The closure of the sugar mills narrated by the workers

Author(s): Ana Vera Estrada

Source: Oral History , AUTUMN 2017, Vol. 45, No. 2 (AUTUMN 2017), pp. 60-70
Published by: Oral History Society

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26382601

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60 ORAL HISTORY Autumn 2017

The closure of the sugar mills narrated by the

workers

by Ana Vera Estrada

Abstract: In 2002, the Cuban government decided to close half the existing sugar mills in Cuba.
Closures occur frequently in the history of the sugar industry and are usually associated with
technological change. In this article, fragments of oral history interviews reveal several moments in
the process, known as 'sugar restructuring'. In these interviews, former sugar workers refer among
other issues to the impact that this event had on their lives. They also mention the scheme Estudio
como trabajo (Study as Employment), which was created to encourage the re-qualification and
relocation of those who were unemployed. These findings are based on two fieldwork studies carried
out in the Cuban provinces of Matanzas and Artemisa between 2004 and 2015.

Keywords: sugar industiy restructuring; sugar mill closures; Estudio como trabajo/Study as Employment;
de-industrialisation in Cuba; sugar workers

Since the end of the eighteenth century, the Cuban This was a complex policy as it involved industrial
economy has been reliant on sugar production. Many workers, cane peasants and their families, as well as the
Cuban families today have their cultural roots in the relocation of the technology to other producing areas.2
sugar industry and its development is one of the funda In the context of debates generated by the measure,3
mental explanations for the unequal economic balance seemingly contradictory to the usual paternalistic char
that still exists between the western, central and eastern acter of the Cuban socialist system, the Ministry of
regions of the island. As Ricardo, an independent peas Culture promoted research on the socio-cultural trans
ant born at the Lavandero sugar mill in 1933, explained formation of these communities.4 Like other researchers
in his interview: 'Look, in Cuba you can grow anything, at that time, I was moved by this situation. As a cultural
but sugar cane is the main product in this country.'' researcher, I knew of work published by European and
In order to modernise the sugar industry, there were non-European oral historians such as Philippe Joutard,
considerable cuts in resources allocated to production Paul Thompson, Rob Perks and Alistair Thomson, and
at the turn of the twenty-first century. This was in Alessandro Porteiii,5 among others, and I had partici
response to a set of internal and external factors, fuelled pated in several international conferences on oral
by the loss of the socialist bloc, which was the main history.61 therefore knew that oral history was a
market for Cuban sugar, and the fall of the price of sugar methodology that could be useful to ongoing research
worldwide. The decision to undertake this modernisa processes. Between 2004 and 2007,1 decided to carry
tion was announced through Resolution 77/2002 of the out an initial research project at the Granma sugar mill
Cuban Ministry of Sugar, which began the process (formerly known as Carolina)7 in the province of
known as 'restructuring' or 'resizing' the sugar industry. Matanzas, where I had friends." This was followed by a

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 Autumn 2017 ORAL HISTORY 61

second project from 2013 to 2015 at the Eduardo

Garda Lavandero sugar mill (formerly El Pilar)' in what
is today the province of Artemisa. In the communities
living around the sugar industry, known as bateyes,
most of the residents are directly linked to the industry
and tended to work either in the sugar plant or the cane
fields.
Both studies, although carried out independently,
constitute a continuum offering an insight into the
process of modernisation in the western region of the
island which represents the diversity of the participants,
their occupational profile and personal history. The
moments when the interviews were recorded, the kind
of relationships established in each place and other
factors, could suggest differing narrative responses to
the events. It was surprising then that, although the
projects took place at different times, the issues
discussed by the participants in Matanzas and Artemisa
were very similar. Given that both provinces are part of
the western region of the island, the situation reflected
in the testimonies represents the feelings of the region's
sugar producers about the closure of the sugar mills
from the start of the restructuring process in 2002 to
the present day. This is the hypothesis of a book which
I am currently working on. Studies published about the
Cuban sugar industry10 have not so far encompassed
the complex problem of the closure of the plants and Above: Granma's Emulation National
National Prize,
Prize, awarded
awarded in
in
their impact on the personal lives of the population 1971 for its production
production rate.
rate. Photo:
Photo: Ana
Ana Vera
Vera Estrada.
Estrada.
Below: Fieldwork in 2015 at Granma. Photo: unknown.
associated with them, which is the main theme of this
article. As Paul Thompson highlights, oral sources are
an ideal tool to follow ongoing social processes and
their future development."

