There are people who are special, who shine in a different way from the rest and who leave an indelible mark. It is the case of Andrés Domínguez Baute, known as Andresito, the most charismatic and beloved neighbor the town of Saint Andrew, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Andrés was born on January 26, 1962. He had Down Syndrome. He passed away on December 27, 2019, at the age of 56. Many more than the doctors had predicted. During this time, he stole the hearts of all his neighbors, who remember him fondly.
Luzma Miranda, one of his nieces, tells DIARIO DE AVISOS that Andrés “was a very happy person and a special being, very affectionate with everyone. It was the life of the people. He had his murga and all generations of children dated him. In the processions of Holy Week he was always with the music band or with the saint, and at the bonfires of San Juan he went to look for wood. And he was always singing. Music was his world. They remember him with the microphone in hand, and with the window and the door open for everyone to hear. He loved parties and open-air festivals, and when the orchestras came, he would go up on stage with them.
In addition, they wore the same shirt that the components wore and he really enjoyed it ”.
He remembers that during the last years of his life he suffered from Alzheimer’s, but that “he was still happy.” When Andrés died, “he left a huge void. In the town there had never been a funeral as massive as that of my uncle. The mayor of Santa Cruz came and even Pepe Benavente, whom Andrés greatly admired. It was his favorite singer ”.
For all this, hea El Pescador Neighborhood Association, Through its Vistamos San Andrés de 1.000 colors project, it has mobilized and, since last April, has raised money with piggy banks and through raffles to pay tribute to it; a large mural with his image, in one of the streets of the town.
The person in charge of painting this mural, on one of the most visible walls of San Andrés, given by the neighbors, in the La Torre Street, it is Matías Matas, from Assembly sabotage, a Canarian urban artist with many years of experience behind him, painting walls, walls and facades all over the world.
Matías started the work on Monday and plans to finish it tomorrow. “They are 11 meters high and about six meters wide,” he explains. A mural “painted in grayscale, with about 12 shades.”
For the artist, it is “a very special mural”, because he enjoys “portraying illustrious and beloved characters who fill us with joy in towns and neighborhoods. Andrés was a very dear person and it shows. Many people have come. Everyone has embraced the project and everyone is helping me a lot. “
A tribute with which Andrés’s family and neighbors feel proud and with which they will make his memory indelible.
