Antón Guanche

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Antón Guanche was a Guanche from Tenerife in the 15th–16th centuries. He was captured as a boy around 1420 during slave raids on the island by Europeans from Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. After being baptized and freed, he returned to Tenerife to help bring Christianity to his people. The Guanches found him in the cave of Chinguaro, where the king of Güímar lived, and he explained that the large statue they worshipped as Chaxiraxi was the Virgin Mary. He convinced the king to move the statue to a sanctuary, and it was taken to the cave of Achbinico with Antón in charge of guarding it. He also served as a translator for missionaries on the island, including Alfonso de Bolaños, and other monks. The statue became known as the Virgin of Candelaria, the patron saint of the Canary Islands. Antón died in the early or mid-16th century on Tenerife.