His skin, similar to ebony, according to the passionate Felo, former director of Marti Forest in Ariguanabo, reminds us the energy of our black ancestors.
Ricardo Vale Gonzalez is often smiling. He is a man of strong convictions and few words, like almost all farmers trained through agriculture work and daily sacrifice.
At 66, Vale admits that "recognition as a Hero of Labor of the Republic of Cuba is the greatest thing that has happened in my life, besides my participation in the Third Party Congress. I always dreamed about and I worked hard to achieved that. "
On January 28, 1950, almost a century after Marti’s birth , Ricardo Vale was born in Orozco sugar mill. This man of sugar and fat, faced the difficulties in the Cuban countryside.
"My parents and my brothers also cut cane. I used to attend to school and work at the same time , and I became carter. I did the job until 1968. At that time I worked for the tenant farmers s, who were still owners of those lands. "
He got his wage at 16, in the sugar warehouse where drove trucks and loaded sugar sacks.
Ricardo played for a while with Pinar del Río baseball team and when he finish in the army , at age 22, he began working at Pablo de la Torriente Brau sugar mill ,already graduated in Alvaro Reinoso Technical School . There he studied pump repair, and later he specialized in grinding machines.He liked this job a lot.
Over three decades Ricardo worked as production assistant, greaser, grinding in the sugar mill.
In 2004 Pablo de la Torriente Brau sugar mill was close and Ricardo was transferred to Harlem sugar mill, located also in Bahia Honda Township . The challenge was not easy: the machines were very worn out; "However, when I repaired them , they were useful during two years . Then reducers mills were installed , until nowadays.
Many machines had problems, and I fit all that through my daily job. "
Vale was National Vanguard in several times before receiving the recognition as the National Hero of Labor . This man is very wll known due to his innovations and devotion to retrieve parts and equipment in the midst of the hard economic Special Period.
Regulators, pinions ... none resisted his laborious effort. "Once we fix a Coplin which coasted more than 600 pesos, and we put it to work; this innovation received an award.
"Work has always been the first thing in my life. In the sugar mill my co workers said that I love more my machine than my wife. I performed two jobs and got the wage for one: I was shift manager and mechanic at the same time ".
Vale, an example of undeniable sense of belonging, spent more time in the sugar mill than in his own home. "I finished working at 3:00 am, and at 8:00 am I was back at work . I thought machines were mine, I did not want them to have any problem. "
His devotion to the sugar industry for 42 years, was enough to win him Jesus Menendez medal , Jesus Suarez Gayol distinction due to a quarter of a century in the sector, as well as the 60th anniversary seal of the foundation of Cuban workers Federation ( CTC).
This modest mechanic, retired since August 2015, has trained many boys in order to consolidate the job and keep his job almost a lifetime. "I taught the current mechanic, Nicolas Reyes, to follow my steps. I am very proud of him. I even told him once that he already knew more than me about the job. "
A gold star on the chest indicates him as the most recent Labour Heroes in Artemisa, awarded on May 2015. Vale’s secret lies on daily devotion to work , love the job , the skill to leave indelible marks on our fellowmen. This the way we succeed in Cuba.
TRANSLATION BY LMMS
