Years ago, Mario Cruz Amador spent most of his days clutching the steering wheel of the car he was driving. At the time, he was a driver at the Ministry of Agriculture delegation in the province of Las Tunas and he did not consider going into farming.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- However, life takes many twists and turns and brings unexpected destinies. After his retirement, he began to work the land, a new activity for him but not an unfamiliar one, as he had learned many of the practices he had seen his father do a few decades before.
It is not the same to watch from afar or to help, as it is to take on such a big responsibility. However, Mario feels so good about what he does that he cannot imagine his life without this constant dreaming and executing, and without the greenery of the plants that grow after much care.
"I applied for this land in usufruct and when they gave it to me I had to start almost from scratch. Everything was full of marabú, pica pica, and weeds. I grabbed the pickaxe, the hoe, and the machete, and started working on an extremely difficult task."
"We pulled out more than four thousand marabu logs. It took a long time but little by little, the whole area was cleared. Now, I have cassava, pumpkin, plantain, plantain and beans. I belong to the Urban Farm of the municipality of Las Tunas and that entity is the destination of my productions."
"I always give a little more than my share according to the plan. And after I'm done, I make donations to my mother's home and to the home for children without family support, to help them. Sometimes I take pumpkin or fruit, depending on what I have."
He knows there is still a lot to do on his land because the work is never finished; rather, it is transformed. However, he feels satisfied with what he has achieved through sweat and hard work and does not imagine a future far from there, from what he has seen born and grow.
"This farm is maintained because it is given constant attention. I get up every day at dawn and just a few minutes later I have the hoe in my hand; I prioritize the areas that need cleaning the most. I keep it that way until the sun goes down in the afternoon."
"Farming is every day. It's not a one-day job. When I came here, people told me that nothing would grow on this soil and that I should give up. I decided to stay and I saw that it was the other way around. The seed that is thrown away, is a seed that is born. Everything happens. And it has been proven."