Cerezales del Condado residents say local man who became beer boss did not leave them €2m each – but they’re not bitter

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

All too often, the only enduring legacy of beer is a pounding head, a rebellious gut and an imprecise yet nagging sense of shame.



For the 77 residents of the Spanish village of Cerezales del Condado, however, it has had far more agreeable consequences.

The late Antonino Fernández – who left the village for Mexico in 1949 and went on to become president of the Grupo Modelo brewing giant that produces Corona beer – spent millions of euros reversing the decline of his home town, resurfacing its roads and restoring its church. But this extraordinary largesse did not extend to leaving each villager €2m (£1.7m) in his will.

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The inhabitants of the village in León province awoke on Friday baffled by media reports that Fernández, who died in August, had made them millionaires overnight.

“He left money to his family in his will, but he didn’t leave any to the people in the village,” said a spokeswoman for the Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Cinia, which was set up by Fernández and his wife.

“We’ve read the articles but we’ve got no idea how it got around. We think it came from an article in the Diario de León after he died, which said he’d left more than €200m to his relatives.”

She added: “The village isn’t celebrating – it’s still in mourning for a much-loved neighbour.”

Maximino Sánchez, the owner of the village’s only bar, Cantina, also confirmed, a little ruefully, that neither he nor his neighbours were suddenly rich beyond their wildest dreams.



“Have all the neighbours been given a lump sum? No, that’s not true,” he said. “But we’re all very happy with all the work that’s been done to benefit the village and turn it around.”

According to those in Cerezales del Condado, his generosity over the years has helped reverse the village’s slow decline and dramatically improved the lives of its inhabitants.

“This is a really small village: there’s only two kids and just 30 of us here during the winter,” Sánchez said.

“There’s not much here – no industry – so it’s hard to make a living. But thanks to Don Antonino’s selfless gifts, we now have clean, running water in all our homes. All the roads in the village have been resurfaced, and the church, which was in a bad state, has been completely restored inside and out.”

Fernández’s munificence does not end there: the village square has been renovated; its Christmas nativity scene is attracting visitors from far and wide, and the cultural centre is thriving.

“Two new people have come to live here permanently – they wouldn’t have come if things weren’t the way they are,” Sánchez said. “That would have been impossible before.”

Fernández, who left school at 14 to help his family in the fields and eventually rose to the top of Grupo Modelo, appears never to have forgotten those he left behind.

“Don Antonino’s always been seen here with great respect and lot of affection,” Sánchez said. “He was a really humble, nice and good-hearted man. This was a powerful businessman, but when he came here he would hug all the kids and talk to everyone in the village about the way things used to be. There aren’t a lot of people like that.”

Asked what kind of beer Cantina offers its customers, Sánchez laughed: “Only beers from Grupo Modelo: Corona, Modelo black, blonde, and Pacífico.”