This past week has seen the majority of the belén’s unveiled in each municipality of Lanzarote, these nativity scenes mark the start of the Christmas festivities and many inaugurations are combined with the switching on of the Christmas lights and a Christmas concert. (Photos of Haría’s belén 2009).
My favourite is consistently the belén of Yaiza and if you’re only going to see one in Lanzarote, I would strongly recommend that one. I haven’t seen this year’s belén in Yaiza yet, but to give you an idea of the quality and size please visit local photographer Dani’s blog post Belén de Yaiza by Dani Stein which shows the stunning belén from 2008.
There is another large belén in the Parque Ramírez Cerdá on the front in Arrecife which opened on the 14th December, this year made by the Hernández Fuentes family and based on a traditional market scene. The belén covers an area more than 200m2 and was constructed using recycled material, to give the impression of authentic stone walls they’ve used wood covered with cork and then added mud. The nativity figures have been borrowed from the Iglesia de San Ginés and there are some surprises such as a rooster crowing. This is an enclosed belén and viewing is from 9am to 1pm and 5pm to 9pm.
The belén de Haría was unveiled yesterday and is very different in design from the past few years, there are some beautiful larger figurines not seen before, a water feature and of course the man with the bare bum is there but he’s not obvious, you have to look for him! Situated at the Aljibe in front of the ayuntamiento.
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