The Council of Tenerife tried yesterday to alleviate the enormous imbalance between men and women in its tributes during its 110-year history to illustrious people – a ratio of 10 to 1 in favor of them. Hence, it was approved to distinguish 21 females with different titles, from Adoptive or Favorite Daughter to Gold Medal of the Island for her contribution to island development in the cultural, social, political and economic spheres. Among others, to the singer María Mérida, posthumously, or to the ex-rector of the University of La Laguna. The proposal to pay homage to eight men, among them the missing and prestigious physicist Blas Cabrera, also obtained the support of the plenary session. He completed the thirty tributes the beginning of the file to the Gold Medal to the Official College of Physicians of the province.
A total of 10 distinctions were recognized during the session for the title of Daughters (9) and Adoptive Sons (1), 8 for Favorite Sons (1) and Favorite Daughters (7) and 12 Gold Medals (6 men, 5 women and the one for to the already mentioned institution. Almost all of them were unanimously supported by the 30 island councilors present who voted only once –not thirty- and secretly. For this reason they stood up one by one as the secretary called them in alphabetical order.
Specifically, it was agreed to grant the title of Adoptive Daughter of Tenerife to Teresa Giráldez Fernández and María Luisa Tejedor Salguero. A distinction with which, posthumously, Vicki Penfold, Nivaria Tejera Montejo, Madeleine Bonneaud, Eve-María Zimmerman, María Mérida Pérez, Edith Maillard Blanchard and Isabel Hernández Marichal have also been recognized. The exception was that of José Luis Porcuna Coto, also posthumously in this case.
Favorite Daughters and Sons
Likewise, it was approved to grant recognition of Favorite Daughter or Son to Carolina Martínez Pulido, Carmen Pitti García, Adriana de Lorenzo-Cáceres Rodríguez and Alonso Fernández del Castillo y Machado. Posthumously, these distinctions have been extended to the figures of Pilar Lojendio Crosa, Mercedes Machado Machado, Clemencia Hardisson Wouters and María Joaquina Viera y Clavijo. A vast majority of women again.
Finally, the insular Plenary session supported the proposal for the awarding of the twelve Gold Medals to Juan de la Cruz Rodríguez, Nelson Díaz Frías, Sebastián Nicolás Delgado Díaz, Soraya gonzalez del Rosario, Raquel Lojendio, María Isabel Nazco Hernández, the discus thrower Mario Pestano García, Elena Lecuona Monteverde, Lola del Castillo and the College of Physicians of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The trajectory of Blas Cabrera Felipe and Juan Ruano Rojas, both already deceased, was also recognized with this distinction.
Most of the awards were unanimously agreed, but there were some exceptions and differences in the support received.
They broke the prevailing majority support Isabel Hernández Marichal (posthumously adopted daughter), who received a vote against as did Carmen Pitti (favorite daughter). One counselor abstained from supporting Juan Ruano Rojas (posthumous gold medal) and two in the case of Alonso Fernández del Castillo (favorite son),
The judge, investigator and writer Nelson Díaz Frías broke the mold. since he counted ten votes against and four abstentions. Only 16 councilors supported him. It was the exception in a session with women’s names to alleviate the enormous imbalance between them.
