León Bienes Hernández, Mayor of Fuencaliente (1971-1972)

León Bienes Hernández, mayor of Fuencaliente de La Palma from 1971 to 1972, was born on June 28, 1927, into a family of hardworking, honest, and responsible people, which shaped his character. He married Cira Díaz Hernández, with whom he had four children. Devoted to agriculture, he remained active until his strength failed him, feeling particularly affected by the early deaths of two of his children and his wife. We had the opportunity to know and interact with him on numerous occasions, being, moreover, a neighbor and friend of the family, always recognized for his respectfulness and seriousness. He passed away on March 2, 2014, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

On July 3, 1971, he was appointed mayor of Fuencaliente de La Palma, succeeding Feliciano Hernández Hernández. He ceased office on June 18, 1972, when he was replaced by Eustasio Hernández Ríos[1]. The most significant event during his term was the eruption of the Teneguía volcano, which began on October 26, 1971, just four months after he took office. Below, we recall the testimony he kindly provided us in 1993 during the fieldwork for our book “Fuencaliente. History and Tradition”:

“The tremors started about ten days before, more or less, and two days later, the civil governor, Antonio del Valle Menéndez, came to Fuencaliente, more to calm us down. It was then that they came up with the idea of the famous seismograph with a plumb line, like those used in construction. The plumb line in question, or rustic seismograph, if you prefer, was hung from the lamp in the mayor's office. The way it worked was quite simple. If the plumb line swung horizontally during the tremor, there was no major concern, but if it swung vertically, it meant that the eruption of the volcano was near and we had it beneath our feet.”

“Finally, the day came when the plumb line swung vertically. Oh, my! We immediately called the government delegate, who was then Francisco Laína, and he told us to be on the lookout for any smoke or fire and to check the upper part of the municipality. But nothing appeared. I went down to La Costa that day and on my way back to Las Indias, around three in the afternoon, I noticed a dense smoke below the San Antonio volcano. And I said to myself: the volcano has erupted! You can't imagine the joy I felt because, honestly, we were very worried about the possibility of the eruption occurring above the town, in any other place in the Cumbre. But even in that, it was fortunate, because where it erupted was a flat area of malpaís, a piece of land of little agricultural interest.”

“The Teneguía finally erupted on October 26, 1971, and those of us who had seen the San Juan volcano in 1949 took it more calmly. I myself told my family and neighbors that where it had erupted was not problematic. But the younger ones, those who had no experience with volcanoes, were scared, and for them - like for everyone, really - those moments were impressive, and afterwards what happened was that it became a major novelty. The influx of people to Fuencaliente was impressive. I had never seen so many people in the town. The mountain of Las Tablas became the main viewpoint - even in that, we were lucky - and the most daring approached the mountain of Pablo. I went on some occasions, at night, accompanying the civil governor, but honestly, I wasn't very keen on it because you never know what can happen with a volcano.”[2].

Photo: Archive of Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo

Notes

[1] Díaz Lorenzo, Juan Carlos. “Fuencaliente. History and Tradition”. p. 171. Madrid, 1994.