A hundred years of tradition…A century after his grandfather settled in the area of El Palenque, south of Pinar del Rio, Rogelio Ortuzar ensures his farm is much more productive than it was then.
Ronald Suarez Rivas, ronald@granma.cu
November 27, 2024
Pinar del Río.–They say that the land has no secrets with them, that even if the year is bad, their harvest is to be good, that they have accumulated a hundred years of wisdom about a crop for which Cuba is distinguished worldwide.
Rogelio Ortuzar affirms, a century after his grandfather settled in the area, that his farm is much more productive than it was then. It is in fact demonstrated by the small harvest benefitting from a battery of solar panels giving it energy autonomy, the modern irrigation systems, and, above all, the plantations of what specialists consider “the best tobacco in the world.”
He shares that at age ten he helped in the field, and that he is part of a dynasty of four generations keeping the same love for the land, one of his greatest prides.
It is said that he is the man who made electricity come to El Palenque; that he is also the artifice that ensured the building of a medical clinic in the village; that he gave up his salary as president of the cooperative and during 28 years directed CCS 26 of July for free. It is all true.
About the coming of electricity to this isolated area of the municipality of Pinar del Rio, Consolación del Sur, he remembers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, financing the investment in electricity through productive surplus.
“Here, in 1996 we still have no electricity,” remembers Ortuzar, and explains that the arrangement was 50 thousand kilos (500 quintales) of tobacco above the arranged amount during three consecutive campaigns. “That was how we ensured that the electrical networks came to the cooperative area, in three stages ending in 1998. It was thanks to the surpluses we ensured Cuba that Cuba could finance the project.”
Something similar took place with other social works.
“I have always said that the Revolution changed the life of Cuban farmers, we have defended the idea that cooperatives have the responsibility of increasingly lightening the load the state carries.
It was with that certainty that we created a clinic and a house for the physician and his family, a pharmacy, four schools and also installed air conditioning in a computer room…”
Despite his dedication -that would take him to become a member of the national bureau of ANAP and of the Provincial committee of the Party in Pinar del Rio, he never received a cent for his labor during his three decades as president of the 26 of July cooperative.
“This farm has given me financially, and all the time, whatever my family needs. So I did not want to accept a salary,” he argues. He is one of those who believe in the centuries of accumulated wisdom in farmers and in the advances of science. That is why he has been ready to try new varieties in his land and effective methods to make the land produce, which he has helped extend in Vueltabajo.”
In this sense, he was among the first producers creating a “small selected” giving employment to thirty people, to benefit the harvest and to close a cycle inside the farm.
It is a new experience for the Tabacuba Empresarial group, today it comes to tens of producers in Pinar del Rio and it translates in higher quality tobacco leaves for the industry.
“Many times the effort made by producers becomes lost in the selection. But in this way tobacco is not moved, it is less manipulated and it does not decrease. In two campaigns we have demonstrated the result is very superior.”
On the other hand, we have also been the first to install photovoltaic systems that warrant irrigation and keep the vitality of the small selected and of its housing in times of energy contingency.
Acknowledged in 2016 with the honorific title of Hero of Work of the Cuban Republic, he is, from a long time, one of the most authoritative voices about the cultivation of tobacco.
The weight of the farm no longer rests on him. With a similar vocation his son, Jose Angel, is the one responsible now for the 83 hectares that cultivates not only tobacco but also a variety of grains, foodstuff and vegetables.
Being the continuator of a lineage that after a century continues focused in making lands produce, means, at the same time, pride and challenge.
Jose Angel takes it naturally, as if it was not something singular but something taken for granted that within the next one hundred years, his descendants will be still here, defending their tradition: “I simply do what I like to do. My life is this here.” _______________________
New buses to transport workers in the aviation sector.
This is good news as it would allow the increased general availability of transport for workers in the aviation sector.
Cubadebate, internet@granma.cu October 12, 2024
Eduardo Rodriguez Davila, Minister of Transport of Cuba, informed in his Facebook page that this Friday evening 15 new buses completed their first route. . The buses, acquired by the Cuban aviation sector to the Chinese Yutong firm, were received with much happiness by the people and expressed commitment to optimize its use to improve service.
Minister Rodriguez Davila explained that to the inauguration of the vehicles assisted the ambassador of Popular Republic of China in Cuba, Hua Xin, the presidents of the Institute of Civil Aeronautics (IACC) and the Cuban Aviation Corporation (CACSA), as well as authorities from the province, representatives from Yutong makers and main aviation directives.
