Icod de los Vinos pays tribute to the playwright Hermenegildo Socas Cruz by calling the I Festival of Theater Popular that will bear his namewhich was presented last night at the Sociedad Centro Icodense, in an event in which the councilor for culture Verónica González, the president of the Sociedad Centro Icodense, participated. Pedro Martin Luis, and Ulises Hernández, representative of the Sol y Sombra Association, organizer of the contest. In addition, at the launch event of this event with culture, the comedy was performed ‘The magician Patricia’ (1928), work of Socas Cruz and Estela Rodríguez Guillermo and Palmira Díaz Hernández read some of their poems.
“Launching this festival, which complements the already established Máscara, brings incalculable value to this municipality, which we hope will be consolidated over time. Icod de los Vinos should be a reference in the theatrical culture of this island, and this proposal will undoubtedly help achieve it,” stated the municipality’s culture councilor, Verónica González.
“Popular theatre, both its creation and its enjoyment, encourages active participation of community members. Acting in a theatrical production, whether as an actor, director, designer or volunteer, gives people the opportunity to contribute and feel part of something great for the social group,” said the councilor.
In this regard, on behalf of the Sol y Sombra Association, Ulises Hernández, pointed out that “with the firm intention of making it lasting, we have developed bases to create a space for support, dissemination and recognition of the work carried out by many associations and groups of the Autonomous Community”, and added that the planning of this first edition will bring together “four selected groups, in addition to various activities related to the dissemination of our Popular Culture and the memory of the people.”
This Festival will take place in April 2024at the Teatro Cine Fajardo in Icod de los Vinos with a capacity of 400 people, and the call is now open for amateur theater groups, associations and collectives linked in some way to theatrical activities, in an amateur and non-spirited way. for profit, residents in Canary Islands can participate in the competition. The registration period is established between January 1 and March 1, 2024.
The Festival will be complemented with un program of parallel activities among which stand out a conference by Professor Manuel Lorenzo Perera, the performance of ‘El Mataculebra’ on the steps of the Plaza de Lorenzo Cáceres by the Folkloric Group of the Faculty of Education of University of La Lagunaor the presentation of book of ‘Pretended animals at the Canarian festivals’ by Ricardo Marcos Fajardo Hernández, among other acts.
It should be noted, on the other hand, that during the celebration of the Festival there will be a performance, by the Philology Theater Association of the ULL, the first play written by a woman in the Canary Islands. This is Dominga Spínola de Bethencourt (1811-1876), an author born in Teguise and considered the first known playwright of the islands. The work is titled ‘Los compadres de Rubicón’, a short work of a traditional nature that was premiered, probably in 1847.
