The Chamber Hall of the Adán Martín Auditorium was the scene yesterday of the solemn act of awarding several honorary distinctions from Tenerife. They received the Gold Medal of the Island, after two and a half hours of a long ceremonyRosario Álvarez Martínez, doctor in Art History and musicologist; the magistrate, writer and researcher Nelson Díaz Frías, as well as the jurist and policy María Dolores Pelayo, in addition to the Accredited Consular Corps in the province. The distinction of Favorite Son of the Island was also awarded to Alonso Fernández del Castillo y Machado, for his work as Secretary General of the Island Corporation.
Friends and relatives occupied the preferential places ofthe enclosure in a ceremony that, although it is repeated every year, is always different based on its protagonists. The son of Alonso Fernández del Castillo, Miguel, thanked his father for the award, to whom he excused his presence “for physical reasons.”
He President of the Council of Tenerife acting, Pedro Martin, presented the winners with a profuse exposition of the merits accumulated by each one to receive the award, while the Secretary General of the Island Corporation, Domingo Hernández, glossed the accumulated merits together with representatives of the administration and authorities.
The Cabildo distinguished Rosario Álvarez, Nelson Díaz Frías, María Dolores Pelayo and the Accredited Consular Corps in Santa Cruz de Tenerife with the Tenerife Gold Medal. It also recognized Alonso Fernández del Castillo y Machado as Favorite Son of the Island.
Very good. You have to understand the protocol and everything was deservedThat is undeniable, but two things should be considered. The first, think very seriously limit the time of speechesbecause almost all of them went to the meeting in the Auditorium to “talk about my book», Threshold dixit. The second is that they don’t understand each other very well. the constant and stormy justifications for a distinction that, to a large extent, was already supported by the political forces represented on the Island in one way or another. Again, it wasn’t necessary.
Tenerife pays a well-deserved tribute to four people and an institution for their “important contribution, merits and services for the benefit of the Island”. All the winners and the organization receiving these distinctions have done so, deserving of the gratitude and recognition of Tenerife’s institutions and citizens.
The human and the professional
The plenary agreements for the granting of honors highlight the personal and professional trajectory of those who have earned the distinctions.
In relation to Rosario Álvarez Martínez, her work in the field of culture and music in Canary Islandsin the fields of historical research, teaching, scientific dissemination and cultural management, which has made her an essential figure of the intelligentsia.
Regarding the recognition of Nelson Díaz Frías, his intense research career on the history and genealogy of the south of Tenerife and his native region, Vilaflor de Chasna, stands out. It is an indispensable and rigorous source of reference in this field on the Island. A distinction for his more than thirty years of research, the generous and selfless work he has carried out in parallel to his professional career in the judicial field, which has made him earn the gratitude of institutions and citizens.
The Cabildo has also awarded the Gold Medal to the socialist deputy in the first legislature of democracy, María Dolores Pelayo Duque, for her work in the defense of women’s rights and freedoms, always committed to gender issues. The plenary agreement highlighted, among other achievements, her essential contribution to achieving equality in this sense in the law that recognized the right to divorce, in which she acted as rapporteur legislator. Also the result of her struggle and her work were the profound modifications of the Civil Code in matters of family and inheritance to equalize the rights between men and women.
The Gold Medal is also awarded to the Accredited Consular Corps in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for “the commendable function it performs on the Island”, by contributing in its long history to “promote commercial, cultural and social relations among citizens and promote friendly relations between the different countries and the people of Tenerife”.
Favorite Son
Alonso Fernandez del Castillo y Machado he received the consideration of Favorite Son for the work carried out in the Cabildo, where he held the position of general secretary for 25 years. The ceremony valued his active participation in the approval of the Law on the Economic and Fiscal Regime of the Canary Islands. Likewise, he took part in the drafting of the regulations and statutes of institutions and organizations in which the Cabildo participated, which contributed to a more agile management to respond to various problems. In the cultural field, his participation in the assumption by the Island Corporation of the Superior Conservatory of Music and the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra was decisive.
