More than 200 students from ten schools in La Orotava have recreated, using different techniques, the flower carpet that began the Corpus Christi tradition back in 1847. Students from CEIP San Agustín, Leoncio Estévez Luis, Víctor Rodríguez Jiménez, Santo Tomás de Aquino, La Concepción, Domínguez Alfonso, Santa Teresa de Jesús, Infanta Elena, Inocencio Sosa Hernández, La Luz and Ramón y Cajal have been in charge of giving life to the carpet with which, 175 years ago, the Monteverde family began the floral decoration of the streets of the town center to honor Corpus Christi.
These local schools have made their own design of the first carpet, made by the Monteverde family on a steep street at the back of the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción. The initiative came from the Association of Aflombrists of La Orotava, chaired by Leo Rodríguez, who for several months began efforts to involve the students of La Orotava in “this unique anniversary.”
After the always special Day of the Boy and Girl Carpet Makers, celebrated on June 11, more than 200 students have participated in the making of each and every one of the representative panels of the carpet, which each center has decorated differently way. Last May, the Association of Carpet Makers donated a wooden panel to each center, where the sketch of the first carpet had previously been drawn. Leo Rodríguez explains that the guideline was simple: «Make this rug following or not the main color, but respecting the symmetry». In addition, they were informed that they would be panels that would be exposed outdoors, so the material would have to withstand possible inclement weather and that they would be exposed the day before and during the big week of the festivities and the days after. Specifically until July 4.
Among the different techniques used, the Santo Tomás de Aquino CEIP opted for paints, both with a brush and with the hands, to elaborate a colorful design of the original carpet of the Corpus villero. The La Concepción school used wood shavings as a base, while CEIP Victor Rodríguez, from the Benijos neighborhood, opted for a mixture of treated paper balls and different paints.
CEIP Inocencio Sosa, from the San Antonio neighborhood, chose a mix between mosaic and collage, with a variety of materials. The Infanta Elena school, from La Perdoma, and the CEIP Leoncio Estévez Luis, from Florida, used a very striking black background, while the CEIP Santa Teresa, also from the La Perdoma neighborhood, created their sketch from a green background. .
This exhibition, which It is located in the Gardens of the Marquesado de la Quinta Roja, also known as the Victoria Garden, it was opened to the public this Wednesday June 15 and will remain in place until the first Monday of next July. Leo Rodríguez thanks “each one of the centres, and their management and teaching teams, for their unique involvement, which has been evident in the results that will surely surprise locals and strangers alike”.
