The insular director of the General Administration of the State in La Gomera, Juan Luis Navarro, presided on Thursday the commemorative act of the 50 years of Spain in freedom that has organized the Insular Directorate coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the end of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

This event, held in the Cultural Recreational and Sports Circle Junonia of the capital of La Gomera and which has given space to poetry, music, colloquium and also the Gomero whistle, is part of the events that have organized the seven island venues of the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands within the initiative Spain in freedom, 50 years implementation by the Government of Spain.

“That we are in Junonia today is no coincidence. It is a way to recognize and appreciate the real and symbolic role that many women and men played in gaining spaces for freedom and respect. They did it at this headquarters. They were not the only ones, many more people did it in other clubs and associations, in schools, at home, in so many places. They were able to create the germ of a transition that was well done in La Gomera,” said the island’s director.

“It is a good sign that the work of those years has borne fruit today. We know that exponents are lacking, but the society of 50 years ago and today is well represented. We have asked the speakers to express themselves freely, from their conscience, to make a generational dialogue, and they have given us a magnificent image of what we are”, he added.

Juan Luis Navarro has highlighted that “the Spanish people can proudly celebrate that we have a consolidated democracy where the ideals of freedom and equality are essential”, while recognizing that “there is a long way to go to make every day better this great country that is Spain”.

During the event, 18 commemorative plaques have been given to so many other people from the island’s associative fabric, the cultural sphere and former authorities, in recognition of their contribution to democracy and gratitude for collaborating in the celebration of half a century of freedom in La Gomera and the rest of the country.

These are the former island delegates of the Government in La Gomera, Francisco Herrera and Gregorio Medina; the former island directors of the General Administration of the State in La Gomera, María Elena Trujillo and Jesús Mario Cruz; Alberto Barroso, of the club Junonia; María Dolores Herrera and María del Carmen Herrera, of the Association of the 3rd Age and pensioners Iballa; Gumita Palmero and Sara Guadalupe Arteaga, of the Association of Young María Aguiar

The commemorative event, moderated by the journalist Miguel Ángel Reyes, has had as protagonists different associations of the island, who have contributed their testimonies on aspects and values of the Gomero people during the last 50 years of freedom through a series of videos and a colloquium, which have been divided into many other thematic blocks: equality, freedom of expression, inclusion and sexual diversity, education and “Country of opportunities”.

In addition, Judian Hernández, teacher of silbo gomero, has pronounced in this language Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity the following message: “Welcome to the institutional event España en Libertad, 50 Años. From La Gomera to the world, forever and ever.”

The event also featured the performance of the poet Alba Moreno and the music of Los Nostálgica and Ashe Fusión Timple.