Maritzabel Concepción Guerra toured with us the Duplicates Office of the Civil Registry in Las Tunas. It took only a few minutes, interrupted only by her explanations and the flash of Rey's camera, a faithful accomplice in this sad adventure.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- She is one of the five women who usually work there, in the old place on Julian Santana Street, between Lucas Ortiz and Lico Cruz, which used to be the headquarters of a Masonic lodge. All of them master, and some even with their eyes closed, the not inconsiderable books that collect births, deaths, and marriages of the whole province since colonial times.

Maritzabel opened the place for us that morning. From her, we learned, after a sharp knock on the entrance window, where everything is in that labyrinth. She explains that these documents are never purged. "Our archives are specialized, they are kept for life, except for the notarial deeds, which go to the Historical Archives after 40 years, but the civil status books must be kept all the time as part of the patrimony of the Provincial Directorate of Justice."

We listened to her and it is easy to conclude that, in a city where people will continue to be born, marry and die, soon there will not be enough room there to treasure the history of who we are. However, that, which is already a matter to be taken care of, is no longer relevant in the face of the panorama we are facing.

Moisture and leaks are a serious matter in the walls, the electrical installation is in the air and the mites must be having a party among the sheets, not only because the dust is evident, but also because they calculate that it has been about two years since serious fumigation has been done, something that Labiofam used to take care of.

The bathroom is an obvious danger for anyone who dares to enter, there is no air conditioning, the carpentry is a disaster and, when it rains, it's a pitiful place. The worst thing is, beyond all that, the possibility of losing a book.

Aracelis Esperanza Goulbornes Milanés, deputy director general of the Provincial Directorate of Justice, is aware of the seriousness of this situation and explains that it is not exclusive to the premises in whose courtyard we spoke.

"Closing 2020 we managed to repair the Notary's Office of the head municipality through the one percent of the territorial contribution and we also repaired the Property Registry of Calixto, in Majibacoa."

"But the municipal offices of Justice of Manatí and Colombia are also in bad conditions. In the latter, where the Civil Registry is located, it is impossible to work on rainy days."

Returning to the place where we are, he insists: "A short time ago we acquired gloves and cleaning products, but the work required by this place is greater than that, the people trained to work here do not even have the materials to bind the books.

"We have been inspected by the agencies in charge of the care and hygiene of the premises, and they all agree that the conditions here are not optimal for this type of archive. It has been more than seven years since they have approved a budget for investments and even less for repairs and maintenance."

We learned from the workers that there used to be an office of the Legal Counsel's Office on the upper floors of the large house on Julian Santana Street, but it had to close because the conditions of the premises were no longer adequate.

They live in fear of the same thing happening to them and, since the morning of that visit, so do we.