“With the integration of these vehicle to the renewed Workers' Transportation Base Business Unit, offering services to the entire aviation sector, the number of buses available increases to 35, ensuring the covering of all passenger pick up points stipulated, most of them localized within our capital city as well as in the municipalities of the provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque” explained the Minister.
“This good news would allow to increase in a general manner the technical availability of transport for aviation workers, a guild complemented at the airport with specialists and custom, immigration, public health, Cadeca, tourism, Etecsa, among other workers that would also benefit from the services provided by these buses,” added the Minister. He also said that, “it will play a role in ensuring increased security in aviation, because punctuality is crucial in ensuring appropriate airport services and plays a role in the quality standards of the touristic product of Cuba.” He also added that these buses in turn are to support public transport of passengers within the capital, a point he added, he promises to return to in a future publication.
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Farmer in a White coat.
It is worthwhile to assume risks when one follows one’s vocation, says Yosvany QuintanaRonald Suárez Rivas | ronald@granma.cu
October 15 2024. Published in English, October 19 2024
«Anything that is needed, being within my possibilities, here I am».
PINAR DEL RÍO
About 10 years ago, before changing his White coat for Farmer clothing and hat, Yosvany Quintana worked at the X-rays health clinic in San Juan y Martínez, he had even finished an international mission in Venezuela.
At the clinic he had worked for about 20 years, until the tradition of his family and his love for the land gained the battle and took him definitely to a piece of land in the Pinar del Rio, a municipality well known as the mecca of tobacco.
He was following his grandfather’s advice. Yosvany had finished a university career and he never repent from this. «Studying and knowing are the root of anything you propose to do in your life. And I, following his advice, studied and became a bachelor in Imaging».
Even when changes are huge, from an air conditioned building to the rigors of the land, working a farm was never alien to me. «Since a youth I went to the land with my grandfather passing the grid, hoe clean, watering, whatever I could do. Even when I was attending university, I helped him on the weekends. I always consider having a land with tobacco, sawing, then after almost 20 years in the Health sector, one day I had the opportunity to do it and I took it».
In the beginning he tried to do both, but at some point his obligations with the farm grew, requiring more of his attention and he had to decide. He started with 1.5 hectares of covered tobacco -the one needed to obtain layers for export, and little by little he was adding new areas. In the last campaign he had 7.4 hectares and in the most recent one that just started he plans to work 12 hectares. He also counts with a very well selected family benefitting his crops, and only recently he started building six tunnels to obtain plants. With this, he can not only cover the needs of his farm but also the needs of 20 other producers from his area.
Despite his new life as a successful Farmer, Yosvany does not forget his origins nor has he severed links with the Health sector. This is why today, not only is he known for his success as producer but also for the altruistic gestures he assumes with his own income.
«I left the Health sector because of my love for the land and the tobacco tradition that runs through my veins, but I feel the commitment and my obligation to contribute to the Health sector, so crucial and to all needed. «Then, I cannot look after patients directly nor work in the profession I trained for, so I decided to contribute in this other way».
When he talks about «contributions», he is referring to the donation of materials to the clinic and a microwave and fans. And with that, the reconstruction of a pharmacy which had been destroyed by hurricane Ian, in September 2022 and could not have been recovered. «The clinic is a very important building providing service to nine thousand people in our municipality. One day I met with the administrator and she told me that they were working in a wine cellar with very few resources. Then I talked with municipal authorities and proposed the building of the pharmacy. I looked for materials, people willing to build and we did it».
For this 42 year old man from Pinar del Rio, this was one of the main satisfactions life has ever provided him. In love with what he is doing, he decided to move from the town of San Juan y Martínez to the area of Vivero, where he has his farm, and in this way to ensure he is always close to his plants. «Tobacco needs you to be there, touch it and even talk to it», he says. Now that things go well, it could look like it was an easy path, but Yosvany remembers that in his beginnings it was not so: «When I decided to try my luck in this world, not even one person failed to tell me that I was crazy, not even my mother or my wife».
It is understandable, considering the prestige of continuing in his profession responsible for completing an international mission lasting six years in Venezuela. Time, however, will agree with his decision, proving that it is worthwhile to assume risks when one follows one’s vocation. So, even though he changed to a white coat for farmer clothing and hat, his links to the Health sector and his recognition for those working in the sector continue to be big. He affirms because of this that «Anything that is needed, being within my possibilities, here I am».
