Remembering to Avoid Barbarism

Nieves Lady Barreto participates in Fuerteventura at the launch of the documentary Los Pozos del Olvido

The Councilor for Presidency, Public Administration, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, Nieves Lady Barreto, attended the presentation on Wednesday in Fuerteventura of the educational documentary Los Pozos del Olvido. The film, produced by the Association for Historical Memory of Arucas (AMHA), aims to disseminate the period between the coup d’état and the Civil War (1936‑1939), a time in which roughly 1,000 people disappeared across the archipelago, and to bring younger generations closer to the victims’ reparations.

The ceremony was attended by Vice‑Councilor for Justice and Security, Cesáreo Rodríguez; Island Councilor for Education and Youth, Adargoma Hernández Rodríguez; President of the Association for Historical Memory of Arucas, Pino Sosa, and the association’s secretary and documentary director, Manuel Ortego.

“This is an example of what we must do with Historical Memory in the Canary Islands: it is not about forgetting, but about knowing what happened so it never happens again,” said Nieves Lady Barreto, thanking the Cabildo for its collaboration and the association’s work in bringing the documentary to all the islands.

Barreto emphasized that Democratic Memory belongs to no ideology:

“It belongs to people who believe in justice, and administrations have the responsibility to promote projects that shed light on a dark era and allow us to move forward.”

The Documentary

The film features the testimony of Pino Sosa, president of the Association for Historical Memory of Arucas and a recognized victim of the 1936 coup. Her tireless efforts have led to the identification of the remains of 38 people repressed in northern Gran Canaria, who were murdered and thrown into various wells in the municipality of Arucas between March and April 1937.

The launch took place at the Centro Insular de Juventud in Puerto del Rosario and was attended by students from IES Puerto del Rosario, who are involved in a historical‑memory recovery project linked to an Erasmus+ partnership with the Lycée Polyvalent Jules Fil in Carcassonne, France—a region that hosted many Spanish families fleeing the Civil War.

Following the screening, a debate was held to encourage collective dialogue and reflection on Democratic Memory. The documentary, 30 minutes long, will be distributed from February to municipalities, island councils, schools, universities, libraries and media outlets throughout the Canary Islands, accompanied by a promotional booklet and a digital version.

Commitment to Historical Memory

The initiative is part of the regional government’s broader commitment to:

• Recover historical memory and investigate the fate of those who disappeared during the Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship.
• Promote works aimed at moral reparations and the dignification of victims.

The project is funded with a budget of €14,750.

The documentary’s tour began in La Palma in December, has already visited La Gomera, Lanzarote, El Hierro and Fuerteventura, and will conclude on Friday, 30 January, in Arucas, Gran Canaria.

Through projects like Los Pozos del Olvido, the Government of the Canary Islands reinforces its dedication to Democratic Memory policies, supporting scientific research into possible burial sites, fostering public awareness of victims’ legacies, and officially recognizing spaces linked to repression—always guided by transparency and efficient public management.