The Plenary of the San Bartolomé City Council unanimously approved this Thursday to initiate the procedure to recognize the "social legacy" of three women who it considers have played an important role in the municipality. The objective is to grant the distinction of "Adoptive Daughter" to María Candelaria Ledesma Alonso and Áurea Mauri Cadavieco; and the “Ajey Award for cultural work” to Balbina Cruz.
The plenary session, of an extraordinary nature, was requested by the opposition, which considers that the three "have the merits and circumstances established by the regulations", and that all of them "have stood out in an extraordinary way in the service of the municipality of San Bartolomé".
"These distinctions are more than justified. No one can dispute the extraordinary work that Candelaria Ledesma (born in Tenerife) has carried out in our municipality, as well as that of Áurea Mauri (born in Galicia), and the outstanding health work of Balbina Cruz. All of them deserve the recognition of the people of San Bartolomé, to whom they have dedicated their lives. It is only fair to recognize it,” they say from CC.
Candelaria Ledesma
One of the two candidates to receive the title of "Adoptive Daughter" of the municipality, Candelaria Ledesma, was born in 1950 in La Laguna (Tenerife) and moved to San Bartolomé in 1978.
A teacher by family tradition - her parents and two of her siblings were also teachers - she joined the Ajei School as a teacher, and later, in 1984, took over the direction of the center.
During this stage, she managed to implement the school cafeteria and that "teaching was developed in a spirit of coexistence and good relations, trying to ensure that all former students remember their school fondly", as she herself has stated.
This trajectory made her the winner of the “Viera y Clavijo” recognition, awarded by the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands, as an award for her work within the educational system of the islands in 2001.
Ledesma also participated in politics and was a councilor of the City Council, in addition to being part of a theater group.
Áurea Mauri
Áurea Mauri, also proposed to obtain the recognition of "Adoptive Daughter", was born in 1946 in La Coruña and arrived in San Bartolomé in 1979, where she opened the first women's hairdresser in the town - in the premises where the La Plaza bar is located today - a fact that was quite an event.
In 1982, she managed to overcome the obstacles due to her gender and founded the first female murga in the Canary Islands, “Las Revoltosas”, which has achieved notable successes at the island and regional level.
She was also part of various theater groups and participated in political life as a councilor.
Likewise, she is one of the founders of the group 'Las Jacarandas' and is currently a member of the 'San Bartolomé Municipal Choir'.
Balbina Cruz
Balbina Cruz, popularly known as “Señá Balbina the midwife”, was born in Mozaga in 1884, establishing her residence in San Bartolomé at the age of 20, after her marriage.
She worked as a midwife for more than 40 years in the municipality and its surroundings; but she also acted as a healer, carried out cooking tasks and even shrouded the deceased. Through the use of popular remedies, she cared for people of all ages.
This work has been recognized, after many years of experience, by professionals in medicine and authorities in the world of politics. Now, the City Council has approved initiating the file to grant her the "Ajey Award for cultural work".
