Agüimes remembers the writer Orlando Hernández with an emotional tribute

 

The municipality of Agüimes paid tribute this Friday to the Agüimes writer, poet, playwright and journalist Orlando Hernández. A floral and literary offering in the parish cemetery of the town opened the program of commemorative events for the 27th anniversary of his death. The mayor of Agüimes, Óscar Hernández, and the niece of the versatile author, Águeda Hernández, placed a wreath of flowers in front of his tombstone, accompanied by a large group of family, friends and neighbors convened by the cultural association that bears his name, which has been working for years to recover, preserve and disseminate the work of one of the most unique exponents of Canarian narrative of the late XNUMXth century.

 

 

Subsequently, the Orlando Hernández House Museum hosted a dance performance offered by the students of the Municipal School of Music, Dance and Theater of Agüimes, who danced two pieces: 'Mararia' and 'In another moment, in another place'. Immediately afterwards, the actor José Oliva performed a dramatized reading of a fragment of 'The Meeting', a text that is characterized by its humorous tone and which delighted the audience that packed the room.

 

To end the evening, professor and researcher Agustín Carlos Barruz presented the book 'Complete Poems', a new compilation that includes for the first time the edition in a single volume of nine complete collections of poems by Orlando Hernández, some of them unpublished. Present at the event were the president of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, and the mayor of Agüimes, Óscar Hernández, who dedicated some emotional words of tribute to the figure of the writer.

 

 

Orlando Hernández was born in Agüimes on March 19, 1936 and died on May 2, 1997. Throughout his career, he wrote more than thirty literary works, among which the novels 'Catalina Park' and 'Masks and Earth' stand out. . He was also the author of books of stories such as 'Sancocho. Canarian tales' and other traditional works such as 'The Barber of Temisas' or 'In my town I rule'. He also wrote collections of poems such as 'Baladas del Guanche', plays such as 'La escandalosa' and musical compositions such as 'Vamos a Agüimes', 'Luna de Tunte' or 'Dunas de Maspalomas'.

 

 

He was also a frequent press writer in newspapers such as El Eco de Canarias, Canarias 7 or La Provincia and for 14 years he maintained a highly rated program on the now defunct Radio Atlántico, dedicated to Canarian customs and entitled 'Things about Pepito the Arab and Master. Raphael'. In 1962 he was appointed Official Chronicler and on January 20, 1997, before his death, he was awarded the title of Favorite Son of the municipality of Agüimes.