by Lorenzo Lemaur Santana
Pérez Galdós Street takes us from the four corners to Valterra, crossing the entire Lomo neighborhood, until taking us out of Arrecife, towards Lloret, Los Mármoles, Las Caletas and Costa Teguise. An important street in Arrecife that bears the name of who is undoubtedly the most important of the writers from the Canary Islands. Benito Pérez Galdós opens the list of this article dedicated to the Canarian characters who give their name to streets in Arrecife. He was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1843 and died in Madrid in 1920. Previously this street was known as Camino de La Villa.
Along with him, another 26 illustrious Canarians give name and honor to as many other streets in our city of Arrecife. Among them, Canarian literature illustrates some other streets of the Capital. In La Vega is José Viera y Clavijo Street, who is considered the main Canarian encyclopedist, born in Tenerife in 1731 and died in Las Palmas in 1813. His best-known work is the "General History of the Canary Islands". That street was called Barriada de Fiestas until very recently (1995), due to the group of houses built by Don Rafael Fiestas in the 50s.
We go to Argana Alta and find Pedro García Cabrera Street, another of our most illustrious writers, born in La Gomera in 1905, he was one of the promoters of the indigenist movement and surrealism in the Canary Islands. With the outbreak of the civil war he was deported to Villa Cisneros, he died in 1981 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Also in Argana Alta we find Agustín Millares Sall Street, no less important for Canarian poetry and very politically committed to the islands. This poet was born in Las Palmas in 1917. A man of progressive ideas who militated in the ranks of the Communist Party of Spain, when he was in hiding under the Franco dictatorship. Without leaving Argana Alta, we have Alonso Quesada Street, which honors Rafael Romero Quesada, who was born in 1886 in Las Palmas and died in 1925 in Santa Brígida. He produced an abundant literary work in different facets: poetry, theater and above all narrative. If we go to Argana Baja we can find Tomás Morales Street, a poet who was born in the town of Moya in 1885 and died in 1921. His poetic work sings to the sea and even to port infrastructures. He collaborates with the magazine Latina, where he publishes some of his most famous poems, but it will be above all in 1919 when his consecration arrives with the publication of "La Rosa de Hércules", which is undoubtedly his best-known work, within this book is the magnificent poem "Ode to the Atlantic".
Art also leaves its mark on the streets of Arrecife. Curiously, María Mérida will be the only woman we can mention. She was born in El Hierro in 1925, and is considered one of the main performers of Canarian song of all time. Recently the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has named her an adopted daughter, and even put a square in the popular neighborhood of La Isleta. This street serves as a median between Arrecife and San Bartolomé in the La Concha urbanization. This same road receives the name of Bergantín in its even numbers because it is a median road between the municipality of Arrecife and San Bartolomé. Another musician, of Irish origin, although born in Tenerife, Teobaldo Power who sang to the Canary Islands, gives his name to a street in the center of the City. His Cantos Canarios are well known and of them, his arrorró is the Anthem of the Canary Islands. In the small neighborhood of Tenorio is the street dedicated to another musician, Néstor de la Torre, who was born in 1857 in Las Palmas and died in Madrid in 1933. The image maker and decorator of many Canarian churches Luján Pérez and one of his disciples, Felo Monzón, are remembered with streets in Argana Alta.
Moving on to the political arena, the Royal Street of Arrecife, which was also called, and also Main Street, Constitution Street and Carretas Street, is called León y Castillo Street. We have already written something about her and about Fernando León y Castillo. He was an important politician from Gran Canaria who developed his activity at the time of the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in Spain. He became Minister of Overseas, precisely under his ministry the construction of the port of La Luz in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was approved. He became the genuine representative of the bourgeoisie of the Archipelago before the central power. He rose as the leader of the liberal party, and although it defined itself as regional, the truth is that it had a marked insular character in its actions, promoting the division of the Canary Islands into two provinces, since at that time there was only one, that of the Canary Islands, with its capital in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. For this reason, he has a street in all the municipalities of the islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria and not even remotely in the others.
