This is my small objective, a risky mission: To try to compress into a limited space a little of so much humanity. To want to outline the personality of a noble and generous spirit, like that of our César Manrique. Painter, designer, ecologist, architect, sculptor, landscape and garden designer, photographer, urban planner, decorator, etc. Or, in two words, an integral artist.
"These arts, it is known, are what allow us to savor, perceive and taste the joys that make us maintain that life is worth the price of being lived." What greater humanity and culture, then, than those of César!.
The first news, that I remember, about the person of César Manrique I owe to my father. It would be like Christmas of '68. He spoke of a famous painter from Lanzarote, who, in his words, had been traveling those worlds with great success, and who, finally, was returning to the island to dedicate himself and remain there.
What's more, my father proudly added that he was of his generation and that they had been together, with other countrymen, during the Spanish War, on the Zaragoza and Barcelona fronts, in early '39, although César in Artillery, and he in Infantry.
The truth is, the idea I had of that artist, from what I heard, was not very good. From the data from this and other sources I drew my own image of César Manrique: An extravagant. A kind of Valle Inclán, in painter and in conejero.
I was struck by his nonconformity, passion and rebellion. So much so, that I put in his mouth those words that could have been his:
"I killed vanity and exalted the pride of my land. They left me alone and a petty despair almost poisoned me. But I emerged triumphant from that den full of beasts, and, in the end, I received a crown of glory."
In effect, years passed, and, finally, I had the opportunity to meet César Manrique personally. It was in the summer of '75. These were the times of the Almacén, that multidimensional center that he founded in Arrecife with Pepe Dámaso. There many of us were able to enjoy avant-garde theater and film cycles.
I remember with emotion those films, in original version and subtitled: Like The Seventh Seal, by Ingmar Bergman, The Grapes of Wrath, by John Ford, Chimes at Midnight, by Orson Wells, etc. For those of us who are passionate about the seventh art, that was a delight, which, thanks to César, was really possible in Lanzarote.
In the Almacén there was also a bookstore, florist and other shops, restaurant and bar. And here, most interestingly, some days of the week gatherings with César Manrique, at aperitif time in the bar. Then I rediscovered him. He was the man with whom you could talk, without inhibitions or complexes, about everything. From the arts to mysticism, passing through tobacco, smoke and flies. I found myself in front of a frugal person, who ate soberly and lightly, who did not drink or smoke, and who went to bed very early to get up very early to work. The scandalous in him seemed to me pure appearance. In his conversation he transmitted vehemence and passion, admitting, however, the contrary points of view if they were exposed with conviction and seriousness.
"Since then, César Manrique was for me the integral artist, the emotional spokesman of his people and his land, his eyes and his heart; he was the voice of an era that still endures."
"They don't understand you? Well, let them study you or let them go; you must not lower your soul to their understanding."
César, friend, we will not tire of praising you. It is an unavoidable obligation. So many years of fruitful work constitute a feat.
Having you among those who have made history on this island of Lanzarote is a privilege.
Thank you for having worked from the heart.
Thank you, César Manrique, for having strived so much to elevate our gaze.
Silvano Corujo Rodríguez
President AC "Majadas de Mina"
