You may hear my name these days or we may meet on the street. You may hear my voice on the radio or see me out of the corner of your eye for a moment on TV and wonder who I am and why I want to count on you.
My full name is Remigio Joel Delgado Cáceres and, although I was born in Gran Canaria, I was already on this blessed island at two months old. Due to family circumstances, I was raised by my four grandparents, whom I love madly and try to keep in mind. Although I lived part of my childhood in Madrid due to my parents' separation, there was no year that I didn't come to Lanzarote to spend the delicious summer vacations. I came to the island permanently at the age of 13, specifically to the neighborhood of my maternal grandparents in San Francisco Javier where I spent the afternoons playing ball with my friends Dani, Rayco, Kiko, Yeyo, Guti, Nau, Jonay the gomero, Jonay the hairy, Sergio, Yeray, Elías and Joaquín... What a team!! Two years later I moved with my mother to the Argana Alta neighborhood.
I studied at Zonzamas, a magnificent institute, although in my case it was certainly a headache for my teachers: Milagrosa, Jesús, Fátima, Antonio..., all great teachers with an enormous dose of patience that, by the way, I take this opportunity to thank them for. Given that at that time my parents did not have resources and could not afford to send me to university, I decided to do a professional diving training cycle in another reference institute in the Canary Islands, the Maritime Fisheries Institute, known to all as the Fishing School.
Those were two truly wonderful years in which my passion for the sea encouraged and motivated me to continue. Two years in which my life was marked by the sea and soccer, an activity that I was passionate about, and I am passionate about, and that led me to play and train in Marítima, in Teguise, in Lomo and in Tite.
I was already 19 years old when, after finishing my studies, I made the decision to go to Tenerife to look for a job that would allow me to pay for higher education. And so began my stage as a caregiver of marine animals in Loro Parque. In the mornings I work and in the afternoons classes at the San Andrés Bello Institute, in Santa Cruz. Those were two very hard years but I finally managed to pass the PAU, that exam for which all students lost sleep, and the prelude to "the best is yet to come". I started the degree in Tourism to later begin the studies of Law that I still continue to study today because, despite the little time I have, it is a challenge that I cling to and that I have not wanted to give up.
Certainly in Tenerife I spent four years of my life deeply exciting and enriching although they were also very difficult. Like most young people, I had a hard time making ends meet and missed the warmth of my family. However, and with the perspective that time gives us, I learned so much that now I would not give them up for anything.
And there I was, with my books, with my animals and my sport, when Cándido Reguera brought me back to Lanzarote to be part of his team and manage the areas of Youth, Environment, Housing and Beaches, in the Arrecife City Council. I was returning to my city to give back what it had given me and I was doing it with the help of an exceptional person. From my boss, as I called him, I learned everything I know about this noble activity: politics as a public service. He trusted me from beginning to end, and I recognize that he has been the person outside my family for whom I have suffered and mourned his loss the most. Without any doubt, he was an extraordinary, unique and unrepeatable being, who never knew any enemy, who always had a word of encouragement for others and a constant predisposition to help.
In the two years that we were together in the government we managed to do many things for a city in which we believed and I still believe deeply. The old Rocar warehouses were demolished, all the curbs of the Vía Medular were cleaned up by painting them white, the abandoned houses of the Charco de San Ginés and surroundings, the artisan market on Saturdays was created, the works for the reopening of the Casa de la Juventud were started, the file for the installation of Mercadona was unblocked, the file of the Marina Lanzarote Sports Port, we obtained the financing for the houses of Titerroy and Valterra, and the neighborhood plans in La Vega, Maneje, Valterra and Los Alonso were reactivated. Was there a lot of progress? Yes, was everything done well? No. Surely we also made mistakes in many things but what no one can reproach us for is that we did not work, or that we did not worry about improving the city and the lives of the people.
Five years later, my colleagues and I continue to fight from the opposition for the same city in which we believe and love. I have not abandoned the books and for some time I embarked as self-employed creating a small cleaning and maintenance company from which 35 families live.
I consider myself a cheerful, hardworking, simple person and proud of my origins. It can be said that I am happy. At 29 years old, I have learned that in this life nobody gives anything away, nor do I want it, because with illusion and effort everything is possible, because fighting the doors end up opening. In reality, it is in our hand to cross them and embark on new paths like the one I am now beginning and that I hope we can travel together.
I am Joel, candidate for the Senate for the Popular Party.
