The XIII Campus of Ethnography and Folklore of Ingenio concluded with a conference on the 'Calando Cultura' project and seven presentations by young researchers. The island director of Culture, Serafín Sánchez, warned of the risk of extinction of artisanal lacework.
The plenary hall of the Ingenio Town Hall hosted the closure of the XIII Campus of Ethnography and Folklore yesterday, a meeting that brought together young researchers around traditional culture for several days. The central event was the conference by the island director of Culture of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Serafín Sánchez, who detailed the results of the project 'Gran Canaria Singular: Calando Cultura'.
Sánchez, a native of Ingenio and a teacher at the local IES, explained that the Cabildo's initiative aimed to “make artisanal lacework visible as part of our intangible heritage” and to pass it on to new generations. The project involved students from the IES of Ingenio and the IES Pérez Galdós of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, combining heritage and education.
A craft at risk of extinction
During his speech, Sánchez alerted about the situation of artisanal lacework, a tradition that still survives in Ingenio but that “may be at risk of extinction”. “Preserving our culture means keeping it alive, making it evolve and turning it into a tool of identity,” he stated.
The island director highlighted that the project has managed to connect with educational centres, cultural groups, and creators from different disciplines. “Any knowledge of any tradition is worth sharing”, he emphasized, adding that “we are what we do to change what we are.”
“The women who kept lacework alive for generations changed the future without knowing it. Today it is our turn to do the same,” Sánchez pointed out in his speech.
The island director insisted that “Gran Canaria Singular” speaks not only of lacework but of the identity of the community and what is decided to be passed on to future generations. “If in 30 years a child recognizes what a piece of lacework is as something of their own, we will have fulfilled our mission,” he concluded.
Seven investigations from a young perspective
After the conference, the seven presentations prepared by the young researchers of the campus were presented. Ángel Vega addressed the evolution of the folía in Gran Canaria, while Cristina Rodríguez, only eleven years old and a member of the Agrupación Coros y Danzas de Ingenio since she was three, defended folklore as a pillar of her life.
Adrián Jiménez spoke about “the inheritances of yesterday: the grandparents”, recalling that “if I am anything today, it is because they gave me everything.” Leire Hernández, for her part, analyzed the historical role of the harimaguadas as a legacy that still resonates in Canary culture.
Mencey Estévez valued theatre as the voice of folklore, stating that “folklore is the essence of people”. Lucía Pérez, a medical student, presented a paper on gender bias in medicine, revealing that only 33% of researchers are women according to UNESCO, which invisibilizes female diseases.
Finally, Yurima Pérez presented the paper “Vagrants and Delinquents”, a review of the concentration camp of Tefía in Fuerteventura, where prisoners were confined for their sexual orientation during the Franco dictatorship. The young researcher described the place as a space of “memory and resistance”.
The campus, which has now reached thirteen editions, consolidates itself as a forum for debate and dissemination of traditional Canarian culture, with notable participation from young people who research and reflect on intangible heritage. For the residents of Ingenio, the event represents an opportunity to learn firsthand about the work of their young talents and to advocate for trades like lacework, which are part of the municipality's identity.
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