At the Derivados base business unit, in the municipality of Amancio, there are “people who add.” That's what our media outlet calls those men and women who add value to everything we know and sometimes overlook.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- Ernesto Vázquez Ruiz, at the Amancio Distillery, is synonymous with commitment and dedication. He graduated in chemical engineering from the University of Camagüey and has mastered all the processes necessary for rum production in this unit.

“I have been working at the company for 20 years. I started as a chemist at the distillery; now, I am the chief chemist at the rum plant. The rigor is the same, but with some other specifications, meaning that we continue to make chemical combinations, which I like.”

The big city where he studied did not dazzle him as much as some might have thought. Although Camagüey is beautiful, he felt a longing for his hometown and decided to return, to grow there and put down roots.

"This is my land, my family, my mother, everyone lives here. And here, in Amancio, I stayed. I fell in love with the laboratory, the elaboration of rum... It's a huge responsibility, because we make the best rums in Cuba and we have to maintain that prestige."

The smell of alcohol is strong, pungent. For Ernesto, it's part of his daily life; he says he's used to it and hardly notices it anymore, that he doesn't find any difference in the change of environment. The confidence with which he explains the rum-making process is surprising; he has mastered every step to perfection.

"The production process requires a lot of patience. We have to wait, taste, smell, go back, and sometimes start over. We have to monitor the water processing until we reach the final product. I work with an assistant, but when he's not there, I'm not afraid to take on the work alone. We have an excellent team.

“We set high standards. We have customers in the European Union, and we want them to receive a product of the required quality.”

Teamwork is one of the cornerstones of UEB Derivados. Every stage of the production process requires everyone's input. Ernesto bears a considerable amount of responsibility, but his passion for chemistry makes the work easy to understand.