Fallece Yolanda Arencibia, experta en Benito Pérez Galdós
The Spanish philology teacher Yolanda Arencibia Santana, one of the most renowned experts on the figure of Benito Pérez Galdós, who directed her namesake president in 1995, passed away at the age of 85.
The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) deeply mourned the death of Arencibia, who had been a university professor since 1982, initially at the University College in Las Palmas and later at ULPGC, where she served as the dean of the Faculty of Philology from its establishment in 1990 until 1999.
Furthermore, as reported by ULPGC in a press release, she was the first woman to achieve the title of master in the field of philology at ULPGC. Even after becoming Emeritus Professor in 2010, the year of her retirement, she continued her work at this institution as a researcher and as the director of the president.
She also became a member of the Canary Language Academy in 2001, leaving behind a lasting legacy as a teacher and specialized researcher in Spanish literature from the 18th and 19th centuries; her monumental work ‘Galdós. A Biography’ won the History and Biography Award in 2020.
Arencibia was also honored as a favorite daughter of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, a favorite daughter of Gran Canaria, and an adopted daughter of Villa de Firgas.
On the other hand, both the president of the island, Antonio Morales, and the Minister of Culture, Guacimara Medina, from the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, expressed their condolences to the family and close associates for the loss of the Galodologist, who was a «key figure».
The favorite daughter of Gran Canaria, Arencibia, also served as an education counselor on the island from 1999 to 2003, being an «essential figure» in the Canarian intellectual landscape, leaving a deep mark of recognition and professional affection, as stated by the Grancanio Cabildo in a press release.
«A passionate woman has left us, wisely invested in life, with her island, with literature, with the university and teaching, with research, and above all, with her beloved Benito Pérez Galdós. I was the Estela,» said Morales, expressing his deep sorrow for the loss of someone he greatly admired.
The island’s cultural advisor also noted that Gran Canaria’s culture is now orphaned, as she was part of the «thought and knowledge of Galdonosian and an extraordinary woman who never stopped fighting to give him the rightful place that some insisted on usurping from Don Benito.»
Lastly, on behalf of the entire municipal corporation, the mayor of the capital, Carolina Darias, expressed profound regret for the loss of Sandbia, proposing her as a candidate for the Gold Medal of the Canary Islands for 2025.
FUENTE