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September 23, 2024
Qualities of coffee taste, scent, aroma determine Denomination of Origin in the High Western Mountains of Cuba.“Asdrubal Lopez” processing coffee gets inside of a product with recognized Denomination of Origin and the Cuban coffee culture creating such coffee is in the hands of a woman.
Jose Llamos Camejo, internet@granma
September 20, 2024
Guantanamo - As if the scents and tastes known and followed were few, this province is producing new and distinct ones in its northern slope hills. Such hills are camouflaged by giants of the plant world, true rain magnets and thermal regulators covering, like a green canvas, the very high plateaus and mountain ranges that treasure a variety of soils between alluvial and brown fersialitic.
Historians said, that once upon a time these soils, blessed by the relief and climate and sustained by hard working hands, were part of a splendid coffee belt in Guantanamo, one so efficient and productive that turned these soils into the most coveted and prosperous of the island. It was not by chance that French immigrants decided to promote coffee cultivation in these lands.
More than a century have passed since then. The founders of that tradition died, but their coffee culture, also traditional, it is kept alive by coffee growers of today, even if a number among them emigrated toward urban and suburban plains from these territories.
Despite the years…
It is true that in 150 years the climate has changed, and the erosion has also done things of its own. And yet, these places still arouse envy when discussing growing coffee, an idea defended by scholars studying this issue like Jose Antonio Rodriguez Oruña, doctor in Agricultural Sciences from University of Guantanamo. The natural qualities of these mountains treasure a huge potential in obtaining coffee grains of very high quality, mainly because of its conditions and origin. Experts attests to the existence of true agroecological “niches” in the aforementioned coffee scenarios.
Based on this vision which he shares too, Engineer Osmel de la Cruz, knowledgeable about the cherry plantations of the High Eastern area of Cuba, considers also the innate and almost untouched conditions that survive in for example some of the highs of Santa Catalina and La Tagua de Manuel Tames, or in the Yateras, Imias, San Antonio del Sur and Maisi, all municipalities of the most oriental province of Cuba.
It is precisely De la Cruz who is in charge of the Asdrubal Lopez Coffee Processing company (“Procesadora de Café Asdrubal Lopez”), a leader company in the processing and commercialization of coffee in Cuba working under the trade mark Altoserra.
This company possesses land in the mentioned area, and it is supported by specialists of its own and coming from other institutions, so they have launched the micro location of specific high quality sites, some of which are circumscribed to areas as small as a farm.
The purpose is obtaining coffee with Denomination of Origin, is that it is much more appreciated by clients, following it and willing to pay exclusive prices for it, in occasion even tens of times higher tan traditional international market quotes.
The Origin of the Name
Denomination of Origin -according to scientific literature- is not a trademark, neither is a condition over which coffee has a monopoly. It is applied to many products, inside and beyond agriculture. It is the name designated to a product with unique characteristics associated to a specific area of origin, and to the production culture of its inhabitants, among some aspects that, in qualitative terms, distinguish the products of similar variety and species.
A Denomination of Origin tells the consumer that he or she is in front of a product of unique aroma, acidity, texture and taste, which is determined by the soil, the temperatures and rainy regime, climatic factors that together with the productive tradition confer unique organoleptic properties.
According to experts, such attributes favor product competitiveness, add value to it, and help it to be perceived as something special in the market, in which, on occasion, origin determines consumer preferences.
On the other hand, coffee in the world is produced only within the strip located between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The countries closer to the equatorial line need higher lands to achieve quality grains, while those farther away of this line do not need such highs to produce high quality grains, which is an advantage for our country. The geographical location of Cuba at greater distance from the Equator and with temperatures oscillating between 23 and 28 degrees centigrade, makes it easier to obtain quality grains at a high of 350 to 750 meter above sea level.
After Setting the Goal so much…
In two areas delimitated by the municipality of Yateras, the coffee processor Asdrubal Lopez obtained a product recognized with Denomination of Origin, a credit provided by the Cuban office of Industrial Property (Oficina Cubana de la Propiedad Industrial -OCPI) regulating these ratings in our country.
The search work continues, particularly and above all, the search work focusing on conditioning the stages to add new areas to the coveted nomenclature, explained to Granma the director of this company who is a leader in the production, processing and marketing of the red-and-yellow cherry tree.
