Ruiz Tagle street

Pedro Ruiz Tagle y Guardamino was distinguished for being a wealthy neighbour of Torrelavega that gave pieces of land to our city. He also was a city councillor and later mayor during 4 months. His life started in Torrelavega and lasted seventy years, from 1821 to 1891. This life passed in a field near the streets Serafín Escalante, Julián Ceballos, Consolación and   “Cuatro Caños” fountain. The buiding was surrounded by a large area, of which an important part of it had been donated for making the street with the same name, Ruiz Tagle. He lived in a house that was located in front of “Sal Si Puedes” alley. His father, named Felipe, was a nobleman that worked as a notary and his mother named Juana was from Cuba; from her, he inherited a big fortune, which he developed.

There was a legend around him between the people of his time: that he kept a treasure of golden and silver pieces. In 1895 he was city councillor of Torrelavega, but later, on the 1st of March of 1897 he was designated mayor. People accused him of being mean and addicted to money, but it only was the product of the rumours, because he donated lands in benefit of Torrelavega.

When Nuestra Señora de la Asunción church was built, Pedro Ruiz Tagle had an outstanding importance. According to another important person from Torrelavega, the priest José María Martinez y Ramón, that often visited him, he talked to Ruiz Tagle about the necessity of renovating the church, at the time Ruiz Tagle whose health was getting worse he did an economic promise.

A few days after his death, his niece Lucia de la Mora y Guardamino, who had inherited his possesions, went to talk to the priest and gave him ten thousand “duros” in her uncle´s name. With this incredible donation, which was higher than the price of the renovation, the priest started the renovation of the temple in 1892, a year after the death of Ruiz Tagle; finally the church was inaugurated the 15 of August in 1901.

 Ruiz Tagle Street is a short, downtown street with good houses. It has a width of 12 meters and it is placed between both most important streets of the city, Jose Maria Pereda and Julián Ceballos, running up lightly with Serafín Escalante Street. In this street it´s the access to  Abastos Place. In front of it was located a very important building that was inaugurated in 1902; it belonged to “El Circulo de Recreo” which disappearance caused sadness to many neighbours. The leisure center continues its activity in another modern building built in the same area.

It also was a reason of sadness the absence of a splendid and cozy room in Garcilaso theatre- cinema,that Jaime Fernández Diestro, another famous person from Torrelavega, opened in the 40´s and that was later closed. In the corner Ruiz-Tagle - Jose María de Pereda was placed the  Quintín Mayoral petrol station.

In the map of 1886 there is a big area, with no streets or constructions, where now it is the street. In 1891, because of D. Pedro Ruiz Tagle y Guardamino´s death, it was considered the  possibility of making a Street. In the map of the Town Hall of the 1st of October in 1892, it appeared the donation. The mayor was Policarpo García Benedí.

 

SOURCES: Torrelavega en su Historia (A book of Pablo del Rio Gatoó) and information of the municipal file of the Newspaper Library of Torrelavega.

 

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