Judging by his spirit and passion, it's as if the years haven't passed. That's what I think when I see Orestes Benítez Fernández, Hero of Labor of the Republic of Cuba (2021), immersed in the demanding work of a Comprehensive Mechanic, a job he has practiced and enjoyed since September 30, 1980, in the engine room of the Azutecnia Las Tunas Workshops and Dismantling Business Unit.

With his hands covered in grease, he stood before a table that bore the weight and the "pain" of a Kamaz engine he was repairing to return it to the harvest season, which had yet to begin but depended on these machines.

He greeted me with his usual warmth, and I remarked, “Chikungunya doesn't believe in heroes,” to which he replied jokingly, “No, no, no, not in anyone, and it doesn't give warning, but when I'm working, the pain subsides, and if I stop, it returns.” He says this with a smile.

He explains that he was out of work for about a week due to the virus, resting, and that he returned to the workshop because “the discomfort doesn't ease at home.”

In his nearly five decades of work and constant activity, he has found the peace that comes from being useful.
He speaks without taking his hands, still greasy, off the Kamaz engine, and occasionally glances at other Yuchai engines awaiting his attention before returning to the sugarcane fields.

Orestes faces these urgent challenges with the calm and confidence that his experience provides, and in this endeavor, he joins forces with other colleagues who recognize the hero's perseverance and appreciate him as an encyclopedia brimming with knowledge that defies limitations in resources and supplies, now exacerbated by the tightening of the United States blockade.

THE HERO'S IMPACT

“I learn something new every day with Benítez,” says Carlos Alejandro Vega.

Young Carlos Alejandro Vega recalls that he was 15 years old when he came to the workshop and met Benítez. At that time, he was studying at the Vocational Technical School and was one of his many students. “I spent two years doing my internship under his tutelage, and I assure you he is a good person, a good teacher, and a role model. I was a student, but we never stopped. He inspired me, educated me, advised me, and trained me,” he says gratefully.

After completing his active military service, Carlos Alejandro followed in his footsteps, inspired by a man who exudes kindness and doesn't keep the secrets of the profession to himself, sharing with everyone the wisdom acquired over so many years of working with metal, engines, and challenges.

“Benítez retired in 2008, when I was the Production Manager of the UEB,” says Eduardo Brathwaite Herrera, now the Technical Manager, “and we brought him back to the engine room, where he is irreplaceable because of his experience repairing this equipment, his attitude and dedication to his work, and because he has trained several generations from the XI Festival Industrial Polytechnic Institute,” he emphasizes.

Edwar Crai Martínez, brigade leader in the engine room, affirms that “for Benítez, nothing is impossible. He always seeks and finds alternatives with innovations and streamlining that allow him to overcome shortages of spare parts and components necessary for repairs, maintenance, and other operations on the equipment that guarantees the sugar harvests in the industries and in agriculture.

THE WILLINGNESS OF A HERO

“Benítez is indispensable in the workshop,” is confirmed by Eduardo Brathwaite Herrera (left) and Edwar Crai Martínez.

“I retired and only spent two months at home, because after so many years of work, one doesn't adapt so easily to doing nothing. My colleagues spoke with the UEB management, and they sent for me, and here I still am, and I will be as long as I have the strength to be useful,” he reaffirms.

He is guided by the teachings of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, which motivate him in the centennial year of his birth, and also by the current challenges facing the Homeland and the Revolution, and his desire to serve them when the hegemonic intentions of the empire threaten them.