Three years without "Shapochny": In Tenerife, they are selling hats knitted by a grandfather to help cancer patients.
On the island of Tenerife, a family is honoring the memory of Benito "the Hatter," who knitted hats for the sick and needy, by selling his last works to raise money for charity.
September 22 marked three years since Benito Hernández Cruz from La Guancha passed away. He was known as Benito "The Hat Man" because in his later years he became passionate about knitting warm hats.
It is said that he was once in the hospital, and to thank the doctors and nurses, he knitted hats for all of them. Some even got a scarf! He did the same at the clinic in Puerto de la Cruz. That's how he got the nickname "The Hat Man" – from one of the doctors at the North Hospital.
His granddaughter, Leyla, taught him to knit. One winter, it was very cold, and Benito couldn't leave the house. He was 86 at the time. And until his death at the age of 92, he never stopped knitting. At first, he crocheted scarves. Then he started making hats and giving them to relatives, friends, and doctors. He especially put in effort when knitting for cancer patients. He wanted the hat to warm them and add a little love during a difficult time.
It was their joint project with his granddaughter. Leyla suggested knitting hats and giving them to cancer patients and organizations that help fight the disease. Benito knew about cancer firsthand, as his wife suffered from it.
He knitted every day – a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon. It was a real therapy for him. Knitting helped him maintain the mobility of his right hand, as he had mild arthritis.
And knitting is also beneficial for the elderly because it keeps the brain active, improves mood, stimulates thinking, and improves coordination.
Sometimes Benito went to the store with Leyla to choose yarn colors. He loved green the most, but he didn't like red, black, and blue very much because dark colors made the work more difficult.
Often, his granddaughter would buy skeins of wool herself and bring them to his house. He would immediately start thinking about how to combine the colors, his daughter recalls.
Benito knitted without glasses in the garage of his house in La Guancha de Abajo. His daughter, Ana Elia Hernández, set up a corner for him there with everything he needed: yarn, needles, frames, and baskets. He sat by the door and saw everyone who passed by. He gladly greeted all the neighbors.
Later, his corner was filled with many bags for storing hats, frames, and a board with photos and an image of Santiago Apóstol, the patron saint of Spain.
When a hat was finished, he would put it on the table for his daughter to cut off any excess threads. He knitted so many hats that there are still about 50 of them in his house. He donated many hats to the Ámate Tenerife organization, as well as to the Red Cross and Caritas in Barcelona, for homeless children and the elderly.
To honor the memory of her father and grandfather, who knitted hats from the heart, his daughter and granddaughter are offering to purchase his last works for a symbolic price. All the money will go to help those in need. They want each hat to continue to bring warmth and hope.
If you would like to purchase a hat from Benito, please call Ana Elia (626 343 214) or Leyla (663 953 265) to arrange a meeting.
"Each hat is unique because it is made with patience and love. In every thread there is a piece of Benito's heart – a simple man who taught us that small acts can change lives," says his granddaughter.