«It has not been easy for my father, nor would it be for anyone, to have been so many years officially declared dead because of a daughter who lives on La Palma, with all the problems that that entails. Today we do not know the real causes that led my sister to make that disastrous decision, ”explains Angélica. Ángel González left his wife and first daughter, María, in La Palma when he emigrated to Venezuela in search of a better life in 1978. He divorced in 1985. Then he married for the second time in Venezuela and had Angelica. It was his first daughter who initiated the procedure to declare him deceased. María claimed that she had not heard from her father for 30 years. The file is initiated, the instruction is developed and the corresponding edicts are published in different media and official gazettes, without the fiscal Ministery object to the requested statement.
The judge assured that An attempt was made to locate Ángel González in Venezuela, but the steps taken in 2010 “were unsuccessful.” In such a way that article 193 of the Civil Code was applied, which allows the declaration of death of a person ten years after the last news about his whereabouts or after five years if he had reached 75. With this lagoon emigrant both conditions were met. The judge even set the official date of death in her sentence: January 1, 2008. The decision was not appealed.
In 2017, nine years after his death, Ángel González learns that he has been left for dead. He had received a birth certificate in the mail with a note in the margin stating the date of his death. Surprised, he and his daughter Angelica thought it would be a mistake. But then, after several inquiries, they found out that everything had to do with a judicial sentence handed down on La Palma. After the hard research work to solve the problem, Angelica jokingly claims to have become an expert in civil law. The help provided by the Embassy of Spain and the Delegation of the Government of the Canary Islands in Caracas, capital of Venezuela, was “key”, he is grateful. From Wednesday, once the faith of life has been resolved, Ángel González will be able to access the services for emigrants offered by the Spanish and Canarian governments.
One of the Canarian authorities who participated in the process and met in Venezuela with Ángel González himself is Francisco Trujillo, general director of Foreign Relations of the Canary Islands Government. Trujillo says that he met him in Venezuela in 2019, listened to his story and gave him help. «I was personally concerned about this issue, I got in touch with his lawyers in the Canary Islands and the procedure to reopen the case began. Until a sentence gave him back the life that another had taken from him “, Trujillo details, who concludes:” When I met him, he seemed like an endearing, adventurous, lucid person. It has been a pleasure to be able to help you ».
Ángel González was born in La Laguna but spent his youth on La Palma. The last address known to his family on the Isla Bonita is on Enrique Mederos street in Los Llanos de Aridane. After leaving for Venezuela in 1978, he rebuilt his life in the world of agriculture, his specialty. He dedicated himself to the purchase and sale of agricultural inputs. It has never disassociated itself from Canarian traditions. In fact, he still loves the rondallas and the Canarian wrestling, says his daughter, who does not want Ángel to talk about his situation because “it has been quite bad and he is already 88 years old.” “He is strong and maintains good health for his age but I do not want him to get more upset,” says his daughter from Yaracuy, to conclude: «He is a hardworking man who fights for his family. He has never denied his land, If not the opposite. He is always aware of what happens in the Canary Islands ».
In fact, Angélica assures that he is “very sorry” for everything that is happening in La Palma with the Tajogaite eruption. «It is a shame everything that is happening with the volcano, the catastrophe that it is causing in a land that my father carries in his heart. All our solidarity with the palm trees, ”says Ángel’s daughter. Now, thanks to the document of the faith of life, you will be able to complete the process to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Alive and kicking.
