No. 29 - Its Gran Canaria Magazine

34
Gran Canaria boasts a long and extensive
track record as an island of festivals, shows,
major championships and events that move
large crowds. It puts on a programme that
runs throughout the year and is constantly
growing, with the disadvantage that, on
many occasions, some events take place on
the same dates, causing real headaches for
those responsible for programming or producing
these activities. Beyond this excess
of supply, the social life, meetings and participation
in all kinds of initiatives form part
of our identity and our way of life here in a
territory where it is a rare day indeed when
the good weather does not encourage us to
go out to enjoy a concert, a match, a play or a
walk along stunning footpaths.
However, there are some activities that are
different, original, typical of the roots of a
people who in their isolation created codes
of communication
that have become tradition, a legacy and
an identity. Among them, folklore stands
out, a music and dance that has its roots in
the past, but which remains and is revived
by each generation, with new contributions
and creations. They also boast an extraordinary
international projection through festivals,
such as the International Folklore Festival
of Villa de Ingenio Muestra Solidaria
de los Pueblos, the 'Estrella y Guía' National
Folklore Festival, the Teresa de Bolívar Music
Event, plus many others that have not stood
the test of time of these three that have already
passed the 30 year mark.
Indeed, music is part of the roots, identity
and soul of the islanders, who recall the most
important symbols of the island through
their music and lyrics:
When Canarians head off
to another land as emigrants,
they do not forget their Nublo rock
or their gigantic Teide mountain.
They are sounds and words that transport
Canarians to scenes of emotion and feelings
GET TO KNOW GRAN CANARIA I CONOCE GRAN CANARIA EDICIÓN 29
Atlantic Folklore
that also touch many other Spanish-speaking
people around the world, especially
those who every week tune into Televisión
Española’s international channel to watch
the programme 'Tenderete', the oldest
(along with the Telediario) of the country's
televised programming, and the one with
the highest audience week in week out in its
international broadcasting.
The Villa de Ingenio International Folklore
Festival sums up of one of the most prestigious
and original festivals that take place
in Gran Canaria. This initiative, which came
about in 1996 on the initiative of the Asociación
Cultural Coros y Danzas de Ingenio,
aims to safeguard, promote and disseminate
the traditional and popular culture of the island
to almost all of Spain, as well as to countries
in Europe, Asia, Africa and America.
In 2014, the Government of the Canary Islands
declared the International Folklore
Festival a Festival of Cultural Tourist Interest
in the Canary Islands. And the University
of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria gave the
Ethnography and Folklore Campus of the
Canary Islands the title of Ethnographic
Conference organised as a prologue to the
Festival.
The word Folklore expresses the whole idea
perfectly: A set of customs, beliefs, crafts,
songs, of a traditional and popular nature.
It is, in short, the transmission of the heritage,
knowledge and experience of a culture
shared by a group of people. And in Gran
Canaria we not only have these festivals, but
we also have around 100 federated folklore
groups, as well as many rondallas and parrandas
street bands created by the elderly
and other groups. In addition to these, there
are some 15 established groups with a great
projection, such as Coros y Danzas, Gofiones,
Granjeros, Sancocho... Folklore then recreates
our symbols and our feelings, it reveals
us at our most intimate level, in a phenomenon
we call canariedad, that which is typical
of, or related to, everything Canarian.