The centenarian heart of Dolores Delgado Pérez ceased to beat in the early hours of yesterday. The cherished resident of San Miguel de Abona, regarded as one of the matriarchs of the South and of Tenerife, passed away in her family home following a decline in her health over recent months, necessitating multiple instances of medical assistance and hospital stays.
She took her final breath in the place she desired, her home in San Miguel, surrounded by her closest friends and accompanied by the vast wisdom she accumulated at the age of 103, which she celebrated on May 8. Just last Friday, she had received the regular visit from the home help staff of the local council, welcomed with her usual warmth and willingness.
Known as Doña Dolores within the community, she had a visit from DIARIO DE AVISOS at her residence last February. “I enjoy these things, interviews, anything that involves conversation,” she remarked with a twinkle in her eye before she began to recall her remarkable memories. During that meeting, she expressed that death was not a concern for her: “It will eventually come, but I don’t dwell on it; when it’s my time, it will be. For now, I pray and hold onto the hope that there is a God and a better world beyond.”
The grandmother from San Miguel reminisced about the days when her village consisted of “just four houses” and neighbours would leave their doors unlocked with keys still in the locks, “unlike these times, when everyone has moved here and things seem chaotic.” She firmly believed that “previously, we lived happier lives because we were more at ease, and when the sun set, we simply went to bed.” In her youth, she endured the “hardships” of a “very difficult” era, which compelled her to “struggle and fight when there was nothing to eat or buy, as work was scarce, leaving only poverty and extreme hunger.”
Doña Dolores had three children (one of whom passed away last year), 13 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and a great-great-granddaughter, for whom she prayed nightly to Brother Pedro, the Virgin of Candelaria, and “to all the saints.” She offered prayers for them and “for wars to cease and for people to have jobs.”
She found entertainment in television and radio, enjoying news programmes, talk shows, and music, which she listened to while having her morning snack to kick off the day.
She delighted in “caldito,” a purée, vegetable stews, yoghurts, custard, and her milk with gofio. However, when questioned about the secret to her longevity, she smiled and responded without hesitation: “It must be from all the hunger I endured.”
Arturo González, the mayor of San Miguel de Abona, expressed to this newspaper yesterday that Doña Dolores was “a true exemplar of life, a woman from San Miguel with an incredible spirit of sacrifice who, at 103 years old, was a wellspring of wisdom and experience.” Nuria Marrero, the Councilor for Social Services, also referred to the centenarian as “a figure of reference in the municipality, kind and gentle, who struggled to comprehend the modern era of society but made efforts to adapt to it with grace.”
The funeral service will occur today at 12 noon from the crypt of San Miguel de Abona to the cemetery in this locality.