Associated with this goal, De la Cruz explained, a special development project to revive coffee is currently advancing. The task involves five productive farms, one hundred hectares and a hundred coffee growers in the Santa Catalina-la Tagua plateau. Monetary resources, tools and inputs will be provided to help increase the areas certified because of their Origin. In the High East the coffee road, although it comes from the hills, tends to be flatter.
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Teacher from Pinar del Rio, founder of the Federation of Cuban Women, happy at 80 and still working within the organization after more than 60 years.
Autor: Ronald Suárez Rivas | ronald@granma.cu
August 22, 2024
«As long as my neurons are active, Lilia will be a teacher and would help the Cuban Revolution».
PINAR DEL RÍO.–As if protecting a treasure, Lilia Rosa Silva keeps, in a corner of her home, all the medals she has won in her life.
The 23 of August, and the Ana Betancourt that the Federation of Cuban Women had given her, the 28 of September from the Revolution Committees, those given to her by the Ministry of Education throughout her 64 years as a teacher…
And yet, for this tireless woman there is something more valuable yet: the love of her students, who stop her constantly to greet her on the street.
She says that they do either at the clinic or while waiting in line for bread, there is always someone who recognizes her and comes to her with love.
They tell me, “look the teacher”, and one feels happy. There is no medal, nothing that could compare with that joy.
This is why she says, if I could turn time around and start again from zero, I would choose the same path.
During more than six decades, there has been no task of the revolution that has been alien to her: the literacy campaign, the battle for the six grade, the formation of teachers to educate workers and farmers, the social workers campaign…
A founder of the Cuban Women Federation, she was secretary of a delegation for 30 years. As a teacher she worked as a principal and as sub-director of Education. As a Cuban committed with her country, she has played a role in all kind of activities, from voluntary work and census of population and housing, to street sanitation, and together with the soldiers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces after cyclones.
Being almost a child, she had the opportunity to teach to read and write to 12 people in the Barrigona area, there she found her first school.
«There was people in need of learning of all ages, some young some old, it was a beautiful time».
The Federation of Cuban Women has been one of the organizations which has made Cuba an example in matters of equal rights and inclusion. The Federation is celebrating its birthday today; she believes that the Federation has been fundamental in making possible for women to be in the place they are today in Cuban society. «Thanks to the Federation, we had been recognized, and we have been able to develop activities that only men could do previously. No longer we women stop at the six or ninth level but we have surpassed ourselves, we have inserted more into our society, we have broken old patterns of discrimination to turn ourselves into the motor driving most of the work needed within the Revolution».
She does not know exactly the number of students who had passed through her classes. «There are many», she says, and with the satisfaction of who has done her work well, she adds, that she has had the privilege of teaching countless children who would later became good men and good women. Among them, she assures, there are all kind of professionals, and even, many who will become leaders of important organizations.
Although she retired in 2000, she have never stopped working. In the last 2 decades she has been active in a number of responsibilities, and since 2016-2017, she works as professor in the Centro Universitario Municipal de San Luis, in San Luis university center, teaching students completing a bachelor of education.
With humility she says that although her work was teaching, she has learned much from her students. In spite of her age (80 years old) Lilia Rosa Silva says that she does not know the meaning of being tired and as long as her health is with her she will be with “her foot in the stirrup” same as the general of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz.
«I am not tired. This is the reality. I adapted to work, in any activity and task they asked me to: I feel great working. Thus as long as my neurons keep active, Lilia will be teacher and will help this Revolution».
Her greatest pride, is that her two children followed her steps into teaching. Leonardo training youth in softball, and Tania as a doctor in Sciences of Education and director of the Centro Universitario Municipal of her natal San Luis.
«It means that the seed I have tried to sow has germinated.».
_________________________
New rules for the regulation of the profit limit on purchases and tariff exemption are established
The Official Gazette No.57 published in its ordinary version, this Thursday, a group of Resolutions of the Ministries of Finance and Prices (MFP), Public Health (Minsap) and the General Customs of the Republic (AGR) that establish the regulation of the profit limit in the purchases of the state sector to the non-state sector and extend the tariff exemption for food, cleaning products, medical supplies and medicines.
July 8th, 2024
Author: Susana Antón | informacion@granmai.cu
Photo: José Manuel CorreaThe Official Gazette No.57 published in its ordinary version, this Thursday, a group of Resolutions of the Ministries of Finance and Prices (MFP), Public Health (Minsap) and the General Customs of the Republic (AGR) that establish the regulation of the profit limit in the purchases of the state sector to the non-state sector and extend the tariff exemption for food, cleaning products, medical supplies and medicines.
