The Ermita del Caserío de El Socorro was yesterday the scene of the presentation of the official poster for the Bajada de El Socorro 2022, one of the most important religious, festive and folklore events in the rich panorama of traditions and cultural history of Tenerife. This festivity is the oldest on the Island and in the Canary Islands, being celebrated for the first time more than a century ago.
Its author is the local artist Javier Eloy Campos Torres, who thanked the Güímar City Council for the magnificent opportunity it gave him to be able to create a work with “which he wanted to capture the multitude of characteristic elements that make up the El Socorro Festival, as well as its protagonists, the people of the town of Güímar who have made it possible for this tradition to transcend in time from generation to generation”.
Present at the event were the mayor, Gustavo Pérez; and the councilors for Culture, Festivals, Tourism, Magüi Campos, Patricia Encinoso and Haridian Martín respectively, as well as the head of Municipal Services, Juan Delgado, and the head of Sports, Cándido Gómez. As an outstanding assistant, Célida Alzola, herald of the Fiestas de El Socorro and director of the Miguel Castillo choir, attended.
The local president conveyed the congratulations to Javier Eloy and stressed that “the festivities of El Socorro have been reflected in a poster full of signs of identity of our Bajada” thanks to “a great artist, güimarero, and lover of our traditional festival”. Thus, added Gustavo Pérez, “Güímar can openly say that he has the festival with the greatest number of traditional and ethnographic elements.”
The Guanches accompany the Virgin
This poster for the Bajada del Socorro, in Güímar, year 2022, wants to refer to the people, the men and women who make the party, some of the most significant protagonists of the Bajada.
In it, the Guanches are represented in the first place, who accompany the Virgin in central moments of the festival, especially in the ceremony, but also in the great procession on September 8 at noon and in the afternoon in La Asomada. He also collects the dancers of the Danza de las Cintas, the musicians of the band and, in general, the pilgrims.
The Virgin has been represented wearing a light, luminous color, because after several years in which it has not been possible to organize the Descent, in which it has been lived in darkness, this is the moment of light and clarity. The time to recover our customs, which makes us a people and a community.
Author’s career
The author, Javier Eloy Campos Torres, has been a professor of Artistic Drawing at several Art Schools in the Canary Islands. During his career, he held the positions of Deputy Director and Director at the Fernando Estévez School of Art and Superior Design.
In addition, he has been a councilor for Culture, Festivals, Education, Sports and Historical Heritage of the Güímar City Council and, above all, he has been a collaborator of the customs and traditions of the municipality.
