In recent days, it has been read in the press how the new CEO of the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers (CACT) of the Cabildo of Lanzarote has advocated closing the Archaeological Museum of Casa Fajardo, alluding to its lack of economic profitability.
It is surprising that a museum, on the assumption that the "museum" of Casa Fajardo is currently one, is valued only for its economic profitability and not based on other criteria such as its social function.
Let's start at the beginning, according to the definition of ICOM (International Council of Museums), a museum is: "a non-profit, permanent institution at the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, preserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the material and immaterial heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and recreation".
Would the two currently open rooms of Casa Fajardo therefore be a "museum"? The answer is obvious: no. It seems that what the counselor understands by "museum", when he also refers to the fact that the solution is (after closing it) "to move the materials to another CACT space" is simply an exhibition of materials, which is what existed in practice until now in Casa Fajardo.
A true Archaeological Museum should have adequate staff to conserve, investigate and communicate, among other functions (and for educational purposes), the heritage elements that are preserved there. Also a suitable building, with resources, where not only tourists could go, but above all the children, from the involvement of schools and institutes, to learn and enjoy the knowledge of the past.
In that sense, from society we should demand from our political representatives and I personally demand it, with all due respect, a greater sensitivity to culture and understanding of the past; In short, and trusting in the current government team of the Cabildo, I would like them to commit to the creation of a true Archaeological Museum that values the suggestive aboriginal past of Lanzarote as it happens in the rest of the islands of our archipelago, to protect this unique legacy for those who come after us.
And, in addition, we should demand that they really worry about the financing of the excavations and the conservation of the sites of Zonzamas, Fiquinineo-Peña de las Cucharas and San Marcial del Rubicón, among others, because in addition to their historical importance and as a heritage and educational resource, they could become authentic first-rate tourist resources for our island that would contribute to giving them the profitability that may be necessary to prevent them from disappearing,
Finally, I would like to ask a question with its answer: Where should a true archaeological museum that I mentioned before be located? Well, in all honesty, in Arrecife I can't think of a better place than Casa Fajardo, a unique property, already acquired by the Cabildo, which, with the appropriate changes in the planning and a good rehabilitation, would be a very advantageous investment for the conservation, on the other hand, of the unique building itself that gives so much prestige to Fajardo Street and that represents a past of Arrecife that disappears day by day due to an urbanism that we will regret in the future.
By Fabio Carreiro Lago
