At number 107 Joaquín Agüero Street, in this city, there is a treasure that deserves to be saved: El Eco de Las Tunas Newspaper.

This is very clear to those of us who love the historical and documentary heritage of these places. There it lies the most complete collection of the longest-running newspaper of the Republican era, in what is now this province. Right in the house where its founder, Rafael Zayas González, pioneer of the press here, lived. It is in the custody of his granddaughter by his mother's line, Olga Tarín.

With the family's permission, 26Digital had access to the most intimate part of that sanctuary. We walked around, escorted by the old display case that keeps part of the volumes that group the copies for years, from November 1909, when it began to circulate, until it stopped, after the 60's of the last century. At that time, the owner decided to donate it to the village and it stopped working as a family affair. By opening a random volume, the daily life of yesteryear comes to light: social chronicles, illustrious visits, commercials, government decisions...

El Eco de Las Tunas Newspaper began to take shape on those sheets of paper that Olga's grandfather used to stick in the windows of the former Victoria de las Tunas at the beginning of the 20th century. Then, she says, journalism caught up with him and he never wanted to know again about the farm, the family's assets and anything else other than the hectic pace of existence between pages, society's stories and the whole framework of the "best job in the world", as Gabriel García Márquez called it.

We listen to it in silence while we snoop around among the battered sheets. "You have to treat them delicately, some leaves almost melt in your hands," she insists. She is a direct, talkative, lucid woman. She makes us laugh with her helpful phrase that "life is always a candle". And perhaps for this reason, because of the closeness she transmits, we dare to ask the great question that has led us there.

Has the family never thought of donating the copies to the city of Las Tunas? We say this knowing that more than one version has circulated around the subject.
She slips away. "Sometimes I let some people, always known, serious people, use the volumes for their research. Sometimes they stay in the living room and I go to the kitchen, which in a house has a lot to do. And there are those who cut out pieces, mark paragraphs and steal, because taking a photo, a piece of paper, that's theft, and you don't realize it.

The depredation is visible when you leaf through any issue of “El Eco”... The scissor cuts and tears in its pages are evident. Scratches too, the same made with colored pencils as with pencil ink. Loose leaves. And Olga illustrates anecdotes in this sense, some of them truly outrageous, and she adds to them, piously, with family memories.

PRIORITY TO HISTORICAL MEMORY

The Cuban Government has made clear its concern for the preservation of historical memory, for which the Council of Ministers defined a program to stop the deterioration of significant documents. As close as last July 31st, through the Official Gazette, a Decree-Law and several ministerial resolutions were issued that updated the legislation on this matter.

Thus, the Decree-Law of the Council of State defined that "a document of historical or permanent value is that which, because of its meaning or importance for the direction of the State, national sovereignty, scientific, technological, legal, economic, political, social and cultural activities, as well as for its external features, becomes part of the documentary heritage of the nation". It also established that their preservation is the responsibility not only of the institutions, but also of the natural persons who possess them.

Yerenia Arias, who now directs the Provincial Historical Archive, knows this. Years in those vicissitudes have made her existence hard and it is a pleasure to listen to her words, knowledgeable at all times, to talk about these subjects. El Eco de Las Tunas Newspaper has been, for a long time, a part of her work.

"Of course that newspaper has a great value," she says. And she adds: "Although the collection at Olga's house is already somewhat deteriorated, because we have references to it, it is still valuable. It is a private asset which, if it reached our premises, would necessarily have to be digitized".

As a specialist, she maintains that since it is the only newspaper of the period that is preserved in its entirety, its informative and historical contribution is notable. To do this, she says, it would be necessary to "restore and preserve what is possible. Digitizing the collection would guarantee access for current and future generations to all its content. However, she clarifies that her organization does not have a budget for such an acquisition. Other files have come to them in recent years, not a few of them, but they have entered their collections through donations or transfers.

FOR “EL ECO”: ALL AT ONE

Olga knows she'll look good in the picture. She has the freshness that comes from a lifetime of work and commitment; and, besides, she, only she, is the guardian of a singular jewel. Before the last flash, she invites us to go to the back of the house. And then something in the soul is overwhelmed.

There are many other volumes of “El Eco”..., that do not fit in the showcase we had already tracked down. They rest on a small piece of furniture. "Grandfather couldn't finish binding them and some are repeated," explains Olga. They lie exposed to extreme light, to the high humidity of the tropics.

What will the paper feel like? How many things will those sheets tell our children about themselves, about their past, about the streets they walk now, about their grandparents' daily routines, about the birth of places that are dear to us today, about culture, health, society...?

The question is again inevitable: Has the family never thought of donating the specimens to the city of Las Tunas? Olga states that they have: "Of course. We know that we cannot take care of them anymore. What I don't want, I can't allow, is for them to be taken away from here to be neglected elsewhere. Those volumes mean a lot to us. But they are clearly deteriorated. I think they are very important papers for everyone.

El Eco de Las Tunas Newspaper reviews a good part of the history of journalism in these lands, which is why it is a regular source of investigations and presentations at the events organized by the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC) in Las Tunas. And often, in various spaces, not a few colleagues have clamored for its preservation and the social diffusion of its content through multiple investigations. It is this value that has placed copies of the biweekly of Las Tunas, even, in the archives of the Library of Congress of the United States.

After so much, there is nothing left to say but to do. Join hands, eyes, efforts, smiles, without misgivings and old stories, to make it possible. Because preserving our historical memory is a way of defending the country's identity as well. It is up to us to settle the debt of this city with its Echo..., making Olga's treasure, be for all.

EPILOGUE AND A WISH

While this report was being edited we learned that contacts had been made between the government authorities in the province and the relatives of Rafael Zayas to bring El Eco de Las Tunas Newspaper to safety. We hope that these efforts will be successful.