The University of La Laguna delivered this Monday Medal of Honor to Cesar Manrique, as a way of honor the cultural legacy and international projection that the artist from Lanzarote achieved through his work.
The event, held in the Paraninfo, was attended by the rector of the institution, Rose Aguilarthe vice-chancellors for Culture and Teaching Innovation, Juan Mendez and Nestor Torres respectively and the general secretary, Maria Elvira Afonso.
They were accompanied by the president of the Council of Lanzarote, Maria Dolores Corujothe professor Francis Gallant and the president of the Cesar Manrique Foundation, Jose Juan Ramirezresponsible for collecting this honorary title.
The rector has defined Manrique as “one of the most important figures in the Canary Islands, whose echo continues to resonate today” and has underlined that this delivery further strengthens the link that already existed between the institution and the Lanzarote artist.
Professor Galante has affirmed that “the University has always been with Manrique”. It was on September 25, 2019 when the transfer of this recognition was determined.
The teacher explained that the main reason why Manrique is given this title lies in his international impact and his defense of rights, since “he was an environmentalist long before the concept of environmentalism became popular”.
Galante added that the creator “would be satisfied to see his work recognized, but dissatisfied to see what his legacy has become”, taking into account “the climate crisis, wars and the lack of respect for the nature that surrounds us”.
For this reason, he has stated that the author’s message “has been perverted” and must be recovered, because he “never wanted to be a museum object, but to make us all participate in his activism through art.”
The president of the Foundation has highlighted that Manrique not only defended the nature of the Canary Islands but also of the rest of the world, and therefore “We should not recognize him as an artist only from Lanzarote, the Canary Islands or Spanish, because he is universal”.
For his part, Corujo expressed his gratitude on behalf of the entire island of Lanzarote, Manrique’s place of origin, for this medal awarded by the University, even more so when the anniversary of the artist’s birth is so recent, since it would have been celebrated last April 24.
“Today, thanks to thisCesar’s work is shown to be unforgettable”affirmed the insular representative.
Aguilar has remarked that it is not only unforgettable but also immortal, since the creator has managed to make his conservationist message reach today “prompting us to continue with the fight to build a better world and keep social awareness alive”.
This is the third time in its entire history that the University of La Laguna awards a medal of this type and Queen Sofía and the former president of the Constitutional Court, Francisco Tomás y Valiente, were the previous honorees.
