Sonia Álamo Sánchez – Councillor at the Ayuntamiento of Puerto del Rosario for Tourism, Sports, Beaches and Public Health “Great efforts have been made concerning safety on beaches”

FMHOY - Fuerteventura

We interviewed her when she started her career in public services, four years ago, everything was new to her, but we could already see that she was determined and hardworking. Now that the term is reaching an end, we have met her again so that she can give us a summary of the work achieved and her experience over the past few years.

We would like you to tell us about your achievements during this term, the projects that are still to be completed and also those that could not be achieved...

I am delighted that you are giving me the opportunity to do this summary now, but also when you interviewed me when I had just started.

Let’s start with the Sports sector. Tell us...

It was an intense term, especially, when halfway through, I was asked to take over the Sports council, right at the end of the pandemic.

We almost started from nothing, because the restrictions only allowed a few outdoor events, without any spectators, and those difficulties meant that I took over a very depleted Sports council. We were all aware that we had quite a challenge ahead, but we had to put emphasis on sports again.

Thankfully, people wanted to come back to sports and even suggested sports initiatives, not only for competitions, but also to bring some visibility to sports via those events.

We have continued with that same dynamic of improving sports facilities, which really needed it. When I arrived, the first thing on the agenda was to renovate and work on the ventilation of the wrestling ground and the Oasis Pavillon, which are underway.

My colleague, Aurelia Vera, had already done some renovations on the football ground of El Matorral, but it remained closed as the electrical work wasn’t completed. We managed to complete it and open it to the public, with a contractor for the cleaning, opening and closing of the premises. As we were still dealing with Covid, we opened especially for children to have somewhere to play, as well as for competitions.

We added lighting in the Municipal Stadium of Risco Prieto and also in the Stadium of Los Pozos, which has lighting like nowhere else on the island, in order to get the certification to host Second division encounters. Is there anything still pending?

The project which has been delayed is the new pavilion of the Sports City. The plot has already been fitted on an urban level. It is located in the upper part of El Charco, close to the Day Centre. It is due to have four areas, one for fitness and the other three for indoor sports.

The project was handed over to the Cabildo, in January, because with the Island Plan of Cooperation, we have established that common projects are done through the Ayuntamientos and the Cabildo.

We really need it, because the other two pavilions of Puerto del Rosario are saturated until 11 pm every night.

We promoted sports a lot, and so far, this year, we have organised 23 events already.

What about the Tourism sector?

I feel that my predecessor in Tourism, Paloma Hernández did good work, but a few bases were missing; such as creating a strategic plan to be able to work on common grounds and we created it, in May 2020, when we subscribed to the Network of the Smart Tourism Destinations. Although it was during the pandemic, we managed to get our certification.

The Tourism Office has been improved in Puerto del Rosario and as far as the promotion of the municipality is concerned, we feel that fairs are important, but also that our image is linked to that of Fuerteventura, and the Tourism Board and Council are doing a good job.

What are the novelties concerning the Beaches?

Great efforts have been made concerning safety on beaches. We hired a new contractor, in 2020, for the first time for the beach of Los Pozos, where they only used to have safety services during the summer, and for Playa Blanca, we have increased it from March until November, and we are trying to see if we can have it all year round.

For the first time, we also added first aid services on the beach of Los Molinos, where people have drowned before, as this is a very dangerous beach. Now, there are safety services from June until October and in addition to the three lifeguards, we also added a satellite telephone connected to the emergency services on 112, as there is no phone service in that area.

We have also installed Oneup rescue devices on the whole coast of the municipality.

How about Public Health?

We have brought support to the associations that promote healthy life habits and the associations that are in direct contact with patients. We are trying to bring visibility to those associations and their therapies to help them get known, such as Fuerteventura’s Association for the Families of people suffering from Alzheimer’s and other dementias (AFFA), which is doing a great job. We only have one last question for you, Sonia, are you satisfied with what you have achieved?

Yes, very much so, and I wish to go further with the island’s institution, and I am running as number two on Antigua’s mayor’s list.