The Silbo Gomero was for the ancient inhabitants of La Gomera the communication instrument that bridged distances and marked the social and economic life of that time. Luckily, it was articulated so that the lack of communications, as we know them today, was not an obstacle to the desire for self-improvement of so many women and men who saw in the whistle an opportunity for progress. From that society of our ancestors there has been left a legacy of incalculable cultural and heritage value, which has been positioned as the most researched articulated whistled language in the world and which during this week has been the common thread of some international conferences that have given a lot of value.
There was an outstanding debt with this heritage and that was to bring together, around the same table, dozens of experts and researchers from various regions of the world in order to expose shared synergies about this language, its conservation and dissemination, in addition to delving into the reality of others existing in Morocco or Turkey, which, with evident differences with the Silbo Gomero, have shared challenges in a globalized world where teaching is key to their survival.
During the two days that the conference lasted, the strength of Silbo Gomero was evident. A living language full of new blood, which springs from the knowledge of the great master whistlers, who with their skill understood, since the last century, the importance of bringing it to schools. I said in the commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary as a World Heritage Site, last September, that its arrival in schools was, perhaps, the greatest achievement so that the seed of this articulate language did not fall into oblivion and neutralized the risk of disappearance that existed at that time.
When listening to the testimonies that emerged from the different work tables and the exhibitions held, I have to confess that we have not yet been able to give all the value that this heritage deserves. We cannot tire of repeating that, just as our island is a unique natural treasure with its Garajonay National Park, the Silbo Gomero is an identity heritage that represents the values of strength, tireless struggle and improvement. The same values that more than two centuries ago had those who saw in this language the only possibility of facing the abrupt orography of the island.
One of the living testimonies that best define this heritage is the master whistler and Canary Islands Prize winner Isidro Ortiz, who has condensed his close relationship with the preservation of Gomera culture in a book. To him, along with others, we owe much of the achievements obtained by the Silbo Gomero so far this century. Their dedication over the years was essential to understand why this language could not and cannot be lost.
Listening to him carefully, Ortiz captures an x-ray of La Gomera then and the island it is now. And mixing his anecdotes with the drum and the chácaras, he remembers how only a handful of Gomeros maintained the ability to communicate with the whistle at the end of the eighties of the last century. That, he says, was decisive for him to embark on the path of teaching and led to thousands of citizens of this island using it with pride today.
Isidro's story already lives on in the pages of the history of this island through his work, a living legacy for future generations. Let's take advantage of that wisdom that he leaves us so as not to fall into past mistakes.