In the case of the first one, corresponding to Resolution 209 of the MFP, the head of the agency, Vladimier Regueiro Ale, explained to Granma that it seeks to order the containment of expenses incurred by state entities in their economic relations with non-state management forms.
With the entry into force of the regulation on July 1st, only prices and tariffs that recognize up to a 30% profit margin or profit on goods and services acquired from the non-state sector, whether self-employed, MSMEs or Non-Agricultural Cooperatives, will be accepted.
He added that it is a way to order and optimize the resources generated from the budgeted sector.
"We have seen in recent times a concentration of payments increasing, even, financing for the acquisition of goods and services. This requires attention and it is being recognized up to 30%, which is a significantly beneficial profit margin for this first moment of orderly relations", he highlighted.
Regueiro Ale affirmed that the norm demands an exchange, a greater approach and review of what is contracted today; besides creating the basis for future contracting.
It is not a matter, he said, of limiting this relationship, but of establishing them with a better order in terms of prices, implying the reaffirmation of the use of price sheets and other established mechanisms that sometimes do not complement each other, such as the agreement of prices, bidding and the search for better offers in the territory.
He remarked that the regulation includes a training that has been extended to the economic and accounting teams of the Central State Administration Agencies, the local bodies of the People's Power and that it should also involve the non-state economic actors themselves who are service providers to the state sector.
Regueiro Ale insisted on the importance of keeping the accounting as established, which can be done with own resources, with the automated national systems, with accounting advice that can be obtained from other forms of non-state management or also from professional services provided by state entities according to the complexity of the operations.
He clarified that, previously, Resolution 148 of the MFP established the profit margins for the state sector and, in this case, it is adjusted between the state sector and the non-state sector.
The Minister emphasized that this measure also favors the containment of expenses from the budgeted sector, consistent with the macroeconomic stabilization program to improve fiscal results.
EXTENSION FOR THE EXEMPTION OF CUSTOMS DUTIES ON FOOD, TOILETRIES AND MEDICINES IS EXTENDED
On the other hand, as from July 1st, the exemption from payment of the customs tax on products imported by passengers as accompanied baggage corresponding to food, toiletries, medical supplies and medicines will be in effect until September 30th.
It also authorizes, on an exceptional and temporary basis, the non-commercial import of food, toiletries, medicines and medical supplies up to a limit of USD 500 in value or equivalent weight and 50 kg in the value/weight ratio established by the AGR.
In the case of air, sea and postal shipments of imports by individuals, the limit of USD 200 or equivalent weight up to 20 kg is maintained.
Likewise, the increase of the value limit from 200 USD to 500 USD is maintained and the exemption from customs tax for the first 30 USD of the value or its equivalent weight of 3 kilograms of the shipment is ratified, and a tariff rate of 30% is applied to the excess of this.
All the provisions apply on the condition that the items classified as food or toiletries, as well as those identified as medicines and medical supplies, are presented to Customs in separate packages from the rest of the products.
These benefits, remarked the Minister, are based on the existing limitations in the domestic market to acquire them.
At the same time, he said, border controls continue to be reinforced to face a group of violating behaviors of people who, under the protection of these benefits, use them for lucrative business, which is not the meaning of these regulations.
The Official Gazette No.57 published in its ordinary version, this Thursday, a group of Resolutions of the Ministries of Finance and Prices (MFP), Public Health (Minsap) and the General Customs of the Republic (AGR) that establish the regulation of the profit limit in the purchases of the state sector to the non-state sector and extend the tariff exemption for food, cleaning products, medical supplies and medicines.
July 8th, 2024
Author: Susana Antón | informacion@granmai.cu
The Official Gazette No.57 published in its ordinary version, this Thursday, a group of Resolutions of the Ministries of Finance and Prices (MFP), Public Health (Minsap) and the General Customs of the Republic (AGR) that establish the regulation of the profit limit in the purchases of the state sector to the non-state sector and extend the tariff exemption for food, cleaning products, medical supplies and medicines.
In the case of the first one, corresponding to Resolution 209 of the MFP, the head of the agency, Vladimier Regueiro Ale, explained to Granma that it seeks to order the containment of expenses incurred by state entities in their economic relations with non-state management forms.
With the entry into force of the regulation on July 1st, only prices and tariffs that recognize up to a 30% profit margin or profit on goods and services acquired from the non-state sector, whether self-employed, MSMEs or Non-Agricultural Cooperatives, will be accepted.
