Guanche princess, daughter of Mencey Bencomo. According to legend, she had a relationship with the conquistador Fernández de Lugo.
Dácil is the most romantic figure of the conquest of Tenerife. Daughter of the powerful mencey Bencomo of Taoro, she was one of the most prominent princesses of the Guanche side. Historical chronicles mention her only briefly, but popular tradition and later literature have woven around her a love story that crosses the boundaries of war and culture.
According to the most widespread legend, Dácil fell in love with a Castilian officer named Gonzalo García del Castillo — not Fernández de Lugo himself, as is sometimes confused — during the years of the conquest. The love story between an indigenous princess and a Spanish officer became a symbol of mestizaje and the union of two worlds. Some chroniclers claim the marriage was real and that Dácil was baptised with the name Mencía.
Her figure was given new life in the 19th century, when the Canarian writer Graciliano Afonso immortalised her in his epic poem 'Dácil', and she was recovered as a symbol of Canarian identity. Today she gives her name to streets, plazas and health centres in Tenerife. She represents not only Guanche resistance but also the capacity to build bridges between cultures in times of violence.