By Benjamin Reyes / At 7:30 p.m. last Saturday, October 12, the interpreters of the auto sacramental of the Livery of Valley of War They begin to prepare to go on stage in the sports pavilion attached to the plaza of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario church, which featured a brand new mural alluding to the Livery, the work of Pedro Cedrés and his team. Imobach Herrera, who stepped into the shoes of Cervantes, struggles to put on his tights and asks himself: “Does this work for me?”
Many actors begin as extras at a young age, and over time they adopt other roles with text. This is the case of Daniel Izquierdo, who began at the age of 10 as a child extra and this Saturday, at the age of 15, he played a soldier of the Holy League. Point out ways. Days before, he performed two scenes at the IES Valle de Guerra, together with Haydée Perera, to try to convince other teenagers to sign up for the next Livery and preserve this tradition so deeply rooted in the valley town.
The new blood is mixed with experienced performers such as Dévora López, who once again plays the princess of Éboli. “I identify a lot with her. We have a similar character. “He lost his eye in a foil fight,” he says an hour before going on stage. His excited face changes when we hear it raining intensely and we think that the performance will not be able to take place. Fortunately, the sky granted a two-hour respite, until it rained again just as the performance ended.
Ten minutes before the start of the performance, Nacho Almenar, responsible for stage direction, organizes a circle with all the performers and tells them: “Let’s have a good time.” All the actors, holding hands, shout out loud: “Librea!”, before going on stage and immersing the audience, for two hours, in the 16th century and taking them back to the mythical battle of Lepanto.
As a novelty, this year there was a screen that allowed us to see the entrance of the Virgin’s squad into the church, while the soprano Carmen Perdomo performed an emotional musical theme. Next, Julio Rodríguez de Castro, responsible for this year’s salutation, highlighted “that it is the first Livery to be celebrated after the canonization of the Virgin of El Rosario.”
About 2,500 people gathered in the plaza adjacent to the Vallera church and at the end of the performance they responded with long applause for the effort carried out by the 250 people who make it a reality. Throughout the entire performance, he spontaneously launches harangues that are emulated by the crowd: “Long live the Virgin of El Rosario! Long live Valle de Guerra! Long live the Librea!” The excitement was palpable in the atmosphere.
The 1,430 chairs arranged by the organization were packed, and the surroundings of the square were packed with another 1,000 people who watched the show standing despite the rain, which arrived an hour before the performance.
The Livery commemorates the famous battle of Lepanto in 1571, where Canarian soldiers led by the Palmero captain Francisco Díaz Pimienta (this year played by Derimán Alonso) participated. The mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, did not miss the event.
Vanessa Rodríguez Cairós recited a praise in honor of the Virgin of El Rosario, which her grandmother Nélida Falero Hernández recited in 1940
The Livery has evolved over time, but always preserving tradition. One of the novelties was the opening scene of Cervantes’ muses, which introduced viewers to the events leading up to the historic conflagration. One of the moments that most connected with the audience was the singing of an arrorró during the fishing village scene. Another novelty occurred almost at the end of the car, Vanessa Rodríguez Cairós recited a loa (a poem) in honor of the Virgin of El Rosario, which she learned from her mother and this from her grandmother Nélida Falero Hernández, who recited it in 1940.
La Librea was accompanied by the live intervention of the Nuestra Señora de Lourdes band, which was conducted by Isaac González, which reached its musical zenith in the confrontation between the ships of La Real and La Sultana, led by Juan de Austria (Guillermo López) and Alí Bajá (José Luis López). The culmination was put by Hail Mary performed by Chago Melián and a colorful display of fireworks. The appearance of all the performers on stage led to mutual applause between the actors and the audience.
The Valle de Guerra Livery has the support of the Culture, Historical Heritage and Tourism areas of the La Laguna City Council, the Culture area of the Cabildo of Tenerife, the La Caixa Foundation Social Work and the contribution of the members of the Association of Friends of the Valle de Guerra Livery.