He added that it is a way to order and optimize the resources generated from the budgeted sector.
"We have seen in recent times a concentration of payments increasing, even, financing for the acquisition of goods and services. This requires attention and it is being recognized up to 30%, which is a significantly beneficial profit margin for this first moment of orderly relations", he highlighted.
Regueiro Ale affirmed that the norm demands an exchange, a greater approach and review of what is contracted today; besides creating the basis for future contracting.
It is not a matter, he said, of limiting this relationship, but of establishing them with a better order in terms of prices, implying the reaffirmation of the use of price sheets and other established mechanisms that sometimes do not complement each other, such as the agreement of prices, bidding and the search for better offers in the territory.
He remarked that the regulation includes a training that has been extended to the economic and accounting teams of the Central State Administration Agencies, the local bodies of the People's Power and that it should also involve the non-state economic actors themselves who are service providers to the state sector.
Regueiro Ale insisted on the importance of keeping the accounting as established, which can be done with own resources, with the automated national systems, with accounting advice that can be obtained from other forms of non-state management or also from professional services provided by state entities according to the complexity of the operations.
He clarified that, previously, Resolution 148 of the MFP established the profit margins for the state sector and, in this case, it is adjusted between the state sector and the non-state sector.
The Minister emphasized that this measure also favors the containment of expenses from the budgeted sector, consistent with the macroeconomic stabilization program to improve fiscal results.
EXTENSION FOR THE EXEMPTION OF CUSTOMS DUTIES ON FOOD, TOILETRIES AND MEDICINES IS EXTENDED
On the other hand, as from July 1st, the exemption from payment of the customs tax on products imported by passengers as accompanied baggage corresponding to food, toiletries, medical supplies and medicines will be in effect until September 30th.
It also authorizes, on an exceptional and temporary basis, the non-commercial import of food, toiletries, medicines and medical supplies up to a limit of USD 500 in value or equivalent weight and 50 kg in the value/weight ratio established by the AGR.
In the case of air, sea and postal shipments of imports by individuals, the limit of USD 200 or equivalent weight up to 20 kg is maintained.
Likewise, the increase of the value limit from 200 USD to 500 USD is maintained and the exemption from customs tax for the first 30 USD of the value or its equivalent weight of 3 kilograms of the shipment is ratified, and a tariff rate of 30% is applied to the excess of this.
All the provisions apply on the condition that the items classified as food or toiletries, as well as those identified as medicines and medical supplies, are presented to Customs in separate packages from the rest of the products.
These benefits, remarked the Minister, are based on the existing limitations in the domestic market to acquire them.
At the same time, he said, border controls continue to be reinforced to face a group of violating behaviors of people who, under the protection of these benefits, use them for lucrative business, which is not the meaning of these regulations.
The Prodegan Project, Camagüey, Cuba.
The most efficient projects are those multiplying their own experiences while
increasing productivity.
Photo: Freddy Pérez Cabrera
The Prodegan Project is a Prolaif sustainable
agro-industrial development project implemented in four municipalities in the
province of Camagüey, Cuba with the goal of generalizing knowledge of new
technologies while creating value chains, developing agroecological approaches,
promoting energy transformations, and improving coping with the effects of
climate change.
Five hundred and ten years later, modernity has not been able to end the colonial
enchantment of the villa that time continues to knit day by day.
May 10th , 2024
people who laugh at who knows what, or get completely lost inside the belly of a
modern cell phone, touts who proclaim and advertise their products, couples who lull
each other with the flutter of pigeons, old people who talk next to the same colonial
window grille in which an eternity ago they conquered the current grandmother of
common grandchildren - Sancti Spiritus seems to me the 24 frames of a cinematic
second, multiplied millions of times in time.
Could it be that nothing, or very little, has changed within its noble people in the midst of
so much “changing modernity”? Perhaps there is a mysterious spell keeping like the
cheeks of a very young woman the urban, architectural features of a city that in a few
weeks will complete the 510th anniversary of its foundation, but feels as if it were just
about to celebrate its first 15 years.
I travel through the same places as my adolescence and I wouldn’t have enough space
to write about what no one can avoid: the majesty of the Main Parish Church, with its
legends associated to tunnels and secret passages of religious interconnection; or the
impressive arched bridge over the Yayabo River, the only one of its kind in Cuba, whose
enviable state of conservation has long been attributed to the no less legendary popular
hypothesis that it was built with lime and sand mortar, cow’s or donkey’s milk and bull’s
blood.
the majestic building of the Spanish Colony; the former El Progreso Society, now home
to the Ruben Martinez Villena Provincial Library; cobblestone streets in the colonial
taste and style, as well as the reddish tile roofs, facades of houses or the large windows
and other decisive elements to declare the historic center a National Monument on
October 10, 1978.
