Residents of Puerto de la Cruz actively participated in the third day of the Periplo festival, filling the auditorium at the Lago Martiánez. The discussions centered on reconstructing the past through orality, the pursuit of freedom via navigation, and the defense of identity against persecution.
The mayor of Puerto de la Cruz, Leopoldo Afonso, highlighted the significance of the shared stories, stating, "The stories shared today bring us closer to experiences that, although they unfold in different places, pose common questions about memory, freedom, and human dignity." The Councilor for Culture, Desiré Díaz, added that the event brings together "different ways of understanding the journey: recovering a people's memory through conversations with a grandmother, setting sail to explore one's own limits, or leaving one's home country to live in freedom."
The program began at 6:00 PM with the journalist and writer from Tenerife, Óscar Liam, who presented his narrative about the transformation of Las Galletas (Plasson e Bartleboom), based on dialogues with his grandmother. Liam emphasized the importance of orality as "part of the identity of the Canary Islands" and how "many stories would be lost" without it. The author expressed his goal to "settle a debt with my grandmother and with all the grandmothers of the Canary Islands who have endured so much hardship."
At 7:15 PM, writer and navigator Capucine Trochet presented "Tara Tari. My Wings, My Freedom," recounting her journey aboard a small sailboat built from recycled materials. Trochet discussed how navigation and a genetic diagnosis led her to explore a form of freedom linked to adapting her limits. "I had a dream: to be at sea and sail under the stars," she stated, explaining that she set sail without an engine, computer, or prior experience, but, as she put it, "when you know nothing, the margin for learning is enormous, and besides, we have very modern technology called eyes, ears, and skin."
The day concluded with the conversation "Borders of Identity," where human rights activist and intercultural mediator Ramtin Zigorat, alongside journalist Ebbaba Hameida, reflected on persecution, exile, and the struggle to live one's identity freely. Zigorat took refuge in Spain after suffering imprisonment and a death sentence in Iran for his work defending LGBTQI+ individuals. "After the physical and psychological torture in prison, I told myself: I have already died. So I decided to do something so that more people would not suffer that violence, and that's how my activism began," said Zigorat, who lost "faith in humanity, but not hope, because humans can change things."
Previously, at the Carpa Sotavento, Rosalba Rodríguez de la Sierra and Sergio Millares presented "Now I Ask, Before I Didn't. The Story of a Canarian Family," discussing the reconstruction of a family's memory in Puerto de la Cruz, marked by repression and exile, which represents "a contribution to the history of the Canary Islands" from a personal perspective.
Today's Thursday program includes the presentation of the novel "Mano, the Golden Son" by writer Antoinette Tidjani at 6:00 PM, and the expedition to the Peruvian Amazon "My Mother Became a Bird" by Josep M. Palau Riberaygua and Pilar Rubio Remiro at 7:15 PM. At 8:30 PM, Salah Jamal will present "Aroma Árabe."
