The Departments of Cultural Heritage and Citizen Participation of the City Council of La Laguna present the Colecta Memoria project, a novel initiative that, through the recovery of historical and family archives, as well as work sessions with neighbors, seeks to safeguard and disseminate the audiovisual heritage of the municipality. This proposal, which is being developed within the framework of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the declaration of La Laguna as a World Heritage City, will make it possible to delve into more than a century of local memory through its moving images.
The councilman of Cultural Heritage, Adolfo Cordobés, and the filmmaker and director of the project, Dailo Barco, presented today all the details of a municipal initiative that counts with the collaboration of UNESCO, Filmoteca Canaria and Casa de Lava.
“Audiovisual heritage is our collective memory and a reflection of our cultural, social, architectural and landscape wealth. Preserving it and ensuring its accessibility to the public and future generations must be an objective for all institutions dedicated to memory, in accordance with UNESCO’s agreements and recommendations,” said Adolfo Cordobés.
And, coinciding with the 130th anniversary of the birth of cinema and 25 years as the only World Heritage City of the Canary Islands, “we take another step forward with a project that will make an important contribution to the protection and dissemination of the heritage of La Laguna, allowing us to recover and enhance images that have captured our history for more than a century,” said the mayor.
Colecta Memoria La Laguna, explained Cordobés, arises “after several months of work researching in film libraries and family archives, and as an action that transcends the historic city to collect the memory of the inhabitants of the municipality, in addition to helping us understand our present and ensure that future generations can access a human history that goes beyond monuments and historic buildings”.
To strengthen social participation in the project and recover this collective memory, “next June, we will have an extensive program of activities in different citizen centers throughout the municipality. The projections of fragments of historical films will be accompanied by presentations, mediations and dialogues with the attending neighbors, creating a space for reflection and exchange of ideas”, added the Councilor for Citizen Participation of the City Council of La Laguna, Fran Hernández.
In total, there will be 7 sessions, all in the afternoon and to be held from June 3 to 13 in the citizen centers of Tejina, Pérez Soto de El Cardonal, Bajamar, El Tranvía de La Cuesta, Valle de Guerra, Las Madres de Padre Anchieta and Las Mercedes.
Dailo Barco announced that all this work will take the form of a special event on Heritage Night, an exceptional celebration that will take place on September 13 in the 15 Heritage Cities of Spain. On that day, Colecta Memoria will offer an event entitled “Heritage in Motion”, where “digitized films of the audiovisual heritage of La Laguna and a special video showing the results of the participatory process of citizenship will be screened,” said the project director.
Barco thanked the authorities and collaborating institutions for their commitment to this initiative, which encompasses heritage, cultural, educational and social dimensions. He also highlighted the large number of people who have joined this action, with a team composed of Carmelo Vega, Ulises Martín Hernández, María Dolores Barrena Delgado, Óscar Morales and Racso Zehcnas.
UNESCO Recommendations
The project has taken into account UNESCO’s Recommendations in this field, both for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images, which stresses the importance of protecting these documents as an expression of the cultural personality of peoples, and for the Preservation and Access to Documentary Heritage, which includes content in digital format.
Dates and schedules of the participatory sessions:
– Tejina. June 3, from 17:00 to 19:00 hours.
– El Cardonal (Pérez Soto). June 4, from 17:15 to 19:15 hours.
– Bajamar. June 6, from 18:00 to 20:00 hours.
– La Cuesta (El Tranvía). June 10, from 17:30 to 19:30 hours.
– Valle de Guerra. June 11, from 16:30 to 18:30.
– Padre Anchieta (Las Madres), June 12, from 18:00 to 20:00 hours.
– Las Mercedes. June 13, from 18:00 to 20:00 hour