Canarian Identity and Historical Heritage of Candelaria is working on a project to restore the Menceyes Guanches sculptural complex, located on the boulevard to which it gives its name since 2000. The work began with the taking of samples of the mortar, as well as photographs of all the parts to carry out a thorough examination of the intervention to be executed.
The mayor of Candelaria, Mari Brito, explains that this project aims to restore and preserve these sculptures, which were originally located in the Plaza de la Patrona de Canarias. The objective is to value this cultural heritage, deteriorated due to the material with which they are made, the passage of time and marine and wind erosion.
With its restoration, it is intended to incorporate identifying and informative signage on the history of the complex and of each sculpture.
The sculptures date from 1959, the work of Alfredo Reyes Darias on the occasion of the construction of the first square and the inauguration of the Basilica, that year. Located in the Plaza de la Patrona de Canarias until 1993, they were replaced by the current set of sculptures. The brutalism and ingenuity of these sculptures contrast with the heroic vision of the menceyes who replaced them.
