by LORENZO LEMAUR
Of the 109 characters related to Lanzarote who give their name to our streets, only 15 are women. Of these, 6 are aboriginal characters, of which we have already given reference in previous articles, another 6 are from the social sphere. In addition, the teacher and poet María Morales Topham (Argana Alta), the character of Arozarena Mararía (Argana Baja) and Nuestra Señora de los Volcanes. The other 94, logically, are men.
The distinguished women of the social world, in the center of Arrecife we have Otilia Díaz street, a woman who was born in Tenerife in 1881 and died in Arrecife in 1970. She was awarded the Cross of Beneficence for her outstanding work among the poor of the City. She was the mother of Guillermo Topham Díaz). This street, in the section on the side of the Church of San Ginés, was called San Juan and in 1930 Rosario Street. It has been called this since 1950.
Also in the center, Doña Micaela Hernández gives her name to another street. She was born in Arrecife in 1879, being a midwife in the Capital and a person very loved by the people of Arrecife. She died in Arrecife in 1971 and on June 7, 1988, the City Council named a small street that leads from Jacinto Borges Street to the Chaco bank after her.
In Valterra we have Trinidad de León Perdomo street, a very popular midwife in Arrecife who helped many women give birth in their homes, since very few used to go to the clinic to give birth. This good woman was born in Haría in 1904 and died in Arrecife in 1988. In addition, Francisca Cabrera Sastre, a philanthropic civil servant, has a street in Argana Baja, as does Agustina Ayala, a teacher and writer, and in Tenorio is María Lasso street, a photographer and sister of the sculptor Pancho Lasso.
Moving on to the men, Francisco Lasso Morales, Pancho Lasso, gives his name to a street in Argana Alta. In addition, in Altavista we have the Pancho Lasso roundabout. This famous sculptor was born in Arrecife in 1904 and died in Madrid in 1973. His work has a marked personal character, although it is not exempt from the influences and currents of the 20th century. The craftsman Juan Brito (La Vega) also has a street, born in Tinajo in 1919, a worker of popular Lanzarote ceramics and founder of the Los Campesinos Folk Group.
Perhaps one of the most distinguished people from Lanzarote is Blas Cabrera y Felipe, who was born in 1878 in Arrecife and died in Mexico in 1945. Spanish physicist and mathematician who stood out for his studies on the magnetic properties of matter. Here in his hometown, in addition to a street, he gives his name to the Blas Cabrera Felipe Secondary Education Institute.
The field of literature names 10 characters on our streets. Víctor Fernández, known as "el salinero", who was responsible for the construction of the Salinas del Janubio and the famous salinero couplets, was born in Las Breñas in 1844 where he lived until 1932. Clavijo y Fajardo, who was born in Teguise and gives his name to a street in Valterra. In addition, other authors not born in Arrecife such as Benito Pérez Armas (Valterra), Alvarez Rixo (Titerroy), Isaac Viera (Argana Alta), Leandro Perdomo (La Concha) will be remembered by the residents of the neighborhoods when naming their streets. This is without forgetting to mention Agustín de Espinosa, a surrealist writer born in Lanzarote in 1897 who dedicated a large part of his writings and literature to his native island; in them he reflects the history already lost in time that we have the opportunity to remember when walking through San Francisco Javier, where a street bears his name. His namesake Agustín de la Hoz Betancort also honors one of our streets, in Valterra. Francisco Fernández Bethencourt and Leopoldo Díaz Suárez, who stood out as poets. The former, who was also a senator for the Canary Islands at the end of the 19th century, is remembered in Valterra; while the latter, who was administrator of the Lanzarote Island Hospital, in Argana Alta.
Regarding the history of our island, we highlight the presence in our streets, specifically in Titerroy, of Antonio Maria Manrique who was born in Tetir (Fuerteventura) in 1837. Ardent defender of the supply of regular water for the supply of Arrecife. His initiative to illuminate the waters of Famara and lead them to Arrecife stood out, as well as pointing out the convenience of building cisterns to store the precious resource after the rains. The Hermanos Diaz Rijo, executors of the idea said idea in 1964 were given a street in El Cable. José and Manuel, sons of D. José Díaz Santana, secretary of the Cabildo de Lanzarote. José, a lawyer, was born in Arrecife in 1921 and was Director General of the Cadastre. Manuel, was born in La Vegueta in 1927, is a naval engineer and started the desalination project in 1964, the first in Spain. Also and from another perspective, more than social, cultural, José María Gil gives merit to a street in La Concha with his name. He was born in Gáldar in 1887 and died in his adopted town, San Bartolomé, in 1982. He stood out as a great folklorist, he is credited with the creation of the Lanzarote sorondongo, and as the owner of a famous mill in San Bartolomé, the oldest of those that are active.
Our streets remember other characters who have improved the quality of life of the people of Lanzarote with their economic and health contributions. On the one hand, a clear example is Vargas, Manuel Rafael Vargas Mellado, who was the builder of the Recova or municipal market of Arrecife in the year 1859; on the other, a Plaza in the center bears the name of Eduardo de Aznar y Coste, a sailor by profession who was closely linked to Admiral Boado Endeiza and obtained a delegation of the Red Cross for Lanzarote. In addition, others such as Vicente Vilas González, stood out for their fight for the benefit of the mentally handicapped, hence the street that connects La Vega with Valterra bears his name.
Doctor Rafael González, is the name of a small section of the avenue of Arrecife. Doctor who was born in Arrecife in 1866 and died in Las Palmas in 1941. Curiously, Doctor Rafael Medina Armas, who also has his street in Valterra, was born on a ship on the journey from Lanzarote to Gran Canaria in 1905. He died in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The Grandson of Mayor Guerra, Blas Curbelo, was a Doctor of Medicine. Also in Valterra we have Doctor Alfonso Spinola street.
The ecclesiastical history of Lanzarote is represented in Arrecife by characters such as Fray Mendo de Viedna, bishop of Rubicón de Lanzarote, appointed in 1418, who stood out for the defense of the aborigines against the abuses of the lords of the Canary Islands. His street is located in Titerroy as is the case with who was the first parish priest of the church of San Ginés, Francisco Acosta Espinosa, of whom we have already spoken on several occasions, was born in La Antigua in 1758 and died in San Bartolomé in 1846. Manuel Miranda, was also parish priest of San Ginés from 1874 to 1905, a time when the barilla trade crisis occurred and his social work with the most disadvantaged was recognized with a street in the Center. This passage dedicated to the church closes with the patron saint of our capital, San Ginés, who, as could not be otherwise, gives his name to the street that continues from the facade of the Church.
