JATIBONICO, Sancti Spíritus.— In addition to its colossal prestige, national record holder for sugar production and paradigm of efficiency during the country’s harvests; up until a few hours ago the Uruguay sugar mill had the fortune of being home to a living relic, revered for over a generation: Francisco de Paula Rabí Avilés or “Cundío,” a man with no title or senior role at the plant, but who earned the status of indispensable among his colleagues.
Those of us who were used to greeting him – broom in hand – in the corridors of the plant had even come to believe that the 94 year old, who had seen 76 harvests, was immortal and that we would invariably see him again during the next campaign, with his characteristic smile and stories.
”Everyone calls me “Cundío” because I liked to play hide and seek, or cops and robbers, in my neighborhood, and as no one could ever find me, when someone would ask where I was, they would say: ‘he’s hiding’ (Tá’ condío),” a phrase which according to him gave birth to the nickname by which he would be forever known in his community.
Probably born on April 2, 1921, the man who would hold the title of oldest active sugar worker on the island later arrived at the former Jatibonico plant – now the named Uruguay – where he was discriminated against for being poor and Black.
Cundío occupied various roles as a sugar worker at the Uruguay mill, where he also made some of his best friends; and when his strength gave out he took to helping maintain the plant, making a promise to himself to work there his entire life and remain faithful to one of the many pieces of advice given him by his father: “Never go about with your hands in your pockets, that’s something lazy people do.”
