If there is something that the candle holders eagerly await at Christmas, it is the opening of their spectacular nativity scene, the one that faithfully reflects the history and present of the towns of a municipality that over this time has gone from a fishing village to a residential city. Since last the 5th, a portal has remained open that collects in just 50 square meters all the meaning of the towns and people of this seafaring and Marian municipality.
Rescued for the street by the former Councilor for Culture, Alfredo Arencibia, the candelariero nativity scene is one of the most visited on the Island and it would be said that its originality never ceases to surprise each year, although it maintains the essence of teaching in a short tour the eight towns of the municipality and the well-known characters, always with something new, like the one represented this year by six retired local police officers and some other personalities.
The Candelaria nativity scene began to be made in 2001, located at the entrance to the Town Hall. The following year, Alfredo Arencibia decided to theme it and dedicate each year to a town in the Villa, supported by the municipal sewing and crafts workshop, which then designed replicas of the most significant buildings in each town, including, of course, the great basilica. . The Town Hall hall not only became small, but it was not visible to passers-by. It was in 2007 when it was installed outside the La Villa Cultural Center, right in the epicenter of the town, where each year it has grown, going from plaster to polyurethane, and developing under the laurels of Indies del Cine Viejo, a grotto for the birth, as far as you can reach from the midlands of Candelaria to the sea that bathes the Plaza de la Patrona.
The last six retired police officers are present this year. Sergio Mendez
The Virgin and the Guanches cannot be missed. Sergio Mendez
Abilio Alonzo Otazo, directing the Las Candelas band. Sergio Mendez
A job of months, where, under the coordination of Alfredo Arencibia, staff from Municipal Services and Culture collaborate, so that no detail is missing: that the water flows from the ravines, that the mills move or that the stars shine.
This year, the representation comes to life with the inclusion of emblematic figures: the retired local police officers of Candelaria Sixto Castro Guanche (who sadly passed away two days before the inauguration of the nativity scene), Nicolás Díaz Díaz, Gregorio González Alonso, David Díaz Sierra, Antonio Miguel Rodríguez Martín, Constantino Guanche Castro and Antonio Romero Lozano, the latter already deceased. In addition, Peregrina Marrero González, known as Nita, has been recognized, representing the municipality’s cleaning service, as well as a recreation of the La Gomera Drum Dance, accompanied by players and chácaras.
The sculptor Carlinés has given life to these new figures, which highlight the richness of local traditions and daily life in Candelaria. Likewise, the nativity scene has undergone significant improvements, with a structure that includes a new grotto and a fish pond, in a setting that commemorates the Birth of Jesus.
The nativity scene will remain open 24 hours a day and beyond the Christmas holidays, because it is usually open at least until the first week of February, with the start of Carnival. Something that the merchants appreciate and, especially, the churrería, right in front of where people gather to witness such a unique performance.
