The island president Peter Martinassures that it has proceeded in a “very rigorous” manner and points out that it has been subjected to technical criteria “both the decisions that have to do with the removal or not of the sculpture, as well as whether it is a cultural asset or not”
The Council of Tenerife will not submit to the regional government the declaration of Well of Cultural Interest (BIC) of the Victory Monument for lacking exceptional artistic values. The island president, Pedro Martín, assures that both the study by the University of La Laguna and the report by the Historical Heritage Technical Unit are decisive, and he defends that it has been proceeded in a “very rigorous” manner.
“Beyond my personal opinion – I believe that all the Francoist symbols that exalt the coup of 36– The Cabildo has made a technical analysis on the sculpture of Juan de Ávalos. The report, like the one we commissioned from the University of La Laguna, concludes that the monument to Franco lacks exceptional artistic value and therefore does not deserve the status of Asset of Cultural Interest. For this reason, this island Corporation will not submit the start of the BIC declaration to the Government of the Canary Islands”, asserts Pedro Martín.
Both reports analyzed the historical importance of the sculptural production of Juan de Ávalos, author of the fountain, as well as its impact and repercussion on the historiography of art and its presence in the main collections and centers of contemporary art.
A technical and formal analysis of the sculpture was also carried out, of its formal and conceptual contributions in its historical context, and of its repercussion and visibility in the main bibliographical sources of contemporary art, and it was concluded that the monument to Franco, located at the confluence of La Rambla de Santa Cruz and Avenida de Anaga, it does not have exceptional artistic values.
The insular director of Territory Planning and Historical Heritage, Emilio Fariña, emphasizes that the Cabildo, “as mandated by the Canary Islands Cultural Heritage Law”, has done what is appropriate, “scrupulously complying with the law”. Fariña also stresses that both reports are “absolutely clear” and agree that the sculpture by Juan de Ávalos “lacks sufficient technical and historical values to initiate the initiation of the file for the declaration of Asset of Cultural Interest, with the category of monument”.
For all these reasons, the Cabildo has rejected the requests to initiate the file for the declaration of BIC of the monument to Franco presented by the Royal Canarian Academy of Fine Arts of San Miguel Arcángel and by the Association for the Research and Protection of Historical Heritage San Miguel Archangel.
Repair of historical memory
On the other hand, the Cabildo de Tenerife has approved in the Insular Government Council a call for subsidies, worth 100,000 euros, to carry out projects for the recovery of historical memory. These grants are intended for the island’s town halls, which may receive a maximum of 10,000 euros per action.
This call, promoted by the Insular Directorate of Coordination and Support to the President, whose head is Aarón Afonso, aims to recover, know and recognize the truth of the events that occurred in Tenerife, by virtue of Law 52/2007 and the Memory Law History of the Canary Islands, which includes the right to moral reparation for the Canarian victims of the civil war and the Franco dictatorship.
The call includes the development of research, study and dissemination activities, the removal of Francoist symbols and the carrying out of awareness and dissemination campaigns. The minimum amount of aid will be 1,500 euros per performance and the maximum of 10,000 euros.
The application submission period opened on March 2 and will end on April 12. All the municipalities of the island (individually or their dependent public entities) will be able to avail themselves of these subsidies, excluding public companies and other municipal entities and associations.
The assessment of each application will reach a maximum of 20 points and the quality of the project, its viability, its impact on society and population criteria will be taken into account. The beneficiary entities must execute the aid within a year from the award of the subsidy.
The application model and the bases are available to interested municipalities at the Cabildo Citizen Services Center and at the electronic office (https://sede.tenerife.es), in the Procedures and Services section.
In the same way, interested town councils may request information through the citizen information telephone numbers (922 23 95 00), from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 18:00 and on Saturdays from 09:00 to 18:00. 1:00 p.m.
