A delegation from the Gathering Friends of July 25 traveled last week to Aranda de Duero, in Burgos, to pay homage to General Gutiérrez, a native of this land, who was victorious in the great battle that took place in 1797 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife against British troops led by Admiral Nelson.
Representatives of the Gathering went to Burgos invited by the mayoress of Aranda de Duero, Raquel González Benito, together with the Municipal Corporation of said town in Burgos, on May 10, and developed an intense agenda of events in this Castilian municipality, among which which highlighted the offering to General Gutiérrez.
The president of the Gathering Friends of July 25, Luis García Rebollo, and the mayoress deposited a laurel wreath before the bust of the soldier, who was raised in the square of the church of San Juan, where the consecrated Antonio was baptized Gutierrez de Otero.
After this official act, the members of the Tertulia made a guided tour of the main places of the town, among which the church of Santa María la Real stands out, a Gothic construction from the 16th century, as well as other architectural monuments. In addition, they toured the seven kilometers of wine cellars that the town has, dug 12 meters deep, whose construction dates back to the fifteenth century.
The visit to the town of Burgos ended with a conference given by Emilio Abad Ripoll, retired artillery brigadier general, who delivered in the Plenary Hall of the Aranda de Duero City Council under the title General Gutiérrez and the deed of Tenerife on 25 July 1797. The city of Aranda de Duero and Santa Cruz de Tenerife have been twinned since September 14, 1998. In this town, in addition to the bust on which the crown of flowers was placed, there is also a park and an avenue that remember the winner of Nelson in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Conferences in Madrid
On the other hand, the Gathering Friends of July 25 has been invited to participate in Madrid within the cultural activities that the Real Sociedad Económica Matritense de Amigos del País has held at its headquarters in Plaza de la Villa, located in the capital of Spain, to publicize the defeat of Rear Admiral Horacio Nelson in Tenerife, in 1797, by General Antonio Gutierrez.
On the 11th and 12th of May, Emilio Abad Ripoll and Luis García Rebollo, reserve ship captain, respectively gave the conferences: Cinco Días de Julio and Maritime history and performance of the British squadron in Tenerife.
Likewise, yesterday Saturday a round table was held with the participation of the tertulians Jesús Villanueva, Carlos Quintana, Carlos Pallés, Juan Manuel Valladares, Jesús Botana and José Manuel Ledesma.
In 2023, the 226th anniversary of the Gesta of July 25 will be celebrated, an ephemeris that, like every year, Santa Cruz will celebrate for three days in the streets of the city to remember the victory of General Gutiérrez.
