The City Council of Candelaria inaugurated last week in the Plaza de Los Pescadores the sculpture complex in recognition and tribute to the women fishermen and fisherwomen of the municipality for their very important work throughout history in this sector.
The event was attended by the mayor of Candelaria, Mari Brito, the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands, Alicia Vanoostende, Elena Alonso on behalf of the Tenerife Coastal Action Group, the Councilor for Rural Development and Fisheries, Maeva Tendero, the creator of the work, Fernando Mena, representatives of the Fishermen’s Guild and the official chronicler of Candelaria, Octavio Rodríguez, who made a semblance of the work of the candelaria woman in fishing.
The theme El Pescador, a traditional seaside song created by the musician and candlestick composer Juan Abilio Alonso, opened the act in the voice of Fran Hernández.
During the act, Mari Brito highlighted that “this project allows us to pay a well-deserved tribute to the invisible ones of the coast, to the fisherwomen, the fisherwomen, the shellfish gatherers, the day laborers whose work has been fundamental in the work to board of vessels and in the processes of supply, maintenance, transformation and circulation of fishery products”.
Likewise, Brito valued that with this sculpture “we remember that our compass guides us towards a fair horizon and solidarity with history and with the women of the municipality, dignifying their professional practice and recovering the transcendent role of the artisan form and the sea as a source of food and economic resources through his figure. In addition, we vindicate the work of women in the current fishing sector, in which they also carry out work as boat owners that challenge the stereotypes of the past, demonstrating that there is no gender at work”.
Made of bronze, a material resistant to sea conditions, the sculpture is composed of three main figures: three women of different ages, trying to represent childhood, youth and old age, who look at the port, waiting for the arrival of ships . The exact point where the women waited for the boats to return to clean and distribute the catch. The bronze pieces have been anchored on a concrete base covered with pebbles.