Continuing with politics, in Valterra is Franchy Roca Street, who was born in 1871. Prominent politician, lawyer and journalist. In 1902 he founded the Federal Republican Party and the Canarian Workers' Federation and is also the founder of two influential newspapers of the time: Las Efemérides and El Tribuno. He stood out for the fight in favor of the improvement of the working class, especially he worked for the port workers' union. He builds in the islet the first house of the people of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The precarious economic situation he was going through forced him to present himself in Madrid for a position as secretary of the Seville Court, winning it with number one. In 1931 the Republic appointed him Attorney General of the State. Later he would be Minister of Industry and Commerce with Manuel Azaña. After the Civil War he went into exile in Mexico, where he died. Today his remains rest in the cemetery of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Vegueta) to where they arrived from Mexico in 1976.
For his part, Juan de Quesada, who was born in Las Palmas in 1857, and died on the same island in 1919, also gives his name to another street in Valterra. He was a prominent politician and also a journalist. Another politician, soldier and writer, Nicolás Estevanez gives his name to a street in the Tenorio neighborhood. The Valterra square, which continues with the avenue that connects that fishing neighborhood with the center of the City, when it flows in front of the School of Fisheries, is called Civil Governor José García Hernández in honor of who was civil governor of the province of Las Palmas around 1955, a time of the end of economic autarky. . Continuing with the politicians, the continuation of the maritime avenue, at the entrance of the so-called theme park, when it stops being called Fred Olsen Avenue, is called Secundino Delgado Avenue. Independentist politician and also journalist who founded El Esclavo in the United States and El Guanche in Venezuela. He died of tuberculosis in 1912 not without having participated in several attempts for the independence of the Canary Islands.
The former mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, García Sanabria, a great defender of the Carnival, labels a street in the Center, as does Juan Rejón, a Castilian conqueror, founder of the city of Real de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on June 24, 1478, who came to Lanzarote to request reinforcements in the conquest of Gran Canaria, being deceived here and imprisoned by Diego de Herrera, lord of Lanzarote. He returned to Gran Canaria where he encountered the betrayal of Déan Bermúdez, until then his trusted man, who had tried to conquer the island behind his back, although without success. For all this, the king sends Pedro de Vera, so that he finishes the conquest of the island, after asking Juan Rejón to return to the peninsula, although Rejón ignores him and takes refuge in La Gomera, where he dies at the beginning of the 16th century.
There are three Canarian generals who label a street, the three in the center: General Weyler, who commanded the Spanish troops before Cuba achieved its total independence in 1880; General Balmes (formerly Desierto Street) who dies in a tragic accident caused by his own pistol when he participated in the coup d'état of July 18, 1936; and General García Escámez, who directed the destinies of the Archipelago in the first half of the Franco dictatorship. He is responsible for the first infrastructures of La Graciosa, by promoting the creation of a port, a school, a cemetery, some cisterns to have water.
In Titerroy is Doctor Gregorio Chill y Naranjo Street, who was born in Telde in 1831. In 1857 he founded the Canarian Museum dedicated to science. In Valterra another scientist, who also stood out for his orderly philosophical thought, Hipólito Frías, gives his name to a street.
In the social sphere, the presence in Argana Alta of Sabín Berthelot Street stands out, who was born in Marseille in 1794, and arrived in Tenerife in 1820 where he died in 1880. He actively participated in the progress of the island, he was in favor of free ports. He also collaborated with the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country of the island of Tenerife.
Finally, we will mention the characters of Canarian folklore, who logically could not be forgotten in our streets. Thus, in La Concha is Néstor Álamo Street, who was a highly prestigious essayist and historian from Gran Canaria, he stood out for his work as a folklorist. The pilgrimage of the Virgen del Pino is due to him. Also in La Concha we will find Fernando Díaz Cutillas Street, who was born in Las Palmas in 1937. Prominent Canarian folklorist, journalist and announcer for TVE in the Canary Islands. He is known, above all, for the presentation he made of the Tenderete program of TVE in the Canary Islands. In addition, his sports chronicles are outstanding, especially the follow-up he made of the Unión Deportiva Las Palmas in the Diario de Las Palmas and in La Provincia. For all this he became worthy of the Medal of the Canary Islands, posthumously. He died in Las Palmas in 1988.
Note: all the documentation has been obtained from the book "Arrecife. History of its streets", by Alejandro González Morales, published by the Arrecife City Council.
