SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 2 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
Master Domingo Mesa Hernández will soon open the doors of a permanent exhibition in his old alberdería workshop, in Los Realejos. The project, promoted by the artisan’s children, has had the technical advice of the Cabildo de Tenerife, which two years ago distinguished the work of Domingo Mesa Hernández on the occasion of the 2020 Insular Craft Day.
The Island Councilor for Employment, Socioeconomic Development and Foreign Action, Carmen Luz Baso, and the Island Director of Socioeconomic Development, Ermitas Moreira, visited the new facilities this week, located on the ground floor of the teacher’s home. Likewise, various councilors from Los Realejos attended.
During the visit, the Minister congratulated Domingo Mesa Hernández for the exhibition with which he contributes to promoting and disseminating the most traditional crafts such as saddlery, focused on making quality gear for pack animals. “This project opens a door so that the new generations and, in general, anyone who wants to, can familiarize themselves with the ins and outs of a trade that was so much in demand in the past and so unknown today,” added the Minister.
The permanent exhibition occupies a small space, 3 x 2 meters, in which the different work tools typical of the trade are exhibited: needles for sewing, sickles for cutting straw, hammers for crushing the straw once it is inside the cloth, skewers to put the long straw or scissors, among others.
Born in 1932, in Los Realejos, Domingo Mesa began working at the age of 24 as an apprentice to Nicolás Díaz Tacoronte, who is considered “the best steward in Tenerife”. From his hand, he learned everything that his profession knows today and managed to become a renowned teacher in the guild.
Today he is one of the last masters with albardero meat. For this reason, he has received different recognitions such as the one made by the Cabildo de Tenerife in 2020 to recognize his career and thank him for the work he has done to prolong the validity of this traditional trade to this day.
