Faces of the BPA: Isabel Rojas Utra

We continue to present the faces of those who have dedicated their lives to an institution that is part of the daily life of millions of Cubans: the Popular Savings Bank (BPA), which will celebrate its 40th anniversary on May 18.

Las Tunas.- Isabel Rojas Utra wanted to be a pianist; however, she was a typist, although life would compensate for her sensitivity to art with a singing daughter. It was precisely thanks to her skill in typing letters that she entered the former Banco Nacional de Cuba; she proudly recounts: “I arrived still being a girl. Here, I was educated by very upright people who gave me the formation I have today; so I am infinitely grateful.”

There are, she reveals, styles that she later projected into her daily family life: "Sometimes, I am strong and I want my daughter and granddaughter to have that same discipline at work." Although each era is different, she declares herself a perennial defender of the order of beauty in each workplace and also at home.

She has made a career of 32 years working in the BPA of this eastern Cuban province, in the Department of Human Resources. So, in a certain way, she derived in "touching the soul" of those who enter and, even, of those who leave the institution. Her work takes her away from the monetary-financial hustle and bustle that would be associated with an entity like this and brings her closer to other equally necessary roles. Because she comments, it is like being a bit of a psychologist and a mother dealing with various characters.

"When a person arrives, even though we have an expert in the department, the selection process is done collectively. If I hear about someone who left, even from other branches, I worry about their leaving, why they left because, in the end, all of that comes to our department, a place that I love very much."

Isabel will soon be 60 years old and she is looking for someone to succeed her in leadership; but, she insists, someone who "maintains the love for the bank to continue being a part of a family."