The event, organized by the City Council of Puerto del Rosario, through the Department of Culture, will be held on Monday May 12 at the Municipal Library, as a tribute to the life and literary career of the author majorero
The Municipal Public Library of Puerto del Rosario will host next Monday, May 12, at 20:00 hours, the presentation of the latest work of the poet Andrés González Francés, entitled “Veinte poemas en llamas” (Twenty poems in flames).
This literary event represents a public recognition to one of the most prominent figures of poetry in Fuerteventura. Andrés González Francés has cultivated for decades a deeply personal literary voice, which has been characterized by its commitment to the island, its people and its history. His poetry, intense and honest, reflects a social and cultural sensitivity built over a lifetime dedicated to thought, word and action.
The event, organized by the Department of Culture, is part of the commitment of the municipality to recognize and give visibility to key figures of literary creation in Fuerteventura as is the case of Andrés.
The mayor of Puerto del Rosario, David de Vera, stressed that “it is an honor for Puerto del Rosario to host the presentation of this work that reflects the lucidity and commitment of an author who has managed to transform the word into living heritage of our island. Andrés González Francés represents a generation that made poetry a form of resistance, memory and beauty”.
For his part, the Councillor for Culture, Juan Manuel Verdugo, stressed that “the figure of Andrés González Francés deserves all the institutional and citizen recognition for a life of dedication to thought, literature and public service. His work not only enriches the island’s culture, but leaves a deep mark on the collective soul of Fuerteventura.
In “Veinte poemas en llamas”, González Francés reaches full poetic maturity. The work gathers twenty compositions that, as Juan Jiménez, in charge of the prologue of the work, points out, “enclose a well-conceptualized message in twenty flashes that gather part of his experience, part of his feelings”.
The work offers an emotional and aesthetic journey through the most universal themes of poetry: memory, passion, identity and resistance.
Andrés González Francés was born in Morro Jable on February 12, 1951. Throughout his career, he has maintained a constant involvement in social, cultural and trade union matters. Graduated in Labor Relations and Human Resources with a mention in Labor Tax Advisor, he was also a member of the Unified Police Union (SUP) during the underground period and was elected representative for the province of Las Palmas after the legalization of the union.
He held public office as a councilman of the City Council of Pájara, and also worked as a professional sailor, experience that enriched his literary work and his public interventions. Among his previous publications are titles such as “Cuarenta Sentimientos” (1999), “Pasiones a la Deriva” (2006), “Pájara en verso. De Sotavento a Barlovento” (2019) or the book of short stories “Entre la Historia y la Imaginación” (2007). He has also collaborated in collective works such as “Salvar El Cotillo. Salvar Fuerteventura” and “Los cuentos famosos de Pepe Monagas en décimas”. His poetic legacy also includes 228 unpublished poems.
For González Francés, “poetry is the most human feeling that exists”, as he expresses in the poem “A flapping of free wings”, included in his new book: “It is desolation and hope, aroma of words, sultana of letters. Know it all, she is a flower that sprouts in verse”.
The Department of Culture encourages all lovers of literature, poetry and culture to attend this event, which is not only the presentation of a new book, but also a well-deserved tribute to the life, intellectual and artistic career of a man who has made the word an act of love for their land and leaves an indelible mark on the contemporary history of Fuerteventura.