We must cherish and respect our collective memory. A nation that fails to do so runs the risk of losing its essence, its light. Archives do not merely store information; they also preserve history and safeguard the life that has been built and the people who shaped it. Those who embrace this work deserve special recognition.

For the past 20 years, Yerenia de los Ángeles Arias Mulet has dedicated herself to this cause. Her arrival at the Provincial Historical Archive marked a turning point in her life. Although that wasn’t exactly what she studied, nor did her career begin there, today she leads this distinguished institution in the region. Speaking with her is to discover a woman devoted to the preservation of historical memory.

Her aunt recalls that as a child, once she started playing, her mouth would fill with gibberish that no one understood. Yerenia has always loved languages, and that’s precisely what led her to the University of Oriente in Santiago de Cuba. She was also passionate about books and, very quietly, would “steal” her father’s books to read them.

Being a child, after all, she was often scolded for leaving them scattered about until she learned to take care of them and keep them safe. So, amid the fantasies of her imagination and surrounded by words, she grew up with two passions: languages and books. Today she proudly shows off the library she gradually built in her home.

After graduating with a degree in English Language, she had the opportunity to stay on as a teacher in Santiago de Cuba—a city she admits she found hard to leave—but there was no housing available, and her hometown needed her. When she looks back, she realizes that everything happens for a reason.

“I started at the Provincial Tourism Company, where I learned how to organize tours and interact with the public… Then I joined the Multisectoral Information Center, part of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment (CITMA), as a translator. I stayed there until that entity merged to form the Center for Technological and Environmental Information and Management (CIGET in Spanish), of which I am a founder.

“I then became a senior specialist in the Industrial Property Group, and it wasn’t difficult because I already spoke English, and databases are almost always documented in that language. It was a wonderful time, with significant results in projects representing the province, such as the International Information Congress in 2004, where we served as judges and presenters,” she recalls.

Yerenia also contributed by providing numerous consulting services and helping to implement internal industrial property systems in companies in Las Tunas at that time. However, the year 2005 brought a special milestone for her: her arrival at the Provincial Historical Archive.

“The previous director had only recently taken the position and was looking for professionals who could improve the work in every aspect. She made me the offer, and I accepted. I admit I went in with the idea that an archive was just a place full of old papers, and it was also a shock for me—coming from the field of the most up-to-date information—to deal with historical information,” she says.

However, there she discovered a fascinating world, as she experienced “the golden age of the National Archives” alongside excellent professionals, from whom she received specialized training. At that time, her provincial counterpart had begun processing its documentation according to international standards, and Yerenia had the privilege of participating in the digitization of archival processes using those systems.

“For many years, we were also responsible for directing the entire Historical Memory Program in the province and for implementing the institutional archival systems that were established in many of the region’s agencies. Now we operate as a separate unit—that is, a division of the National Archives of the Republic of Cuba, which previously served as our methodological advisor.”

“Today we provide consulting and advisory services to businesses, on-site services, reprographics certification services, and consultations of all kinds. Despite the power outages we’re experiencing, we’ve managed to maintain a team of highly trained professionals,” she notes.

For Yerenia, the greatest joy is serving the public to the best of her ability, but she regrets that sometimes they lack the necessary conditions to do so, as they face not only power outages but also a shortage of materials for preservation. Even so, she affirms that anyone who needs information or is looking for a document can come there.

“Here we can provide references for what you’re looking for, whether it’s to consult a document or obtain certificates under the Historical Memory Act… We also offer advice to all companies on how to organize, preserve, and disseminate their archives,” she explains.

After working in various settings, Yerenia has discovered the perfect combination of English and information. In her case, having studied French as a second language during her undergraduate studies has enabled her to read sources in both languages, as well as providing her with the linguistic “background” necessary for everything involved in information processing.

Perhaps during her college years she only envisioned her future translating texts or working as an interpreter. Maybe she never imagined that her days would be spent safeguarding historical memory and the many valuable texts stored in the Provincial Archives. But the pride she takes in her work is evident in her eyes.

When asked what this institution means to her, she declares without hesitation that it has been her second home. And no wonder—for the past 20 years, she has devoted her time and heart to it, from when she began as a specialist until she became its director. Since then, she has participated in various workshops and graduate programs and has been awarded the 180th Anniversary Medal of Cuba’s First Archive.

However, her greatest reward lies in the pleasure of serving those in need. And although we didn’t ask her, we believe that deep down she doesn’t regret having taken her father’s documents into her hands as a child; despite the scoldings, the desire to one day protect history was already growing in her heart.