linked to fishing and the marine resources themselves that harbor the waters of the island, and that reminds us of the historical, economic, social, cultural and natural ties that we have maintained and maintain with the Atlantic Ocean.
Likewise, we also miss a determined effort by the Public Administrations to create an Interpretation Center of the Agricultural Landscape of Lanzarote, in the Agricultural Museum El Patio (through a Use Agreement with the owners) and, with it, to be able to maintain some traditions linked to the culture of the countryside, of which we are all debtors.
Similarly, it seems urgent that public institutions actively commit to the rehabilitation and revitalization of, at least, the only salt mines that are still active on the island, in Janubio, as it is a valuable landscape of great natural and cultural interest, also supporting the commercialization of salt, as is done with La Geria and its products.
Having stated the above, we are in the sad obligation to inform you that the proposals that we have listed are sleeping the sleep of the just despite our efforts, and despite the fact that we have been in dialogue with various public institutions for many years to make them a reality.
That is why we are filled with a deep feeling of frustration and disappointment at the lack of responses, the indolence or the lack of seriousness of many of our public representatives, who have not been able to make such proposals viable until now. We remember that our commitment is voluntary, sacrificing our time for the sake of our ideals, which we believe are those of everyone. Because we are not asking for anything for ourselves.
The Order is an association of autonomous scope founded in 1991, but, as a result of its extension to other islands, later the Order was constituted in Lanzarote, which enjoys management autonomy. The Order of the Puppy is non-denominational and non-partisan and all people can belong to it without distinction of sex, nationality, religion, political ideology and thought. Basic elements of the Order's action are generosity, altruism, cordiality, creativity, spirit of service and the dissemination of the Canarian cultural identity heritage without profit.
We hope, despite everything, for a boost in favor of traditional culture. Speech, collective memory, popular wisdom, recent history, tangible and intangible heritage or traditions, are some of the aspects that give meaning to the island community. One of the facets of this identity conglomerate concerns the customs and traditions that, although unfortunately are increasingly diluted, still endure among us. The challenge is not to lose sight of them, to recognize them and preserve them in a changing world that tends to homogenization.
Therefore, it seems very important to us that the island has the proposals outlined above in the shortest possible time. Although we feel very dejected and hopeless, the public institutions have the floor.
Fernando Petit Ramiz. President Order of the Canary Puppy in Lanzarote
