When I first came to live in the Canary Islands, I was 22 years old. It was 1998 and I settled in Mogán. The peseta still existed, life was good, people were supportive and there was a great desire to make friends.
I remember the Orishas concert at the Atlantic Festival of Maspalomas in 1999: the beauty of being all together, the groups of friends who arrived with bags full of drinks to share. There was a collectivist atmosphere that surprised me enormously. The concerts were free, the stalls were part of the event and were managed by locals. Everything had a festive, community and close feel.
I came from Milan, an industrial city, focused on the private, where the concerts of Michael Jackson or Pink Floyd we could only see from outside the stadium because they were too expensive for young people. In the Canary Islands I discovered another way of life: capitalism and individualism did not yet dominate everything.
For more than ten years I have lived in Lanzarote. My wife and son are 100% Canarian (and my son is also 100% Italian). We are children of integration, and we deeply value the cultural beauties of both countries.
With the association PAWAC – Peacebuilding Also With Arts and Culture, based in Tinajo, we have carried out scientific research on the use of the arts for social change, community cohesion, prevention and transformation of conflicts. We are currently working to conduct a global study that analyzes more than 35,000 international investigations. One of our key questions here is: what makes a festival, a concert or a pilgrimage an event that improves the quality of life of the community, and what characteristics can, instead, deteriorate it?
I am convinced that, if a serious study of social psychology were carried out on the Canarian pilgrimage —and I would love to lead it— we could demonstrate that these events are fundamental for well-being and community cohesion. They surely help to relieve tensions and conflicts within the neighborhood environment. Although today this is only a scientific hypothesis, I think it could be confirmed. And in the Canary Islands there are many examples of celebrations that reinforce the social fabric.
However, lately I see more and more events that, far from uniting, run the risk of promoting fragmentation, classism and social compartmentalization. There is also a worrying trend to create closed and controlled fairgrounds, which fuel distrust and polarization.
There is much talk of Canarian identity, of defending Canarian culture, but in practice many institutional decisions go in the opposite direction, even by those who proclaim the return to the roots.
I will give some examples from Lanzarote, without intending to point out. The Arrecife Day Carnival, one of the most beautiful events of the year, when moved to a fairground loses that ability to unite. Because community is also entering the bars of the neighbors, meeting in the streets we share every day, not locking yourself in a corral controlled by the police. Is that what we want?
Another example: the new Lava Fest of Lanzarote. Entering a closed enclosure is already uncomfortable, although we understand that artists have to be paid and that this cost should not fall on the entire community. But, what other price are we paying? The stalls are a simulation managed by a single company. And the public is divided: those who pay double can get closer to the stage, the rest are left behind, without the possibility of coexistence. They are practically not even seen.
This is not just a criticism. It is a psychosocial fact that reflects a clear trend about where our society is going. From our association we suggest to the institutions to seriously reflect on the criteria that are used to select and allow certain events. Because these dynamics encourage social disintegration and the increase of community conflicts. And these are just some examples. We could continue.
But the question remains open for all of us, neighbors: What future do we want for our community? How do we want to see ourselves in 10 or 20 years?
In addition to thinking about the impact of tourism, it is necessary to reflect on how we want to live in community, on the model of coexistence we want for the Lanzarote of the future and for our children.
This is a call to action. To all the people who resonate with these words, I ask a favor: start sharing your reflections, writing, saying what you think to your neighbors. Only then will we plant some seed of improvement. And perhaps, with luck, some positive change will be possible.
From PAWAC we are willing to help. And, above all, interested in reflecting together what future we want to build.
