News of the passing of the former mayor of the capital from 1991 to 1995, José Emilio García Gómez, came out on the night of Thursday, April 18, just after the proclamation of the patron saint festivities in Santa Cruz.
García Gómez is remembered for significant contributions to the city, notably for his role in the urban development with achievements such as the conquest of Cabo-Llanos through the Santa Cruz 1992 General Plan, among other milestones.
According to José Manuel Ledesma, the official chronicler of Santa Cruz, García Gómez (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1942-2024) studied at the Escuelas Pías in the capital and pursued Medicine and Surgery at the Faculty of Cádiz. He completed his degree in 1965 and further specialised in Clinical Biopathology at hospitals in Madrid and Navarra.
Returning to the island in 1966, García Gómez took over the family clinical analysis laboratory after his father’s passing. He began his professional career at the age of 24, working as a physician at the Chest Hospital, and the Maritime and Port Workers’ Social Institute.
He became the President of the Regional Association of Medical Analysts and Vice President of the Clinical Biopathology Association. In 1978 and 1985, he organised and chaired two National Congresses in this specialty in Santa Cruz.
His political career started in 1979 when he founded the Free Group of Tenerife to participate in the Municipal Elections. In the first democratic term, he served as Deputy Mayor and President of the Personnel and Governance Committee.
In 1980, he founded the Canary Regional Front, initiating a process to unite nationalist currents in the Canary Islands, which later merged into the Canarian Nationalist Party.
By joining the Management Committee of the Tenerife Independent Group (ATI) in 1983, he was elected as the organisation’s secretary of organisation, contributing to the creation of the Federation of Independent Groupings of Canarias.
Between 1987 and 1991, he served as the first Deputy Mayor of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council and was subsequently elected Mayor for the 1991-1995 term.
During his tenure, notable urban planning projects were completed, such as the new Urban Development General Plan and the Cabo-Llanos Plan. He oversaw the delivery of new housing units in the neighbourhoods of Santa Clara and San Pío, the construction and inauguration of the César Manrique Maritime Park, and the commencement of the Mesa Park.
