The unofficial demonyms of the southeast of Gran Canaria: a timeless tradition

 

One of the defining characteristics of the Canarian people has always been their warmth, their friendliness, and their constant joy, rooted in cultural traditions like rondallas, murgas, and lively polkas that have brought laughter to many. In short, beyond their borders, the Canarian people have always been known for their positive and friendly nature.

 

 

However, something unknown outside the borders of the archipelago are our “burlesque gentilicios”, a tradition established by our grandparents and great-grandparents to refer to the residents of other towns and municipalities that, between sarcasm and originality, have been preserved over time. weather.

 

 

Unlike what has happened with many other traditions of the archipelago, the tradition of mocking demonyms has been maintained; it is very rare that a young person or even a child does not know which islands we are referring to when we say conejero, chicharrero or majorero… and not only if we are referring to island demonyms, in the southeast of Gran Canaria we find a couple of these rather curious colloquialisms.

 

 

If we say that we have a pig or lizard friend outside the archipelago, they may look at us strangely; However, if we do it in Gran Canaria it will be well known that we mean that we have a friend in Ingenio or Agüimes, respectively.  

 

But where do these demonyms come from? Well, if we look at the term "cochinero" to refer to the inhabitants of Ingenio, its meaning is closely related to the demonym itself, since the development of this Gran Canaria municipality was based on agriculture, with pig farming being quite common. Such is the importance of this animal in the history of the municipality that we can find various sculptures referencing it in its streets, such as the Monument to the Cochinero or La Piara Cochinera, located on the steps leading to the town's church.

 

 

For its part, the social name of Agüimes does not have much mystery regarding its name, the term lizard was coined by the inhabitants of the municipality due to the reptile fauna present in the area, where canary, perenquenes or mullet lizards could be observed. As in Ingenio, Agüimes pays tribute to that name of “lagarteros” with some colorful figures of lizards that can be seen on the entrance road to the municipality.

 

 

Despite the sarcasm and the desire to "poke the neighbor", these names are further proof of the brotherhood that has united the Canarian people practically since its beginnings and that today is a characteristic feature of the archipelago.