The Teguise City Council has just restored another of the crosses that make up the roads of the deceased. This was announced by the Councilor for Heritage, Olivia Duque, who explained that it is the cross of Gregorio Tavío, the first resident of Caleta de Famara, which dates from the beginning of the 20th century. The cross is located in La Villa, near the hermitage of San Rafael, where Tavío died while making the "trip" Famara-Teguise.
The roads of the deceased are paths that started from all the towns of Lanzarote and ended in the cemetery of La Villa, the only cemetery that existed in the past. "This was a sacred place where all the deceased had to be transferred to rest in peace following the Catholic rite, which was the majority religious practice in the past," according to the City Council.
The councilor has indicated that the Council is gradually restoring these roads because "they are part of the conejera culture." "They are essential to understand the past of the island; essential pieces to have a better future, and also these symbols are used as a reference by many hikers," he said.
The director of the Historical Archive of Teguise, María Dolores Rodríguez, and the municipal Heritage advisor, Francisco Hernández, have compiled all the data on this cross, recently restored. The history of the cross revolves around the life of Gregorio Tavío, a native of La Vegueta.
The history of the cross
Tavío married María Martín Ferrera, a native of Soo, and moved to live in Caleta de Famara. There they built what would be the first house in the town. He built it at the end of Chica beach, next to the current restaurant 'El Sol'. Some of his children were born in La Caleta, such as Florencia, Isidoro, Andrea, Juan, Feliciano, Marcial, Antonia and Pilar.
When Tavío was 50 years old, in the first decade of the 20th century, being ill, possibly with a heart condition, he moved to La Villa to be closer to the doctor, according to his relatives. On the road of the deceased, which was not only used to transfer the deceased, but was a communication path, he died after passing the hermitage of San Rafael, already entering Teguise. The cross is exactly in the farmhouse of the teacher Sofía Cancio, wife of José Ramírez Vega. Currently, the lands belong to the Church.
Antonia, Tavío's daughter, said that on this trip to Teguise, her father was going to be accompanied by his brother Feliciano, the eldest. "But my father wanted it to be me. He also asked me to put a small bag with jable tied under his seat to be able to counterbalance the camel's chair," Antonia explained at the time.
"After passing the hermitage of San Rafael, I realized that the cigarette that my father was smoking had fallen out of his mouth and when I pointed it out to him, I tried to look for it, and I saw how he died at that moment. I ran in terror to seek help, I went down the ravine that at that time had some steps and crossed the land where there was a house that belonged to Lola, (currently owned by a foreigner). There the money he was carrying for the doctor fell out of his pocket, tied inside a handkerchief," his daughter indicated, in words that have now been collected by Teguise Heritage.
Councilor Olivia Duque has thanked the grandchildren Gregorio Martín Tavio, and Antonia Enriqueta Martín Tavio, "because thanks to them the story can be remembered more precisely." In addition, she has pointed out that the cross has been restored by the master cabinetmaker Juan Agustín Padrón Pérez.
