The Haría City Council agreed in plenary session to award Manuel Santacruz Socas 'Palenke' and Juana Casanova Rodríguez the Haría 2012 Awards, which highlight each year the social, educational, cultural or sports work of those people or groups who have contributed with their selfless dedication to the better recognition of the northern municipality.
In the case of 'Palenke', the City Council highlights that "his long career, first as an athlete and then as a coach of the Spanish Boxing Team, has contributed to the projection of this discipline in the Archipelago, being the only Canarian athlete who has been present in six Olympic Games".
For 25 years, he was the coach of the national team, a stage in which his pupils achieved distinctions and medals in all the competitions in which they participated, both in the Olympics and in the European and World Championships, as well as in the Mediterranean Games, Boxam and other international tournaments. In total, around 350 metals between golds, silvers and bronzes.
After his departure from the Spanish Boxing Federation, 'Palenke' founded, in October 1990, the first boxing school in the Canary Islands on the island of Lanzarote, where he still shares his knowledge of this sport, a job he combined with that of Councilor for Sports of the Haría City Council, between 1991 and 2010.
Social and humanitarian work
Regarding Juana Casanova, the City Council highlights that "she has always stood out for her extraordinary social and humanitarian work", first in the Catholic Action group and later in the Cáritas Association, always participating, "in a humble and altruistic way, in the activities organized from the Parish of Haría, where she also worked as a catechist and monitor developing an excellent training work with the children of the town".
"Juana, whose love for music and culture is well known, can also be proud of having taught dressmaking to several generations of women in the municipality. Currently, she is still an active and restless person, with a very strong social and humanitarian commitment", they point out from the Consistory.
The presentation of the Haría 2012 Awards will take place during the institutional event that is traditionally held in the town square on the eve of San Juan Bautista, June 23, after the reading of the proclamation of the patron saint festivities.