A piece of timepiece history takes place in Madrid today to mark Canary Islands’ Day. The region’s annual celebration this year includes a host of activities not just in the Canaries but forms of commemoration in the nation’s capital.
In a gesture widely appreciated by the authorities here, Madrid’s giant clock on the Puerta del Sol in the city centre has been put back by one hour to bring it into line with Canarian time, which – due to the archipelago’s geographical position – is one hour behind the rest of Spain. The time difference is a permanent feature of news bulletins in Spain, which always announce both times at the beginning.
The change is the first time in history that the iconic clock above Madrid’s famous Correos building has had its time altered.
‘Canarian time in Madrid’ began at 9am this morning and will last a full twelve hours. In a further tribute to the islands, Madrid’s regional government has unfurled a giant banner on the building, featuring the Canarian flag and a brief explanation of the reason behind the clock change, which is seen as a nod to the estimated 120,000 Canarians currently living in the Spanish capital.
Canary Islands’ Day is marked formally every year on 30 May, the date on which the region’s Parliament sat for the first time in 1983 following the granting of extensive devolution powers the previous year as part of Spain’s post-Franco shift towards decentralisation.
In a drive to showcase Canarian culture and traditions, a range of events have been staged in Madrid during May in the lead-up to 30 May, including the first ever staging of a Canarian wrestling bout on the mainland.
As reported here, the Spanish capital’s central Plaza de Callao was transformed into an open-air sand arena to host an official league bout between top Canarian wrestling (“lucha canaria”) clubs Saladar de Jandía (Fuerteventura) and Candelaria de Mirca (La Palma).
The sand circle was built using 24 tonnes of black volcanic sand shipped expressly from La Palma for the occasion. The wrestlers were flown in for the ground-breaking fixture by regional airline Binter, which played Canarian music on board and provided cabin lighting in the yellow, blue and white colours of the Canarian flag.
