Por Redaccion 
On the stage of the Teatro Calderón in the capital of Pisuerga, the journalist and Valladolid priest Antonio Pelayo received the ‘Vicente Ballester Honorary Award’ on Friday, named after the voice of Onda Cero Valladolid for many years. «Those of us from Valladolid have something special; there is a Valladolid essence that is real, not fiction,» he expressed.
In his speech, the former correspondent for Antena 3 Television in Rome thanked his homeland, of which he always boasts. Onda Cero chose Pelayo, 81, because he has taken the name of Valladolid to «every corner of the world» and because throughout his professional career, he «has not forgotten his Valladolid roots,» as highlighted during the gala.
«The fact that it is a Valladolid award satisfies me extraordinarily. The land is the land and the root is the root: I feel very Valladolid. We from Valladolid have something special; there is a Valladolid essence that is real, not fiction,» he emphasized.
In this regard, Pelayo emphasized that Valladolid is a city with «many gastronomic, tourist, and entertainment attractions,» such as the Plaza Mayor, which «is full of life,» and is a capital city that «never stops growing.»
A growth that, as he pointed out, during his childhood and adolescence was «uneven due to speculation and the thirst for power,» although he mentioned that every time he returns to his city, he walks down Núñez de Arce street: «There I spent my childhood and remember many happy moments playing marbles.»
At 81, his extensive career has led him to cover six different conclaves. Each one, with its peculiarities, as Pelayo himself explained, although this last one had «that note of drama that others have not had.»
In fact, he explained that each conclave takes place in a «very different political and global context,» and this one has developed in one of the «most dramatic circumstances in history,» which influenced the cardinals, who «knew that many people were waiting.»
TRIBUTE TO JESÚS ANTA
The gala began with an emotional tribute to the writer, scholar, and disseminator of the city, Jesús Anta, who passed away last January, and who for years, every Tuesday in the ‘Velay’ section of the local magazine ‘Más de Uno Valladolid,’ recalled the history, curiosities, places, and characters of Valladolid.
During the tribute, an illustration designed and created by the graphic humorist of ABC, José María Nieto, was presented to Anta’s family, to his wife Isabel Sancho, in which Anta himself is depicted smiling, sitting on an arch of the old wall of Prado de la Magdalena that passed over a branch of the Esgueva.
As Nieto himself explained, «in his interests as a scholar of Valladolid (snow wells, fountains, washhouses, bridges), the watercourses were always present.»
The pen drawing also highlights Jesús Anta’s relationship with La Esgueva, ‘the illustrious neighbor of Valladolid,’ as he always said. A river that was also the focus of his activity as a promoter of the neighborhood movement, as recalled during the gala.
NINE AWARDED CATEGORIES
In this context, Grupo Helios was recognized as the Best Company in the Onda Cero Valladolid Awards, an award in which the jury highlighted its commitment to the province, where it has maintained its production, generating local employment and wealth.
On the other hand, Dr. Fernando Centeno, a specialist in Pediatric Cardiology and a graduate of the University of Valladolid, received the award in the Health category for his vocation of service and his excellent career focused on the health of children, with outstanding achievements and milestones throughout his career.
Specifically, the jury highlighted that Centeno launched the regional breast milk bank of Castilla y León and the first pediatric palliative care unit in our Community in 2015.
The awards also focused on Science and Innovation, a category in which Tomás Vega, a doctor from the University of Valladolid and technical coordinator of the Sentinel Network of Castilla y León, was awarded.
In fact, the World Health Organization has taken the Mobile Epidemics Method as a reference, which allows knowing, through data analysis and processing, the onset of epidemics caused by the flu or other respiratory viruses, as well as their incidence and intensity.
The Onda Cero Valladolid Awards recognized the entire Valladolid society «in general» in the Social Commitment category for its response to the effects caused by the DANA, mainly in the Valencian Community.
The jury personified this award in three of these Valladolid residents who traveled to Valencia in those first days and in the following ones: José Gaitán y Asociados, a Valladolid builder who left his work during those days to help in Catarroja; Jacob García, a mechanic from Cigales who traveled to the affected area and donated bicycles restored by himself; and Carmen Yagüe, who traveled to Valencia on more than three occasions to help with cleaning, distribution of products, and even toys.
On the other hand, the young Valladolid native Mario Martín Gilsanz, 28, was distinguished with the Onda Cero Valladolid award in the ‘Young Values’ category. Martín Gilsanz is the youngest parish vicar in the province, serving the parishes of 17 villages.
The jury highlighted his commitment, especially to rural areas, dedicating his time to their citizens, listening, accompanying them in difficult times, and, above all, in many cases of loneliness.
The Sustainability and Environment award was received by the Municipal School of Gardening, Environment, and Urban Renaturalization, born from the Germina’VA project.
An initiative awarded for its commitment to training in sustainability and for exploring the possibilities offered by the environment from an employability perspective.
In the Culture category, the award went to Father Blas Sierra, director since 1978 of the Oriental Museum of Valladolid – the most complete Asian collection in Spain – and an expert in art and ethnology of China, Japan, and the Philippines.
The jury highlighted his ability to bring the East closer to the West: «For preserving and developing a museum project over the years and for his educational work among the younger generations.»
On the other hand, the Valladolid Holy Week was recognized in the Tourism category, as the main cultural, religious, and tourist attraction of the city.