The day the Majibacoa sugar mill whistled for the 293 tons of sugar produced in one day, Róger Leyva jumped and cried joyfully. One of the young people next to him, astonished, asked him why he was crying and he answered “Because I am a sugar worker.”
“Even though I am at home when I feel the industry whistle my joy is great. Nothing gives more satisfaction to a sugar producer than compliance with the production, and the mill's whistle announces that. But also, just by seeing the chimney smoking, one feels joy because it is a sign that it is grinding. "I live in Las Parras, and when I go up the elevated the first thing I do is look at the chimney, and when the industry is stopped, it is as if my body fell."
Róger has been a sugar worker since April 22, 1986, when Army General Raúl Castro, then second secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) and minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, inaugurated the Majibacoa sugar mill, which has always been among the best in the country.
He graduated as a mid-level technician in sugar machinery in Palma Soriano and came to Majibacoa from his native Holguín. He has dedicated 40 of his 58 years to the harvest, because he participated in all the sugarcane recovery work and the factory assembly, as a mechanic.
“This sugar mil has given me many things: my work, home, satisfaction. My father was in serious condition for five months until his death, and the administration helped me with everything every time I had to go to Holguín because this is a great group.”
The youngest sugar company in Las Tunas has had many inconveniences during the current harvest, and many days in which its machinery has been stopped due to breakage.
“We have indeed presented many problems but I believe that even if we do not comply with the plan of more than 22 thousand tons of sugar, we will stabilize the milling. We have seen the industry back, like in its best times, and I think we can remain among the best in the country.
“In my brigade, there are four young workers, and they are like my children. They are always willing to give their best. Some days, we arrived at the industry at 7:00 in the morning and did not return home until the next day. When you have to stay, you have to stay.”
Since 1989, when he was the best worker in the country in the milling area, integral mechanic Róger Leyva has been an example. Neither the long years dedicated to that industry nor the difficult tasks that he faces each harvest have dented his decision to give everything for the Majibacoa sugar company. The sugar mill is an inseparable part of his life, and he will continue among his mills until the forces accompany him.
