In an era when becoming a postman required relinquishing a room in the family home to serve as a Post Office, three generations of the González family managed mail delivery in the municipality of Yaiza for over 70 years. On Friday, siblings Juana and Enrique González Hernández, affectionately known by locals as ‘the post office family’, celebrated the Fiestas de Los Remedios in their village square. They reminisced about the service’s past conditions and their close relationships with the community, including the delivery of both good and bad news, while reflecting on the socio-economic context of southern Lanzarote, heavily influenced by its residents’ commitment to the primary sector.
“One day at three in the morning, a lady knocked on the door because she had received a notice about a certificate she needed to collect in the Arrecife office. However, she mistakenly thought it was in Yaiza and came here to pick it up. The postman got up, opened the window, and explained what she needed to do, and she left feeling reassured,” narrated Juana González, sharing an anecdote that highlighted her family’s dedication to the community. She was joined at the table by her brother Enrique, the Mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, the Events Councillor, Daniel Medina, and the parish priest of Yaiza, Jonathan Almeida.
Though Juana was not a postal employee, she helped by receiving letters, finding stamps, and sorting the incoming mail—tasks also undertaken by other members of their family of nine siblings. The Mayor of Yaiza praised “the selfless dedication of the family to the community and their contributions in essential areas such as education. Juana was a school teacher and has also dedicated many years to assisting with the parish’s pastoral mission as a catechist.”
Regarding postal services, Juana explained, “Deliveries were carried out punctually every day. It was crucial to deliver telegrams urgently, as unfortunately, most of them did not contain good news. Families anxiously awaited letters from relatives abroad, young women sought letters from their boyfriends, as well as postal money orders, newspapers that some subscribed to, and the occasional package.” With a smile, Juana added, “Thus, we lost the González surname; now everyone knows us as ‘the post office family’.”
Daniel Medina emphasised “the respect that Yaiza holds for the González family for their long-standing service and their collaborative relationship with the parish. They are very much loved members of the community.” The councillor also praised “the support from the Yaiza festival committee and all the ideas proposed to collaborate with the Town Hall on the Remedios programme, fourteen days of community spirit, joy, and tradition.”
Additionally, the announcement by ‘the post office family’ highlighted how agriculture brought life to the village, strengthening both familial and social bonds: “All family members engaged in agricultural work, and neighbours supported each other, sharing successes and failures, joys and sorrows.” Juana González reminisced about the era of sowing cereals and legumes “in the fields at the centre of the village and even on the mountainside (where fireworks are set off at the end of the fiesta), which was a beautiful green landscape intertwined with the colourful herbs mingled with the harvest, such as white and yellow straws or the red poppies.”
The harvested fruits, the announcer added, “were delicious, healthy, and natural: prickly pears, or ‘picones’ as we call them here, figs from the fig tree, or brevas. Both were eaten fresh or sun-dried. The figs were ‘dried figs’ and the picones were known as ‘porretos’. Not to forget the sweet grapes, which according to the elders: ‘grapes, cheese, and gofio remove wrinkles’.
After presenting historical information about the parish of Yaiza, Juana González shared heartfelt words regarding the southern celebration under the Marian invocation of Los Remedios, with the Grand Day on 8 September: “A mother never tires of waiting and is always delighted when her children visit her. Like any mother, she welcomes us with open arms and a great smile. If we look at our Mother of Los Remedios, we shall always see her smiling, with a serene and contented gaze.” Yaiza is now in celebration mode and invites the people of Lanzarote to join in this encounter of joy and fellowship. The complete programme is published at www.yaiza.es
