SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 15 Oct. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The mortal remains of the Canarian scientist Blas Cabrera and his family already rest in the cemetery of San Luis de La Laguna, where they have been buried this Saturday morning in an act in which family members, members of the Municipal Corporation, led by the mayor, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, and the honorary consul of Mexico in the Canary Islands, María Ángeles Baca Herrejón, as well as professors from the University of La Laguna and private citizens.
Luis Yeray Gutiérrez expressed “immense happiness” for what he considered “a historic day for La Laguna” in which it has been possible “for Blas Cabrera, the father of physics in Spain, to return to his city, which saw him grow up and evolve as a person and where he met his love too,” he said in reference to his wife, María Sánchez Real, whose remains have also been buried today, in addition to those of his son Blas Cabrera Sánchez and his granddaughter Rocío.
The mayor insisted that with this act “justice is done with history” with a figure “who had to flee our country due to the Civil War and today at last, with the help of the Mexican consulate, and the University of La Laguna, we have made it possible for the remains of Blas Cabrera to return.”
Luis Cabrera, grandson of the honoree, spoke on behalf of the family, who assured that “being able to have the grandfather back with the family is very emotional, especially because of the reception he is receiving. It is a tribute and a vindication of the figure of Blas Cabrera, who in a way belongs to all the canaries. For me, who is also a physicist, it means that if this were a normal burial, we would all have to be sorry and sad and yet I have to admit that I am happy, “he said.
The honorary consul of Mexico recounted how, a few weeks ago, the mayor of La Laguna conveyed to her the desire to expatriate the mortal remains of Blas Cabrera, at a time when she was about to travel to Mexico, which allowed for the acceleration of a “very emotional because along the way he found people who just wanted to help Blas Cabrera return soon”, highlighting the role played by the professor at the University of La Laguna, Jorge Méndez.
“We welcomed Blas Cabrera with a lot of love, Mexico took care of him during those 85 years and Mexico brought him to the Canary Islands where he had to rest on his land. We are brother peoples and it has been an honor for us to be able to participate in this happy moment”, expressed María Ángeles Baca Herrejón.
Blas Cabrera Felipe was born in Arrecife in 1878. While still a child, his family moved to La Laguna, where he spent his childhood and youth until he moved to Madrid, where he received his doctorate in Physical Sciences. Considered ‘the father of Physics in Spain’, his contribution in this field was notable. He not only carried out research work but also popularization and dissemination of modern physical theories. His enormous work was recognized internationally, hosting Albert Einstein on his famous visit to Spain in 1923, and dealing with world-renowned personalities such as Madame Curie or Niels Bohr.
He was rector of the Central University of Madrid, president of the Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, member of the Spanish Society of Physics and Chemistry and member of the Spanish Academy. As a result of the outbreak of the Civil War, Blas Cabrera was forced into exile, like so many Spanish scientists, and moved first to France and later to Mexico, where he was a professor at the capital’s university from 1941 until his death. , in 1945.
Last September, the mayor of La Laguna presented a motion in the plenary session of the Corporation, approved unanimously, to recognize “his great contribution to scientific culture and his consideration as the main figure in physics in 20th-century Spain ” and promote the repatriation of his remains from Mexico, where Blas Cabrera died in exile.
