A representation of the collective that holds the dreams of Villa Coral on its shoulders.

Villa Coral, once an emblem for workers' recreation, survives and endures the inclemency of the weather, a certain abandonment that neglects systematic maintenance, and the apathy that hinders the timely correction of damage caused by the sometimes-irreverent use of some guests, and natural deterioration.

Located on La Llanita beach, on the north coast of the municipality of Puerto Padre, in Las Tunas, its desire to survive is sustained and raised on the shoulders of a small group of workers who have become orchestral men and women, conquerors, and protectors of a place that had its glory days and still provides peace for visitors.

The bathing area, very close to the accommodation facilities, has been recovering its traditional conditions altered by the passage of Hurricane Ike (8 September 2008). Nature thrives in the absence of human intervention, providing a peaceful haven for bathers.

MARIA'S SATISFACTION

María Jiménez Gerbau made a narrow room in the villa almost her permanent residence a year ago, “I'm from Becerra, in Las Tunas, and now I'm a reception clerk,” she assured me with the same smile and the same spirit with which she welcomed us on the rotation on Monday 5 August and bid us farewell on the 8th, while welcomed a new group of families with similar signs of affection.

“Reception clerk”, I said, to provoke her after having seen her do a thousand and one things during my stay, “is that in the mornings all the workers leave for the different areas to do the cleaning and then we go back to our posts, to carry out our specific tasks”, she argued.

She praises the discipline of the guests and their collaboration in maintaining the order and hygiene of the environment and also expresses her satisfaction when helping the holidaymakers to feel as good as possible, to ensure that they have a good time, "so that they arrive happy and leave here happier."

HOW IT WORKS

"The tourist facility has 13 cabins, and only seven are providing services," lamented María, explaining that they are assigned to organizations that create the material conditions according to their possibilities and ensure transportation for the holidaymakers, “we guarantee cleanliness and food: breakfast, lunch and dinner,” she confirmed.

The facility belongs to the Accommodation base business unit (UEB in Spanish), of the municipality of Puerto Padre, and at other times of the year offers lodging services to those who require it and hosts some events, explained Margarita Ramírez Pérez, salon attendant, who like the rest of her colleagues assumes whatever is necessary for everything to work.

“In normal times we work in two shifts but during the summer we decided to work two months in a row, with hardly any rest. It's difficult, but the group agreed to move the village forward, which we consider our second home," she emphasized.

And she clarified: “To move it forward from the economic point of view, but the constructive rescue is something that does not depend on us. We have been told that it is in the plans, that money is going to be given to rebuild it completely, but it never arrives," she said, distressed, and recalled that last summer, many things were working and not now, such as the split of the restaurant, the turbine to brought water to the cabins through the networks, which also need to be rehabilitated.”

They are few and do it all despite a basic salary of between 2,100 and 2,500 pesos, without a payment system that stimulates results, ‘because we are a unit belonging to a loss-making company’, remarked Margarita.

WHAT A COLLECTIVE!

It does not stop them from having to cook with firewood they manage themselves in the surrounding area to attend to more than 40 of their guests per rotation and those from the nearby village of Azcuba.

The collective looks with pain at the deterioration of the remaining rooms, aggravated by the lack of maintenance and use, and warns that "the time will come when they will not be able to recover."

However, they all dream and believe that sooner rather than later, before the next summer, Villa Coral will recover its splendor and will have all the necessary conditions to provide the best care for visitors.

“We have created a big family. I work in the restaurant, and if I have to go and clean a room I go; if the waitress is needed in the restaurant she goes, and if we need the help of the carpet maker in the kitchen she goes, ... That is everyone's disposition,” Margarita explained.

This avant-garde attitude is the first step to consolidate the future of Villa Coral, whose situation deserves, from now on, a comprehensive look and resources that will allow it to reach the next summer period more beautiful and welcoming.