This Monday the presentation of the sketch of the great tapestry of La Orotava so that the Artearena team will begin today to make the first lines. This year normality is restored and it will also be possible to enjoy carpets of flowers in the streets of the historic center, which is why all the preparations are already being worked on for the celebration of the Infraoctave of Corpus Christi that will take place on June 23.
The event was attended by Mayor Francisco Linares; the Councilor for Fiestas, Alexis Pacheco; the parish priest of the Church of La Concepción, Honorio J. Campos and the director of the great tapestry, Domingo González Expósito. In addition to the presence of the president of Artearena and the Association of Carpet Makers, Miguel Ángel García and Leopoldo Rodríguez, respectively. And for the moment of discovering the sketch, covered with the ashes of La Palma, the palmero Rosendo Carballo was counted on.
‘It is the Carpet of desires, feelings and illusion. Religious, but also of a social and human nature”, underlined the director of the great tapestry, Domingo González Espósito, during the presentation. In this sense, he explained that the wishes are: to end the invasion and war in Ukraine and not to mistreat our planet; of feeling for the unity of the canaries with La Palma and seeing San Isidro represented in this carpet; and that of illusion: for being able to recover our festivities and for celebrating this year the 175th anniversary of the flower carpets.
To have the gesture with the island of La Palma in the great tapestry of La Orotava on the one hand, for the black color only the ash that was found after the eruption will be used, “wanting thereby to redirect and transform the force of the volcano in a work of art and beauty that will be our offering to the Corpus”, on the other hand, the silhouette of the island of La Palma is represented in the central tapestry as part of the offering to the Blessed Sacrament so that it is with all palmeros at this time . And it will also appear in the borders, the island of La Palma and a heart that wants to represent the feeling of all the canaries with La Palma.
The great tapestry of La Orotava, with ash from La Palma
Besides the volcanic ash from La Palma As a guest color, there will be the Arcos de Mazo, also representatives of another form of Ephemeral Religious Art for Corpus Christi. This is to symbolize the unity of all Canarians with La Palma. The Arch will measure between 5 and 6 meters high and will be 2 equal and symmetrical pieces that will go on both sides of the lower entrance to the square, thus receiving the Corpus at its entrance to the square.
The Central Tapestry represents Jesus in a daily scene with disciples talking and eating, it could well represent a fragment of the Last Supper or a detail of the disciples at Emmaus. But the intention, this year, is to want to see and feel the human part of Jesus, a close person in difficult times. The figure of San Isidro also appears in this tapestry for the first time, the image of San Isidro in transparency with the sky in the background, thus celebrating the 400th anniversary of the canonization of our Saint. This ogival-shaped tapestry is located within a triangle that represents the Holy Trinity.
The desire to end the war in Ukraine will be represented with four life-size figures that are around the central tapestry and two of them will be made with the colors most similar to the Ukrainian flag.
The side tapestries want to open our eyes to how we are harming and mistreating the planet by seeing floods and droughts, and parched soils and snowy mountains at the same time. It is an invitation to reflect on what legacy we are leaving our children. However, the young people who appear in the tapestries have happy faces, typical of youth and innocence; but they are also eyes that invite us to believe in their ability to face problems and correct mistakes. These two tapestries are a composition with different spaces and figures, from which two images by renowned photographers stand out.
The Carpet of Illusion is represented in the borders, the illusion to recover the festivities, represented by the openwork where some flowers of seven meters in diameter are supported; and for the red border for the magician’s vest and the carnations and the spikes of the magician’s wands.
To commemorate the 175th anniversary of the flower carpets, the first carpet will be made with the actual measurements that were used of 3.50 x 2.50 varas, and it will be half of the flowers and the other of land. There are also small details such as the use of other materials such as flowers, dates, eucalyptus bagas and others used in the first carpets in the square, recreating this year part of the 1922 carpet and a nod to the 1920 carpet.
Among other details, it is also worth highlighting the two small tapestries within two circles, in which you can see a baby penguin trapped in the remains of fishing nets and a turtle swimming among the remains of plastic spills and of all kinds. These two tapestries not only want to delve deeper into the problem of climate change, but will be the link with the next two carpets.