If only today the economic and financial conditions were a little, just a little more
favorable, to see -no one doubts it- how much more Sancti Spiritus was doing these
days, as a well-deserved gift to its first 510 years.
Even so, government authorities and politicians of the municipality and province do not
limit their efforts to leave the mark that the people of Sancti Spiritus deserve so much in
all places where possible, including some 89 plaques and monuments.
For this reason, no one should be concerned that, with few resources but overflowing
passion, the program for the anniversary has conceived a very useful Convention Hall in
the middle of the boulevard, suitable for transcending borders; the repair or
improvements of buildings such as the one that houses the Café Central, the legendary
Rubi Building, the Quinto Siglo store and other facilities that treasure history, generate
healthy pride, and accentuate a sense of belonging.
I’m not talking about those who made up the program, control every detail of it, or
execute it with clean sweat. I think of those who have sedimented the very rich heritage
of a people -the sum of generations and families – that vibrates when the youngest child
graduates from medicine or nuclear engineering, without forgetting or underestimating
the hand that has been weaving guano for centuries, modeling clay, strengthening
tunes, giving life to the rodeo on the back of a bull, putting the exact point to the
canchánchara (mambisa drink). Saving trios, dances, traditions or recognizing how
fresh a T-shirt is but, gee, how elegant that guayabera born in the yayabera land of
Sancti Spiritus.
Five centuries and ten years are completed only once in a lifetime. Sancti Spiritus is
crowning them with the particularity of being the only Cuban colonial town with a Latin
name and one of the best preserved, as well as Trinidad, founded months before, also
by the pioneer colonizer Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar.
That is why, as I walk and re-walk my, your, our Sancti Spiritus, small butterflies flutter
inside my abdomen as I look at ancient buildings that amaze visitors from even much
older cities.
Even so, I will always stay with the pigeons that, even without knowing it, every true
Sancti Spiritus person carries inside flying in the infinite space of his chest,
unquestionable reason to preserve the many values of all kinds the villa carries.
And I will stick with that “Gloria a ti” slogan of the 510th anniversary, which can climb and
land without difficulty at the top of the Main Church, or accommodate at its beautiful
whim, within the rib cage of the always hospitable inhabitants of the Villa of the Holy
Spirit.
--------------------------------
First medical institution in Cuba with international certification
Founded by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and inaugurated on November 15, 1999, the ELAM was awarded this distinction, valid for six years, for complying with rigorous quality parameters
Author: National news staff | informacion@granma.cu
january 26, 2024 07:01:56
Photo: José Manuel CorreaFounded by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and inaugurated on November 15, 1999, the ELAM was awarded this distinction, valid for six years, for complying with rigorous quality parameters
Author: National Editor
The Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) became the first medical institution in Cuba to receive the Certification of the International Evaluation and Accreditation Council of the Union of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Founded by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and inaugurated on November 15, 1999, the ELAM was awarded this distinction, valid for six years, for complying with rigorous quality parameters with impact on the dimensions of governance and university management and infrastructure, training, research, artistic creation and innovation, and linkage and internationalization, as explained by the Ministry of Public Health.
The rector of the institution, Dr. Yoandra Muro Valle, summarized the greatness of a work that already has 19 graduations and has reached more than 120 countries. Throughout its 25 years, the School has also been visited by 60 heads of state, 300 ministers of health, three Nobel Prize winners and more than 80,100 foreigners.
The Executive Director of the Council for International Evaluation and Accreditation of the Union of Latin American and Caribbean Universities, Dr. Orlando Gabriel Delgado Salley, highlighted the strengthening achieved in the improvement plans for the faculty, student participation in decision making, the updating of the bibliography in the subject programs, and the improvement of access to technological resources, as well as the contribution to universal health in different contexts.
Cuba's Minister of Public Health, José Angel Portal Miranda, thanked the rigorous process to which this center was subjected, and acknowledged the efforts of the teachers, students and administrative staff.
The international certification guarantees the quality of the education provided by this center, reduces possible mistrust and expands the opportunities for graduates of higher education institutions to enter the labor market.
