lunes, 7 de diciembre de 2009

Un personaje popular


Un personaje popular
Don Benito Rodríguez Fraga (1893-1969), era natural de Ourol (Provincia de Lugo, España).
Llegó a estas tierras en 1929, para forjarse un porvenir. Buscó oro en Cabo Vírgenes, luego fue jornalero, y así pudo comprar una fabrica de soda.
Afectuosamente, lo apodaron "el licorero", y "cachirula" al vehículo en que hacía su distribución diaria.
Don Benito, casado con Doña Manuela Lafuente Ñuño, desde la modestia de su quehacer, creo una familia ejemplar.
Su hijo "Manolo", fue un exitoso fotógrafo formado junto al maestro Roil, que integró la primera comisión de exploración a los Hielos Continentales, y luego fue guía de la Gendarmería Nacional durante los acontecimientos de Lago del Desierto, en 1965
Sus otros hijos son "Florita" Rodríguez de Lofredo, nuestra máxima escritora y poetisa santacruceña; y Raúl, geólogo e ingeniero en petróleo del grupo Pérez Companc, radicado en el Neuquén.
Esta es su sana estirpe, los referentes de vida que enaltecen nuestra identidad, la saga de Don Benito, un humilde y honrado español.




A popular character
Don Benito Rodríguez Fraga (1893-1969), was a native of Ourol (Lugo province, Spain).
He reached these parts in 1929 to forge a future for himself. He prospected for gold at Cabo Vírgenes, then became a labourer and eventually managed to buy a soda factory.
He was given the affectionate nickname "el licorero" [the liquor man] and the vehicle in which he made his daily delivery round was nicknamed "cachirula"1.
Don Benito, married to doña Manuela Lafuente Ñuño, brought up an exemplary family from the modesty of his daily toil.
His son "Manolo" was a successful photographer trained along with the maestro Roil, and was a member of the first commission to explore the continental ice-fields, and later acted as a guide for the national border guards during the border disputes regarding 'Lago del Desierto'2, in 1965.
His other children are: "Florita" Rodríguez de Lofredo3, Santa Cruz's greatest poet and writer; and Raúl, a geologist and oil engineer in the Pérez Companc4 group, settled in Neuquén.
This is his sound lineage, exemplary models of life that ennoble our identity, the saga of don Benito, a humble and honourable Spaniard.
1 literally an earthenware jug, but also a colloquial term for "things", like bric-a-brac.
2 along with the continental ice-fields in the Andes, this lake was a source of conflicts arising with Chile regarding how to apply the classic rule of "peaks and water courses" in determining frontiers.
3c/f "Foreword", p.11.
4 formerly the most important mining company in Argentina.

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