Mamerto Cabrera Medina had business vision in the sixties when he closed his carpentry shop and focused on the tourism sector through car rental. He started with five Seats and created an empire with more than 17,000 vehicles and about 1,500 direct employees. The Tías City Council declared him a favorite son and will pay tribute to him on Saturday at the Municipal Theater.
The recognition event will take place on April 11 at 8:00 p.m. at the Tías Municipal Theater with the screening of a video and performances by Benito Cabrera, Domingo Rodríguez “El Colorao” and the musical group El Pavón. The event will be free and with seat reservation through the Eco Entradas platform.
Next year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the company's creation and this year, last February, the Tías City Council unanimously approved in plenary session his declaration as a favorite son of the municipality for his professional career and for his personal values of “closeness and affection, customer safety and satisfaction, kindness, simplicity, and desire for self-improvement”.
The mayor of Tías, José Juan Cruz, accompanied by the councilor for Culture, Pepa González, and by two of the honoree's children, Mamerto and Pedro Cabrera Cabrera, presented the event today and highlighted the human quality of Mamerto Cabrera Medina, as well as “the commitment to his land and his ability to generate opportunities for many families”.
Mamerto Cabrera Medina (Mácher, 1925- Arrecife, 2003), was born in the area of Barranco del Quíquere, where he lived part of his childhood. In Arrecife he trained as a carpenter, opening his workshop in the Lanzarotean capital in 1954, which is why his beginnings had no relation whatsoever with tourism.
It was in 1967 when, after an accident of his youngest daughter with the carpentry machinery, he decided to acquire five cars and dedicate himself to vehicle rental. In the 80s it came to occupy the first position among companies in the sector on the island, being in 1986 when it was constituted as a family business under the commercial acronym of Autos Cabrera Medina.
In 1989 he acquired CICAR (Canary Islands Car) and, little by little, the group expanded with new companies such as Orvecame, Camemovil, Came Canarias and Orvecame Tenerife, official dealerships for the distribution and sale of several vehicle brands.