Founded by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and inaugurated on November 15, 1999, the ELAM was awarded this distinction, valid for six years, for complying with rigorous quality parameters
Author: National news staff | informacion@granma.cu
january 26, 2024 07:01:56
Founded by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and inaugurated on November 15, 1999, the ELAM was awarded this distinction, valid for six years, for complying with rigorous quality parameters
Author: National Editor
The Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) became the first medical institution in Cuba to receive the Certification of the International Evaluation and Accreditation Council of the Union of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Founded by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and inaugurated on November 15, 1999, the ELAM was awarded this distinction, valid for six years, for complying with rigorous quality parameters with impact on the dimensions of governance and university management and infrastructure, training, research, artistic creation and innovation, and linkage and internationalization, as explained by the Ministry of Public Health.
The rector of the institution, Dr. Yoandra Muro Valle, summarized the greatness of a work that already has 19 graduations and has reached more than 120 countries. Throughout its 25 years, the School has also been visited by 60 heads of state, 300 ministers of health, three Nobel Prize winners and more than 80,100 foreigners.
The Executive Director of the Council for International Evaluation and Accreditation of the Union of Latin American and Caribbean Universities, Dr. Orlando Gabriel Delgado Salley, highlighted the strengthening achieved in the improvement plans for the faculty, student participation in decision making, the updating of the bibliography in the subject programs, and the improvement of access to technological resources, as well as the contribution to universal health in different contexts.
Cuba's Minister of Public Health, José Angel Portal Miranda, thanked the rigorous process to which this center was subjected, and acknowledged the efforts of the teachers, students and administrative staff.
The international certification guarantees the quality of the education provided by this center, reduces possible mistrust and expands the opportunities for graduates of higher education institutions to enter the labor market.
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Heroic people's strength for a new anniversary
More than 400 works of socioeconomic interest will be delivered to the infrastructure of the province of Santiago de Cuba, in salute to the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution
Author: Luis Alberto Portuondo | internet@granma.cu
December 11, 2023 12:12:00
More than 400 works of socioeconomic interest will be delivered to the infrastructure of the province of Santiago de Cuba, in salute to the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution
"In a matter as decisive as food security and sovereignty, we are planting 65,000 hectares and 18 new areas of agricultural development, two per municipality, and carrying out a significant number of works, to reach the 65th anniversary of the Revolution with improvements in the quality and standard of living of the people of Santiago," said José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz, first secretary of the Party in the province, when he called the people to days of decisive effort.
In the first semester of the year, the infrastructure of the territory was revitalized, as agreed for the 70th anniversary of the assault to the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks; and in the present stage, the completion of 1,355 houses and 479 basic housing cells is foreseen; to continue in the transformation of neighborhoods and communities, and in the application of asphalt on roads, highways and, especially, in the populous areas of Enramadas, Callejón del Carmen, La Alameda, Artes y Oficios, and 13 de Agosto.
Work was also carried out in the repair of the Dos Ríos power plant, in the planting and cultural attention to the sugar cane fields, in the image of the towns and cities - in the case of Palma Soriano important revival works are being carried out, given its relevance in the events that determined the revolutionary triumph -, and in the centers of commerce, gastronomy and services, as well as educational and health institutions. Likewise, in the 26th of July and First Front museums, and in the Céspedes Park, where, on January 1, 2024, the central act for the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution will take place.
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U$S 280.2 million could have benefitted Cuba...
But did not. Why?
Because the Cuban banking and financial system continues to be a target of aggressive measures of the US Government reinforcing its Blockade against Cuba.
October 31st, 2023 Editorial | internet@granma.cu
Blocked access to raw materials is limiting Cuban productive capacity.
Editorial | internet@granma.cu
Sobrino Martinez explained that these are not subjective plans, but rather figures that were reached in 2017, 2018 and part of 2019. Relative to another product that is highly in demand and in deficit today, such as soft drinks, he assured that there is capacity for about 30 million cases per year. We always face particular challenges because our country does not have access to financing and has to pay almost everything in advance and, furthermore, when a contract is signed, and due to the limitations of the blockade, the money takes up to 60 days to become effective. In the supplier's banks, it is difficult to guarantee the logistics to produce food. And yet, Cuba will continue ensuring that our focus remains avoiding neoliberal measures that guarantee food supply to a tiny percentage of the population while leaving the rest completely unprotected.
await greater farmers' productivity
Cuban soils face degradation and await greater farmers’ productivity
(Translated from Spanish by Nora Fernandez)
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