A statue of the legendary Mararía was unveiled yesterday on the viewpoint at Femes. The sculpture of the fictional local beauty was created by Cintia Machín to honour the centenary of novelist Rafael Arozarena, whose novel Mararía immortalised Femes in print and, later, on film.
Arozarena was born in Tenerife in 1923, and wrote his much-beloved novel 50 years later, after working for a phone company in Femes and being told how beautiful an old woman from the village had been when she was younger.
From this inspiration he created the tragic tale of Mararía, which became one of the most popular Canarian novels. The novel was later filmed in 1998 with Lanzarote actress Goya Toledo in the title role. Canarian musician, Pedro Guerra, who composed the film’s theme, performed at the unveiling yesterday.
Yaiza’s Mayor Óscar Noda and culture councillor Daniel Medina were on hand to pay tribute to Arozarena.
For regular updates, pictures and videos of Lanzarote be sure to like and follow our Facebook page “Gazette Life Lanzarote”.
