The Gáldar City Council honored 32 men and women from the municipality this Sunday during the presentation of the Golden Pintaderas 2026, one of the most emotional events of the 544th Santiago Major Festivals. The recognition was awarded for their personal and professional careers and their contribution to the city's economic, social, and human development.
The mayor of Gáldar, Teodoro Sosa Monzón, presided over the institutional ceremony, accompanied by members of the Municipal Corporation. The Presidency Department, led by Julio Mateo Castillo, organized the event, which included a musical performance by singer Ana Gil.
The mayor emphasized that the event is a thank you to those who, "through daily work, silent effort, and perseverance, helped build the municipality we are so proud of today." He stressed that "the best cities are not built solely by administrations. Nor by the powerful. They are built by their residents," valuing those who, from various trades, made the progress of Gáldar possible.
This year, special tribute was paid to agriculture, a key sector in Gáldar's history, focusing on flowers, tomato cultivation, seedbeds, and export cucumbers – activities that provided employment for hundreds of families and were a pillar of economic development.
The Golden Pintadera awards for dedication to the flower industry went to: Bartolomé Montesdeoca Armas, Teresa Padrón Díaz, Santiago Cruz Sosa, and María Dolores Pérez Gil. Those who made tomatoes their livelihood were: Marcelina Sosa Moreno, Milagrosa Bolaños Moreno, Rosario Rodríguez Rodríguez, Victoriano Salvador Suárez Mendoza, Benedicta Carrillo Ramos, and Nicomedes Mendoza Jiménez.
Recognition also extended to those who worked in cultivating and packing export cucumbers: Juana Gutiérrez Rodríguez, María Godoy Godoy, Juana María Pérez Díaz, Josefa Díaz Vega, and Nieves Cabrera Castillo. José Julián García Guillén, known as "Pepe el de los Semilleros," a key figure in agriculture, was also honored.
Further honorees include Antonio Flores Suárez (agriculture and construction), Leocadio Ramos Moreno (Tito) and Francisco Ruiz Moreno (Paco) (long-time tractor drivers), and Ángel González Padilla (a major contractor).
Other recipients include Isidro Domingo Mendoza Sánchez (Isidrito del kiosco), Benigno Jiménez Díaz (sheet metal workshop), Rita Moreno Santiago (lottery administration), María del Carmen Silva Padrón (Mensa) (haberdashery), and Sebastián García Hernández (Chano) (gas installations and hospitality machinery).
Restaurateurs such as Antonio Cubas Lugo (Bar Pinocha), Juan Medina Díaz (Restaurante El Paso), Fermín Mendoza Mendoza (Bar de Lomo del Palo), and Manuela García Jorge (Cafetería Manola) also received recognition for being part of Gáldar's collective memory.
The list is completed by Modesto González González and Dolores Medina Vega (Loli la Capitana) (food commerce in Sardina and Agaete, respectively), and Ezequiel Sosa Cruz (whose life has been linked to the sea).
The mayor concluded by asking the honorees' children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to "listen and learn from their stories because a very important part of Gáldar's history is written in them."