During the development of the ceremony several musical pieces were enjoyed performed by the String Duo made up of Johanna Kegel, on cello, and David Ballesteros, on violin.
consular corps
Gold Medal of the Island
Centuries of activity in Canarian history
The Consular Corps is a secular institution maintained between two states, which in 2023 is made up of 35 consuls and vice-consuls on the Island. The intention of the award is to recognize the work carried out by the consuls who “have contributed in their long history to foster relations commercial, cultural and social among citizens”, in addition to “promoting friendly relations between the different countries and the people of Tenerife”. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a seafaring and commercial city open to the Atlantic, became the first showcase for the establishment of the consulates of the United Kingdom, France and Germany since the last third of the 19th century. Their presence was a direct consequence of the commercial and maritime importance of the port. In 1899 there were already 23 consulates installed in it.
Mª Dolores Pelayo
Gold Medal of the Island
A pioneer in the fight for equality
Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in November 1943, she is a lawyer and politician who was part of the Senate in the Constituent Legislature (1977-1979). In her political career, she distinguished herself by promoting various legal changes in favor of women’s rights and freedoms. Her contribution to such essential achievements to achieve gender equality is fundamental, such as the law that recognized the right to divorce, in which she acted as rapporteur legislator. Also the result of their struggle and work were the profound changes to the Civil Code on family and succession matters to equalize the rights between men and women and recognize the rights of any son or daughter, regardless of their origin or whether they were born within or out of wedlock.
Nelson Diaz Frias
Gold Medal of the Island
Lawyer, researcher and writer
Nelson Díaz Frías was born in Arona, into a family with deep roots in the Chasna region, and especially in the municipality of Vilaflor. He has always maintained the ties that unite him with the south of the Island and, especially, with Chasna and Adeje, where he lives. At the age of 22, he graduated in Law from the University of La Laguna and, subsequently, he began preparing for the oppositions to enter the judicial career. The regular judge in Icod de los Vinos and magistrate-judge in Arona, since 2007 he is dean of the Arona judicial district and head of the Investigating Court No. 4 of said town. From the age of 17 he began to investigate parish archives and this work was translated into works in the press, such as in the newspaper EL DÍA, on the history of the south of Tenerife. Currently, Nelson Díaz maintains an intense research activity on the history and genealogy of the southern region.
Rosario Alvarez
Gold Medal of the Island
Reference in the historiography of the Canary Islands
Doctor Rosario Álvarez Martínez is one of the most important figures in the field of historiography of the culture of the Canary Islands. Her contributions in the fields of historical research, teaching, scientific dissemination, cultural management, publishing and the organization of concert cycles, congresses and conferences make her an essential figure of the insular intelligentsia and Canarian society, as They accredit the prizes, honors and distinctions that he has achieved throughout a career marked by a passion for music and culture, critical rigor and a capacity for work. Rosario Álvarez was born in 1949 in La Laguna (Tenerife), National Musicology Award in 1982, she highlights her double line, intense in the fields of humanistic studies and musical training.
Alonso Fernandez
Favorite Son of the Island
Life at the service of the Island and the Cabildo
Alonso Fernández del Castillo y Machado was born on December 27, 1929 in La Laguna, at whose University he graduated in Law, later moving to Madrid. There he prepared the opposition to First Category Local Administration Secretary. He resided at the famous César Carlos Residence Hall, where he met figures of the transition such as José Luis Sampedro, Raúl Morodo, Ramón Tamames or Alejandro Nieto, among others. His first professional posting was in the Güímar City Council and, later, he obtained, by competitive examination, the post of senior officer of the Island Council of Tenerife, in 1969. In 1991 he was appointed general secretary of the institution, a position he held until his retirement, in 1994. Thus, they spent twenty-five years at the service of the first island institution.
