The play, directed by Nacho Cabrera and performed by amateur actors from the municipality, is a theatrical adaptation of the book by historian Faneque Hernández. The piece recounts the events that occurred in Agüimes in 1708, when residents rebelled against the bishop and lord of the area, Juan Ruiz Simón, who intended to sell the communal granary's wheat for personal gain.
The townspeople, supported by the popular mayor and captain of the southern militias, Antonio de Rojas, opposed the bishop and managed to expel the caravan of twelve camels sent to collect the grain. This event, considered the first neighborhood riot in Agüimes' history, was documented by historian Faneque Hernández, an adopted son of the municipality, in his work 'La reata de los doce camellos', published in 2023.
The theatrical adaptation will premiere at the Teatro Auditorio Agüimes this Friday, September 25, at 8:00 PM. The production features musical arrangements by Mingo Quintana and the group Tabaiba, and is performed by a large cast of local residents. Tickets are almost completely sold out.
The episode narrates the struggle of the humble people of Agüimes to preserve the cereal, reserved for times of true need, against the bishop's interest in requisitioning it for sale in Tenerife at a high price. The rebels united to prevent the looting and expel the caravan and its drivers. The subsequent judicial process concluded without convictions due to the lack of incriminating witnesses.
This popular uprising, the first recorded in the Canary Islands during the modern era, predated by ten years the more widely known one in 1718, when the people of Agüimes again confronted the landowner Francisco Amoreto over his intention to appropriate royal lands near the coast. Both riots forged a character of struggle and resistance against abuses of power, which the men and women of Agüimes still proudly claim today.
The mayor of Agüimes, Óscar Hernández, and the Councilor for Culture, Efraín González, visited the second-to-last general rehearsal to greet and thank the author, director, and all participants. The production has been subsidized by the Ayuntamiento de Agüimes and the Cabildo de Gran Canaria. Faneque Hernández and Nacho Cabrera anticipate a "top-tier artistic event" that will "make history and make the town with the residents at the forefront."
