The president of the institution describes as “a question of justice and debt to our own culture” the recognition of the trades that have been practiced in Gran Canaria for centuries, as Fedac does on a biennial basis.
Also honored, posthumously, was the ethnographer researcher and specialist in historical photography, José Antonio Pérez Cruz (Teno), for his work on the clothing of Gran Canaria in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Cabildo of Gran Canaria, through the Fedac, celebrated the biennial recognition ceremony that it carries out for the craftsmanship and its protagonists, the men and women who still practice them today and “have known how to safeguard historical knowledge, despite of the cultural, social and economic changes experienced by society," according to the president of the insular institution, Antonio Morales, for whom this act is a matter of "justice and a debt to our own culture," which in this edition is It focused on the craft of making traditional clothing and on the figure of the ethnographer researcher and specialist in historical photography José Antonio Pérez Cruz (Teo) for his work on the clothing of Gran Canaria in the 18th and 19th centuries.
And, in the words of the president himself, without the seamstresses and weavers dedicated to making the clothing used by the island population from the end of the 18th century to the first quarter of the 20th century “we would have lost, without a doubt, a part of our history", and the pilgrimages that "fill the streets of our towns with color and Canarian pride every summer" would not be understood.
The president also highlighted how clothing helps thousands of boys and girls each year to be aware of their Canarian heritage, when they wear a typical Canarian costume for the first time.
In this edition, held in Infecar, the ethnographer researcher and specialist in historical photography, José Antonio Pérez Cruz (Teno), was also honored posthumously, since his work on the clothing of Gran Canaria is the source where the artisans of the traditional costume , they will base their confections.
Teno, after years of study and search in documentary sources, engravings, drawings, photographs, archives, wills, publications and interviews, collected abundant information on Canarian clothing in the 18th and 19th centuries that, with the collaboration of Fedac, would reach to the public through various formats for dissemination.
In 1996, the book “La Vestimenta Tradicional de Gran Canaria” was published, edited by the Foundation, and in collaboration with the written island press (Canarias 7 and La Provincia), some booklets and two collectibles (“Trajeados”) were published. and “Patterns”), which quickly spread among the population interested in this topic.
Another of the Fedac projects together with José Antonio Pérez Cruz, was a line of courses aimed at training dressmakers on the traditional clothing of Gran Canaria on the island. In the first phase, José Antonio Pérez Cruz trained 21 seamstresses from Gran Canaria, one per municipality. Once this training was completed, these seamstresses were hired by Fedac as instructors to impart and share the training received by Teno, through courses in the different municipalities of Gran Canaria, to other seamstresses.
The artisans recognized at tonight's event are those professionals who attended courses and workshops given by Teno in 1996, and who have continued, over the years, transmitting this legacy, making, giving courses to other dressmakers. , and advising other professionals and interested people on traditional clothing and the fabrics that should be used.
This is Nilia Bañares Baudet. Weaver (86 years old). Telde
Josefa Bravo from Laguna. Traditional Costumes (83 years old). Ingenuity
Juana de la Cruz Fleitas Santana. Traditional Costumes: (77 years old). Telde
María del Pino Alemán Marrero. Traditional Costumes: (72 years old). Arucas
Florencia Almeida Betancor. Traditional Costumes (73 years). Moya
“I believe that there is nothing that better reflects the recent history, idiosyncrasy and culture of this people than their traditional clothing and those who continue to keep it alive,” concluded the president.
