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\mh{Address by the Local Organizing Committee}

\noindent Dear colleagues,\vskip\baselineskip

\noindent 
It is a pleasure to welcome all of you to the 212th Symposium of the International
Astronomical Union and to speak on behalf of the Local Organizing Committee.
It has been a long way since the last meeting on massive and Wolf-Rayet stars
held at Puerto Vallarta, so well organized by our Mexican friends. We hope
that, in this new occasion, we do not disappoint you and that the symposium
will fulfill your expectations. All our efforts are in this direction. We have
counted with very effcient people in the LOC, specially the secretaries of the
research division of the Instituto de Astrof\'{\i}sica de Canarias (IAC): Tanja, Eva
and Judith. They are the true pillars of the organization. Also, we have been
very fortunate of having the unconditional help of the staff and personnel of the
computer center (Servicios Inform\'aticos Comunes) of the IAC.

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\noindent
We are deeply grateful to several institutions for their financial and organizing
support: the International Astronomical Union, the Spanish Ministry of
Science and Technology, the Autonomous Government of the Canary Islands,
the Government of the Island of Lanzarote, the City Council of Teguise, the
University of La Laguna, Iberia Airlines, and the DISA Oil Corporation.

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\noindent
Recall that just last Friday, June 22nd, was the summer solstice. Of course,
all of you know that this is a significant date, astronomically speaking. Yesterday,
June 23rd, was the eve of Saint John's Day, and popular bonfires were
celebrated at night time in Lanzarote, the whole archipelago and many parts
of the Mediterranean. These are ancient festivities related to the fertility to
the earth, the animals and the human beings. The ancient people of Lanzarote
and the whole Canary Islands, those living here before the Castillian conquest,
were worshippers of the sun. They inhabited the islands at the beginning of the
Christian Era and came from the splendid lands of North Africa.

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\noindent
Many early writers from conquest times tell us, that the ancient Canarians
worshipped the sun, the moon and other celestial bodies, and that the summer
solstice was an important moment of the year. In fact, the historian Mar\'{i}n de
Cubas tells us in his chronicle: ``The ancient Canarians counted their year by
lunations of 29 days from the new moon. They began the year in summer, at
the first conjunction between the sun and the moon, after the sun enters the
constellation of Cancer at June 21st; they made great dances and festivals for
nine consecutive days, having gathered their harvests. They made scratches on
tables, walls or stones, calling {\it tara} and {\it tarja}, for the memory of its meaning$\ldots$"
Let's celebrate this ancient Canarian new year talking about---or even worshipping-�­our massive stars, but do not forget to enjoy yourselves and the friendly
people and amazing landscape of this beautiful island.\vspace*{12pt}

\noindent 
Thank you very much, and welcome.

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\noindent {\it C\'{e}sar Esteban, chair LOC}

\noindent {\it Lanzarote, 24 June 2002}

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