Mariano Tavío has become the first notary officer in Lanzarote to reach 40 years in the exercise of his profession.
“In these 4 decades, in the notary's office we have witnessed the brutal change that the island and society in general have experienced,” the notary points out. “When I started working in 1982, we did everything by machine and with photocopiers, the digital revolution also helped notaries to do their job,” he adds.
Tavío emphasizes that it is not only limited to the technical: “It was unthinkable that weddings or divorces would be celebrated in a notary's office” he adds.
Likewise, the economic course of the island was reflected in the notary's office of those times: “Plots were written in Puerto del Carmen, with sales of 5,000 pesetas per meter in the second line of the beach, at the exchange rate 30 euros per meter. It is something unthinkable, with that money today you can't even fill a gas tank” recalls Mariano Tavío.

Tavío recalls that César Manrique himself, while a document was being prepared for him, “looked at the fingers that typed on the old typewriter, while talking and entering data”, and Manrique himself reflected: “The real machine is man, the other is a gadget”. “Even today I am moved to hear the words of the always witty César Manrique,” recalls Tavío.
And it is that in the profession of notary, confidentiality is key, since a multitude of families, companies and individuals pass through the office daily, who prepare with the officers from inheritances, through mortgages, loans, constitutions of companies, etcetera. “Every time someone approaches our office, you somehow share the lives of your clients. The illusion of an entrepreneur when he creates his company, the couple who formalizes a mortgage and unites their lives forming a family. But also the sorrows of deaths, and bad news, in some way I think we help people in their life journey,” adds Tavío.
Now, he celebrates with his colleagues the trajectory of a life dedicated to his work as a notary officer. “Time passes, and the most beautiful thing is to see that those who appreciate you are still with you no matter what”, Tavío recalls very excited.