SQM preserves historic legacy in the Canary Islands

A historic "Nitrate of Chile" advertising mosaic, located in the municipality of Agüimes on the island of Gran Canaria, will be restored thanks to funding from SQM Iberian, a subsidiary of the Chilean company SQM (Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile).

This initiative will make it possible to recover and preserve a unique piece of the Canary Islands' graphic heritage and the only example of its kind still remaining on the island.

The panel, located on the wall of a former well in the Cruce de Arinaga area, was part of an extensive international advertising campaign carried out throughout the 20th century to promote the agricultural use of Nitrate of Chile, a natural fertilizer that was widely used worldwide at the time. For decades, the mosaic remained hidden beneath multiple layers of paint, until it was recently rediscovered.

The initial restoration work was carried out by the association Insula Signa, an organization dedicated to the study and protection of the Canary Islands' graphic heritage. Its members performed meticulous manual work that brought this testimony of the region's visual and commercial history back to light.