To decipher the route of a leader

Aracelys Avilés Suárez

The elevations of the Hill La Mensura, in Pinegroves of Mayarí keep a history. Perhaps without being aware of it the young Fidel Castro formed there his guerrilla spirit, the same spirit that years later defined a direction in the life of his country. Investigators of the Sciences Academy of this town, work in the recognition of the itineraries that made the maximum leader of the Cuban Revolution from its house in Birán until the Sierra of Nipe in his childhood and adolescence years.

Félix A. Sabina, social investigator and Academy worker, direct the project whose objectives embrace, also, the description of the vegetation, the making of a route map and the edition of a notebook where the most important results are picked up.

"As we know, Fidel ascended in several occasions to La Mensura, however we can not say with accuracy how many times he made these trips, neither with what frequency he made it. It is possible that neither he knows it with security. That’s why we can not define exact dates or a chronological order", Félix argues.

Without any doubts the study will make contributions to the history, but it is profiled in more degree by the anthropological cut, because it picks up the experiences of a man, its way of acting and its interpersonal relationships in that life period. For these purposes the investigation will have like base the testimonies offered by people that knew of its trips for the Sierra of Nipe in some moment. Félix affirms that some informants have already been located in Birán.

In these moments the project is in the bibliographical revision stage. Also it considers the organization of the methodology and the work lines to continue. According to the consulted texts the route is not completely unknown; the book Antes del Moncada makes references to the Cuban president's trips by the area of Nipe.

The National Environment Fund finances the project that should be carried out in around two years. Although the project gives its first steps, very good results are expected. To follow the route of a great man and to reconstruct a part of his personal history is not an easy task; however it is appreciated to who undertakes it.

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