The La Laguna City Council denounces the theft of the bust of the painter and first democratic mayor of La Laguna, Pedro González, who was located in the Vega park next to the entrance gate of the enclosure from the Camino de Las Peras. The Local Police and the Parks and Gardens service have alerted the municipal government team of what happened, which will immediately file the corresponding complaint with the National Police Force.
The mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, regrets this “act of vandalism, which represents a serious attack against the sculptural heritage of La Laguna and which also constitutes an insult to a figure of reference in the history of our city, both in the field artistic as well as in that of political participation, as was Pedro González”.
The councilor expresses the will to “recover this bust and return it to its original location, for the enjoyment of the citizenry and as a more than deserved tribute to Pedro González.”
The sculpture, the work of the Canarian artist Vicente Pérez Fernández, was placed in the park in 2007, although its completion dates back to 1987. Its location was chosen by Pedro González himself at the entrance to the park that today bears his name. It is one of the most important green spaces in the city, with an area of more than 22,000 square meters. The bust of Pedro González had already been the object of other acts of vandalism before.
Gutiérrez maintains that “the extensive catalog of busts and sculptures of La Laguna constitutes one of the most valuable resources of the municipal heritage” and recalls that from the Historical Heritage area “continuous cleaning and maintenance work has been carried out to guarantee its conservation, as well as and diffusion through various publications”.
Born on January 7, 1927 in La Laguna, Pedro González was one of the greatest exponents of 20th century painting. He was president of the Academy from 1983 to 1999, being named an Honorary Member in 2001.
He also carried out important pedagogical work, first as an art professor at the Superior School and, later, at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of La Laguna, of which he became Dean. He received the Canarias de Bellas Artes Award in 1988.
In 1979 he became the first mayor of La Laguna during the democratic period, a position he held until 1987. He died in 2016 at the age of 89.
