Like every Friday, the program ¡De Vernes! returned to Telecinco with the visit of new recognized faces. Mayte García, ex-wife of Santiago Cañizares, came to the set to talk about the worst moment of her life: the death of her five-year-old son Santi. The tragic event occurred in March 2018. The woman opened up to Santi Acosta and Beatriz Archidona in the program of interviews, exclusives and gatherings.
“They didn’t see that he had a brain tumor, but he fainted and was fatal,” García recalled, about the moments before the little boy’s death. “We took him to another hospital and they saw the tumor,” he said. It was there, a few days later, when Santi died in the arms of his mother. A moment that will never be erased from his mind and that causes him enormous sadness.
The most shocking thing about the story was the way the little boy’s mother recounted the last minutes of Santi’s life. “He didn’t speak because of the heart attacks he had given him, but he said ‘mom’ clearly and loudly before leaving,” she recalled very emotionally. “I think my son left an important legacy. We have to learn to live with the pain of absence, but continue living,” she said then, demonstrating her strength.
Mayte explained some details, but if something did not go unnoticed, it was that she said that the number 23, the day of the child’s death, is now her lucky number. “It’s not an ugly number, because it was when he died on Earth, but he was born in heaven. He will always be with me,” she said then, exciting those present on set and many of the spectators.
On the other hand, Santiago Cañizares explained in a previous interview that being believers helped them to overcome the phase of grief. “We are people of faith. We believe that our son is in a fantastic place, close to God,” he said. A hard blow that they will never forget.
After more than a decade of relationship and four children together, Mayte García and Santiago Cañizares announced their divorce during the summer of 2021, three years after the death of their son Santi. The little one’s departure did not shatter their love story, but, inevitably, it “influenced” to a certain extent, Mayte revealed in an interview. The couple, who had tried to be “an example” for her family, set the goal of “trying to continue being one” separately. “We ask for maximum respect, because the important thing in these cases is to avoid the suffering of the little ones,” they issued a joint statement at the time.
