El Tablero hosts the 13th La Zafra Fair on June 14 and XNUMX

 

The Carmelo Pérez Rodríguez Cultural Center and the Plaza de El Tablero will host the 13th La Zafra Fair on June 14th and XNUMXth. This event, rooted in ethnography, was originally organized by the Department of Culture of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana Town Hall with the aim of recalling the town's agricultural and tomato-growing origins. Social and neighborhood groups are now actively involved in promoting and improving it with new initiatives.

 

 

The presentation of the program of events took place last Thursday, led by Mayor Marco Aurelio Pérez and the Councilors for Culture, Education, Equality, and Youth, Elena Álamo Vega and Esther Delgado Sánchez, as well as Minerva Alonso, the Councilor for Industry and Commerce of the Island Council. The Island Council is collaborating with the Gran Canaria Chamber of Commerce to support local commerce and zero-mile local produce, as part of the "I Like Gran Canaria" project. "We want to highlight a product as distinctive as the island's tomato," said the Councilor.

 

Mayor Marco Aurelio Pérez highlighted the maturity and consolidation that the La Zafra Fair has achieved, and Councilor Elena Álamo emphasized the growing active participation the event is experiencing thanks to the involvement of the El Tablero Collective Coordinator and the Casa del Mato Association, "who want to innovate and contribute by growing, so that the years of the La Zafra Fair are not routine but special," she said.

 

 

 

This year's Fair will kick off on Friday the 13th at 17:00 PM with a quick, open drawing and painting class for children dedicated to the iconic motifs of the harvest. The fair will be followed by an exhibition at the Carmelo Pérez Rodríguez Cultural Center. A guided, dramatized tour of El Tablero's key landmarks will begin at 19:00 PM at the Casa del Mato, at the entrance to the town. This experience was created with a historical purpose, to georeference the town's iconic locations and learn about the figures who brought it to life and who have become part of the collective memory over the years, such as Juanillo and Pepe El Barbero.

 

New Arrivals

 

On Saturday the 14th, the celebrations move to the plaza, where 40 stands will be set up this year for the exhibition and sale of handicrafts by Fedac artisans, local and zero-mile fruits and vegetables, and typical bakery products, pastries, and sweets from the island.

 

The fair's Saturday activities will begin at 12:00 with the official opening ceremony and a concert by the Umiaya Folklore Group. This year's program features three show-cooking sessions followed by a tasting session by chef Aridani Alonso Rodríguez of El Tablero at 13:00 PM, 16:00 PM, and 18:00 PM, dedicated to tomatoes as the star product. In addition, members of La Cuadrilla de Teatro will once again offer a tasting of traditional enyesques from the harvest season, featuring tomato picadillo, gofio (a type of pastry made with gofio), chorizo ​​sandwiches, and colinos (a type of stew made with tomatoes) as the main dishes.

 

Also highlighted as new features at this 26th La Zafra Fair are the presentation and tasting of the cocktail 'La Zafra', which will be prepared by members of the Professional Association of Aboriginal Bartenders of the Canary Islands, and the musical show 'Cantos al Aparcero', which will be offered on Saturday at 20:30 p.m. and expressly for this fair event by soloists Besay Pérez, Thania Gil, and Simón Artiles.

 

Another notable new feature this year is the striking ornamental decoration that the Plaza will display during the Fair. This decoration was created by residents and members of the Association Coordinator's Committee in a month-long workshop held by the Department of Culture at the Carmelo Pérez Rodríguez Cultural Center.

 

The Fair will conclude with a taifa dance, hosted by the Los Encinosos and Los Horcones groups. Councilwoman Elena Álamo reminded families and residents who wish to register for a table reservation by calling extension 1809 or 928.723.400 before Thursday the 12th.