Today I would like to address you with a concern that, were it not for the irony of the matter, could be almost tragic. I am referring, of course, to the long-awaited repair of the sinkhole (with a 'v') on the El Golfo road, which after months, or rather, years of waiting, seems to have found the perfect place on our Island: a status of permanence that not even César Manrique's most ambitious work could have imagined.
It's curious, isn't it? Over the years, we have witnessed how the art of "inaction" has developed in the Cabildo of Lanzarote. I don't want to be unfair; this sinkhole has turned out to be a work of contemporary art that, were it not for its harmful presence, we could exhibit in a gallery any Sunday afternoon. Perhaps, with a bit of luck, some clueless tourist might think that it is an installation designed to make us reflect on the precariousness of the infrastructure.
And now, to add more flavor to this feast of irony, we come to the issue of financing. The rehabilitation project has been presented four years after the incident, but now the problem announced by the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote is that there is no possible financing. It's not that we don't have money, or how could we afford to spend millions on festivals, parties, and events that have become the soul of our Island, because if there's one thing Lanzarote has learned to do well, it's to celebrate everything that can be celebrated. In a year, we can achieve a monumental display of events that fill the streets with color and music, but repairing the sinkhole on the El Golfo road... that's another story!
Between the intermissions of our festivities, the search for a solution to this hole has been spaced out, as if we were playing an endless game of hide-and-seek. Now that we have reached the point of financing, or rather, the inexorable lack of it, it seems that we should rethink our priorities. But, of course, who needs functional roads when we have hundreds of parties, live music, and a display of fireworks?
To the president, I propose: why not do a concert there, at the foot of the sinkhole? It could be a great attraction for his tick tock, something unique that would manage to divert attention from what is truly important. 'Volcano Fest Socavon' would be the name that illuminates our island authorities, announcing the festival on all the roads of the Island, even those that do not yet demand rehabilitation work.
Anyway, jokes aside, I am not paid to act as a monologist or a humor writer, I am paid to continue fighting and ensure that the necessary actions are taken to fix this road and open it to road traffic in both directions, among other priorities, not only because our safety demands it, but because I firmly believe that every euro invested in infrastructure is a euro well spent. El Golfo, Yaiza, and Lanzarote cannot wait any longer for the repair of a road that is essential for the south and the entire Island, there is a lot at stake, just ask the restaurateurs of El Golfo about the damage of more than four years. Prioritize, Mr. President.
With irony and hope,
Mayor of Yaiza and councilor of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Óscar Noda.
