Local resident Ana de León opened the festivities of Casillas del Ángel with a speech in which she remembered her brother, businessman Pablo de León, who passed away in 2018. The square was filled with neighbours and friends to hear anecdotes and tributes.
On Saturday night, the square in front of the church of Casillas del Ángel, in Puerto del Rosario, became a stage of contained emotions and applause. Ana de León, a local resident, took to the podium to read a speech that was not a typical address: it was a letter to her brother Pablo, the well-known transport businessman who died in April 2018. Eight years later, his memory remains very much alive among the people of Fuerteventura.
“Dear Pablo, brother, businessman and neighbour of Fuerteventura,” Ana began, her voice choked but steady. In front of her, a square packed with familiar faces, friends, company workers, and in the front row, her mother. The speech lasted nearly half an hour and combined childhood memories, youth, and the forging of a character that marked an entire community.
From the cradle to the wheel: the early years of Pablo de León
Ana took a step back to the 1960s, when her parents met. The Mesa Cabrera, her mother's family, arrived from Ampuyenta to Casillas del Ángel to plant tomatoes on the Cabrera estate. There they met the de León Soler family, her father's family. “Between branches and tomatoes, love,” the speaker summarised, eliciting knowing smiles from the audience.
Pedro Pablo de León Mesa was born on June 29, 1965, the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. He was the firstborn, followed by five sisters. “From the moment you got out of the cradle, you had to work”, Ana recalled. Ploughing, sowing, threshing, milking goats, making cheese… “That was the work of those times,” she said, evoking a childhood without privileges but full of life.
The speaker recounted names and scenes that the audience instantly recognised: Uncle Juan and Aunt Antigua, Cristóbal de Vera El de La Matilla who came on Thursdays to collect calves, Manolito Nóbrega with the alfalfa. “Uncle Luis would draw us on a black slate the game of noughts and crosses”, she shared, and the square filled with nostalgia. She also remembered the transporters Germán Alfaro, and Manolo Méndez from Betancuria who brought fresh hides “to hang them out as if they were laundry.”
From the counter to the trucks: the birth of a businessman
At 18, Pablo began working at Ricardo de León's butcher shop in Puerto del Rosario. He was there for five years, but his true passion was trucks. “He would hear the trucks from the Mederos arriving and would get excited by the smell of diesel and the roar of the engines,” Ana recounted. That was the seed of what would later become Transportes Pablo de León.
In Tefía, driving a water truck for Juan Manuel Sosa, he met Ana Moséguez. It was July, and by the time of the San Agustín festivities, they were already a couple. With the money he saved, Pablo built a house in Casillas del Ángel, which he left roofed and whitewashed before going to Melilla for military service. “He returned with his backpack full of lentils, chickpeas, and hard cheese, and came back with all his driving licenses,” Ana joked, prompting laughter from the audience.
Upon his return, he bought his second truck, a new Pegaso. “For many years, there were no Saturdays or Sundays, just work and sacrifice”, he said. Then came the mixer and the crane. But despite the hardships, “he never said no to anyone.” He married Anita, “the love of his life,” in the Church of San Agustín in Tefía, with whom he had three children: Cristina, Pablo, and Alberto.
A legacy that continues to roll along the roads of Fuerteventura
In 1997, Pablo founded his own company: Transportes Pablo de León. “His great dream was beginning to come true”, Ana recalled. The beginnings were very tough, but he thrived in the face of difficulties. He formed a good team around him: Auxi, Antonio Vera, Mari Carmen, Gonzalo El Tres en Uno… “And so many others who were there in both good times and bad,” she added.
For the residents of Casillas del Ángel, the speech was not just a festive act. It was a public recognition of a man who put the name of the village on the business maps of the island. The trucks of Transportes Pablo de León are a common sight on the roads of Fuerteventura, and many of those present worked with or knew Pablo. “The legacy of a unique man continues to bear fruit,” Ana concluded, visibly moved.
The festivities of Casillas del Ángel will continue over the coming days with dances, children's activities, and religious events. Ana de León's speech will undoubtedly remain one of the most emotional moments of this edition. For those who could not attend, the Puerto del Rosario City Council has announced that it will upload the full video to its YouTube channel.
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