Three decades have passed since March 31, 1996. Still, for Pedro Jiménez Espinosa, then a 35-year-old serving as First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) in the municipality of Jobabo, the memory of Fidel Castro Ruz's embrace still evokes an emotion as intense as the first day. "I say that right now, and my heart starts beating in a way that's indescribable," confesses Jiménez, who years later would become the top Party leader in the entire province.

Las Tunas, Cuba.– The visit wasn't part of the initial plans. The sugar harvest, under the extremely harsh conditions of the Special Period, was a key battle for the country's survival. The Perú sugar mill had become an example by surpassing 23,000 tons of raw sugar, an achievement that the people celebrated with the mill's whistle.

“The event was planned inside the sugar mill,” Jiménez recalls. “But when they called to tell me that Fidel was coming, I knew we had to change it. If it had been held inside, we’d be talking about a major disaster today.

People came out spontaneously, running through all the streets. It was a massive crowd that couldn’t fit in La Punta; people couldn’t even applaud,” he recounts, highlighting the mystique of a people who, without an official invitation, poured into the streets to see their leader.

The personal encounter with Fidel was brief but intense. While the Commander was analyzing the harvest results in the mill’s analysis room, Jiménez was introduced. Fidel’s first question, in his characteristic tone, was: “Where did you come from?” After the answer, the conversation continued with a touch of humor. “And then he started asking me four or five questions,” he adds.

However, the moment that would remain etched in his memory occurred at the end of the event. After Fidel's speech, in which the leader declared that if Americans saw that crowd in Jobabo they would think they were in New York, the long-awaited moment arrived.

"When he hugged me, after handing me the diploma, I don't know... I can't explain what I felt. I wanted to squeeze him, but no way, I couldn't. The nervousness... it was one of the most extraordinary things that has ever happened to me. It will stay with me for the rest of my life," Jiménez says, recalling the photograph he keeps.

For Pedro Jiménez Espinosa, that day was not only recognition of a productive effort, but also a demonstration of Fidel's unbreakable bond with his people, a legacy that, as he himself affirms, "I will always carry in my heart as an added strength in the missions I carry out."