The San Bartolomé Theater hosted a memorial event this Saturday for Domingo Concepción García, a biologist, educator, researcher, and pivotal figure in understanding and defending the natural heritage of Lanzarote, who died in May 2025. The ceremony, held on what would have been Concepción's birthday, gathered family, friends, institutional representatives, former students, and colleagues to commemorate his life, his commitment to conservation, and his significant scientific outreach work.
The initiative, promoted by an organizing committee with the collaboration of the City Councils of San Bartolomé and Tías, and the Island Council of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, aimed to highlight the figure of this resident of San Bartolomé, whose career was closely linked to the study and protection of the island's biodiversity. The mayor of San Bartolomé, Isidro Pérez, emphasized that Domingo Concepción was a "man of San Bartolomé" who carried the municipality's name "far beyond its borders," leaving a "deep mark on Lanzarote."
Pérez added that the best way to honor Domingo is to "continue defending what he defended: knowledge, environmental education, the conservation of our heritage, and a Lanzarote capable of progressing without losing what makes it unique."
Born in San Bartolomé on August 22, 1959, Domingo Concepción graduated in Biology in 1984. He developed an extensive teaching career at the University School of Tourism of Lanzarote (EUTL), while also conducting research and outreach on the environment, agriculture, flora, protected areas, and impact studies. His work focused particularly on the study of the avifauna of Lanzarote and the Chinijo Archipelago, generating a valuable body of documentary knowledge.
His environmental outreach efforts included conferences, hiking activities, and programs for schoolchildren and adults since the late eighties. He was an active member of the environmental movement, presiding over the Cultural and Ecological Association El Guincho from 1998 to 2002, and collaborated with the Spanish Ornithological Society since 1992, becoming an expert bird bander. In 2016, he received the Biosphere Reference Award from the Island Council of Lanzarote.
The Councilor for Culture of San Bartolomé, Carmen Medina, highlighted that the tribute allows remembering Domingo in "all his facets," especially as a "man committed to the culture, knowledge, and identity of our land," whose legacy "is now part of the collective memory of Lanzarote."
The event featured the exhibition ‘Las Cosas de Mingo’ (Mingo's Things), a minute of silence, institutional and personal addresses, the screening of the documentary ‘In Memory of the Birds’, a poem dedicated to Domingo Concepción García, and videos such as ‘A Minute for Mingo’. Students and professors from the EUTL and the honoree's family participated, emphasizing his scientific contributions, personal dimension, and commitment to the island.
The San Bartolomé City Council expressed its gratitude to the family and all those involved in the gathering, which keeps alive the memory of a resident whose passion for nature continues to inspire the conservation of Lanzarote.
