The Canarian Federation of Latin Sail Barquillos is in luck for the step taken forward by the Canarian Socialist Parliamentary Group by presenting a Non-Law Proposal to the Plenary so that the Government of the Canary Islands is urged to take the necessary steps to ensure that the traditional sport of Latin Sail Barquillos is declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.
“Not because it is less expected is it not good news”, says the president of the Canarian Federation of Latin Sail Barquillos, Daniel Perera, who explains that “the understanding between Marcos Hernández Guillén, deputy of the Socialist Parliamentary Group, and the Federation has been quick, understanding that the barquillos have been a way of life in the islands, first for inshore fishing and now with sports”.
The document presented to the Bureau of the Parliament of the Canary Islands explains the importance of barquillos in Canarian culture, as an element linked to the idiosyncrasy and history of the archipelago and the Canarians, serving as an important instrument for subsistence in other times.
“There are chronicles that speak of barquillos disputes even before the establishment of competitions”, explains the president, recalling that the origin of barquillos as a sport was born in the tradition of the San Ginés festivities, in Arrecife de Lanzarote. “When the dates of the San Ginés festivities approached, all the fishermen returned with their boats and the next day, coinciding with the celebration of the day of San Ginés, they held a regatta, with the winner having permission to make a haul with a seine, prohibited among the fishermen themselves, keeping the entire catch”, he recalls.
Currently there is a fleet of more than 50 boats between 8'55 meters and 5 meters, spread across the islands of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Graciosa and Tenerife, which have just recovered some barquillos, with nearly 500 federated athletes, with important days being the celebration of the Canary Islands Championship, as well as the Canary Islands Day regattas, as an indissoluble part of the island culture.