“The Banquet of Witches”: A Novel Celebrating Gran Canaria’s Cultural Richness

The author, Francisco García Saleh, emphasises that his novel also aims to reclaim the historical and cultural richness of Gran Canaria, “in contrast to the superficial view of the island as merely a beach destination.”

Launch of “El Banquete de las Brujas”

The writer and professor at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Fabio García Saleh, presented his latest novel, “El Banquete de las Brujas” (The Banquet of Witches), in the Plenary Hall of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria. The work reviews the professional journey of the islander painter Jesús Arencibia.

During the event, Antonio Morales, the president of the Cabildo, reiterated the government’s commitment to promoting and safeguarding the legacy of the Gran Canarian artist, who had received a scholarship to study in Madrid when he was younger, and whose legacy continues to be protected by the institution.

“It is an honour for the Cabildo de Gran Canaria to host the presentation of a book that rescues and updates the perspective on one of the great creators this island has produced, Jesús Arencibia,” remarked Morales. “Moreover, we do this in a space deeply connected to his artistic production, as the Plenary Hall still pulses with the power of his mural ‘Los gozos y dolores del mar’, one of the stellar protagonists of ‘El Banquete de las Brujas’.” In the novel, García Saleh takes readers on a narrative journey that reveals the hidden content of seven murals created by Arencibia, interpreted as a visual chronicle of resistance. Specifically, the mural adorning the Plenary Hall depicts the Christianisation of a pagan rite and conceals meanings and secrets that the writer also unveiled during Thursday’s event.

“But these two murals are not the only highlights,” asserted the island president. “The Cabildo of Gran Canaria proudly holds a unique collection of the artist, comprising 102 paintings and 25 drawings,” he proclaimed. “Arencibia is not only one of the most represented creators in our collection; he also brilliantly expressed the soul of the Gran Canarian people through his art. However, like many essential figures, his work risks being trapped in silence, limited to occasional contemplation, skewed or misinterpreted. Our responsibility, as an institution and as a society, is to spread, study, and protect this legacy, ensuring it remains alive in the collective memory.”

Discovering Arencibia’s Art

With that conviction, Morales praised this book, which “invites us to look beyond the surface of Arencibia’s frescoes, revealing them to be not mere picturesque scenes, but genuine visual manifestos filled with criticism, social commitment, spirituality, and symbolism.”

He believes that “El Banquete de las Brujas” fuses history, art, and literature, guiding readers through walls that speak an ancient language: that of popular wisdom, rebellion, and imagination. “García Saleh’s novel invites us on a journey through Gran Canaria, following the route of Arencibia’s murals, many of which are hidden or deteriorated. It discusses masonry, dictatorship, a multifaceted Church, santería, voodoo… with a captivating, intriguing narrative that grips you until the very last moment,” he reflected.

A Complex Legacy

The book “El Banquete de las Brujas” showcases an artist deeply committed to his homeland, once protected by figures such as Matías Vega Guerra and Néstor Álamo, yet also marked by the repression of an era where his voice found refuge in the walls of churches, schools, and public buildings. “On those surfaces, he documented a sensitivity ahead of his time, with powerful metaphors on the role of women, spirituality, and social justice,” he underscored.

As a result, in Antonio Morales’ view, “El Banquete de las Brujas” is not merely a literary work but also a cultural guide, an exercise in memory and reclamation. “It reminds us that preserving Arencibia’s work is to preserve an essential part of Canary history and challenges us to look again at the walls of our island to uncover the hidden narrative that connects art, tradition, and future,” he concluded.

Finally, he thanked the author for opening the door to a new, complex, and nuanced Arencibia and invited Gran Canarian society to engage with this book. “May this ‘Banquet of Witches’ also be a banquet of memory, art, and commitment to our cultural heritage. Let it serve to reclaim Jesús Arencibia as what he is: a pillar of 20th-century Canarian painting and a creator who gave voice, colour, and dignity to the history of our people,” he added.

A Cultural and Symbolic Interest

Fabio García Saleh described “El Banquete de las Brujas” as a story centring on the works of Jesús Arencibia and “an enthralling puzzle that interconnects painting, mythology, esotericism, and history within a detective narrative. It delves into deeply controversial topics such as masonry, witchcraft, black magic, and the true origins of Christianity.”

The writer specified that “the most remarkable aspect of this novel is how Jesús Arencibia outwitted Francoist censorship and boldly presented a message that was entirely contrary to the discourse of national-Catholicism. He managed to capture pagan teachings in murals that were, in many cases, commissioned by the very Francoist authorities, some even found within churches.” He continued, “But my intention was not solely to reveal the hidden teachings that Jesús Arencibia left in his murals. My main aim was to champion his figure and introduce his work to an audience that, regrettably, remains unaware of it. I want to popularise it and rescue an ignored heritage, transforming it into a point of cultural and symbolic interest.”

For this reason, García Saleh highlighted that this book seeks not only to recover Arencibia’s memory but also to weave a narrative of initiation, an invitation to look beyond the tourist cliché and delve into an invisible Gran Canaria, veiled under layers of symbolism, art, and collective memory. “In contrast to the superficial view of our island as merely a beach destination, this novel firmly asserts its historical and cultural richness,” he concluded.

The writer holds a PhD in English Philology and currently divides his professional life between university teaching, where he lectures on the History of the United Kingdom as well as English Language and Literature at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and his work as a writer for La Provincia, where every Saturday he signs the page “Crónicas de un rompesuelas,” dedicated to recovering forgotten episodes from the history of Gran Canaria.