Octavio Arbeláez is one of the directors of the fourth edition of MAPAS, a cultural market held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and which also extends its scope of action to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in this edition. For Arbeláez, the link with Gran Canaria and the support of all the Canarian institutions has been vital: “the pandemic taught us that we only got out of this together. The sustainability of cultural organizations and their development and internationalization perspectives are what interest us all ”. He also added that the "institutional effort to support MAPAS is being exemplary."
In this sense, the director assured that this year he has bet a lot on Canarian productions. “We are betting a lot on Canarian content. We have a large number: almost fifty percent of the artists invited to participate are of Canarian origin ”, he assured.
On the other hand, one of the directors of MAPAS has declared that the fact that Gran Canaria joined has come to respond to a need: “we saw that it was a priority need to link it with Canarian production and the need for future prospects for our local production ”.
Arbeláez has a clear vocation for the Canary Islands as a link between Latin America, Africa and the South Atlantic. MAPS wants to reference the role of the Archipelago as such and to continue doing so strategically it was decided that Las Palmas de Gran Canaria would also be part of this edition. "We are very happy, especially because we are aware of the great potential, especially of cultural and scenic infrastructure, that Gran Canaria has," he explained.
Finally, Octavio Arbeláez assured that the call made by MAPAS has a great dimension. Although this 2021 the figures prior to the pandemic will not be recovered, he recalled that in 2019 there were 1,500 and 1,600 companies from all over the geographical area that the market occupies.
The return of MAPAS is faced with "the joy of reunion and with the hope that hugs mean new ways of creating," said Arbeláez. In the context of the pandemic, the market poses new challenges and this will condition "the construction of the future of tricontinental cultural cooperation," he explained. Thus, Arbeláez once again appeals to synergies and collaboration.
In addition, Arbeláez addresses the capacity for innovation and imagination to be able to work since “the meeting is necessary, urgent. Recurring crises test our ability to combine empathy and action ”, he said. From MAPAS all preventive measures have been taken for coexistence within the framework of the celebration of this market. "The regulations related to the pandemic will be respected to guarantee a safe and friendly environment, as the Canary Islands are currently", he concluded.