Setting up the research

It is important to emphasise that the social climate in
which both studies were conducted was substantially
different. When I carried out the interviews at the
Granma sugar mill (2004-2007), the general atmo
sphere was tense and recent changes made it difficult
to do socio-cultural research on sugar mill closures. At
that time, the Tarea Alvaro Reynoso12 school was oper
ating in the Granma plant as part of a set of schemes
known as the Tarea Alvaro Reynoso (TAR). These
schemes were initiated following the restructuring
process of the sugar industry in the early years of the
twenty-first century. The TAR school, also known asity. This explains why warnings of possible negative
the Estudio como Empleo (Study as Employment) consequences of accelerated changes mentioned by the
scheme, was aimed at moderating the impact of unem Granma workers in 2004 are echoed in the Lavandero
ployment on workers. The enrolled students had not workers' testimonies in 2013-2015.
yet graduated and the problem of relocating the work At the Granma sugar mill, I conducted research on
ers had not been fully envisioned, because the Estudio my own between 2004 and 2007. Personal relationships
como Empleo scheme had become for many of them there made it easier for me to establish myself in the
their main occupation. community and expedited the process of choosing
By 2013, several years had passed during which the people to interview. A pre-existing rapport with many of
workers' emotional states had calmed down and manythem, and at least a mutual acquaintance, allowed me
had found a new job or simply retired. The TAR schools to find an appropriate tone for the interviews relatively
and their Study as Employment scheme had disap quickly, although I did not know at the beginning how
peared. Some of those who started studying at the much people would be willing to share their personal
municipal university headquarters'3 had graduated, concerns and the contradictions of the process.
although not all had found a job in their chosen special As for the selection of the participants, I started to

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62 ORAL HISTORY Autumn 2017

The return of oxen to the Granma sugar cane field, 2004. Right: Part of a train left in the middle of an old sugar cane
Photo: Ana Vera Estrada. field, 2013. Photo: Manuel Alvarez.

talk about the closure of the sugar plant with three sufficient interviews, thus allowing us to compare the
members of the family where I was lodging. From them,two field experiences.
1 gradually expanded the circle of people interested in In contrast with our experience at Granma, inter
the project. I gave priority to selecting men and womenviews at Lavandero took place in public spaces or work
who had been working in the plant at the moment ofplaces, where it was usually noisier, and there was
closure. I accumulated a total of thirty-two interviewsfrequent interference from heavy vehicles or people
with people born between 1913 and 1985. Most of thecoming and going. We could however count on the
interviews lasted about an hour and a half, although library (and the support of the librarian), the only
some were shorter. Generally, participants provided cultural institution that provides services to the commu
information about their personal and family life, aboutnity today. However, we still managed to carry out
their work, referring to their feelings about the loss ofthirty-six interviews with men and women born
the plant. Interviews took place in participants' homes, between 1920 and 1976, though some of these were
with adequate privacy conditions, and in a mainly ruralsadly brief and with recordings of low quality.
environment. The small library created by the Sugar In addition to the interviews at Lavandero, we also
Ministry in the community and its efficient librarianorganised a focus group at the end of 2013 with a
provided a true oasis during my daily journeys. number of neighbours, selected by ourselves, to under
To carry out the research at the Lavandero sugar millstand and collect information about the main problems
in 2013,1 asked geographer Manuel Alvarez to join thethat the community was experiencing at that time due
project. We arrived without ever having been there, or to the closure of the plant. We also collected anonymous
having personally met any of the inhabitants in thetestimonies, which were a useful complement to our
community before. Our first contacts were friends andunderstanding of the situation.
acquaintances of third parties, who kindly told us about This article is based on the narratives of ten individ
their experiences and directed us to other neighbours.uals selected from the total number of sixty-eight people
However, in the first few months it was not possible tointerviewed at both places. Four are from Granma, six
create relationships of sufficient trust or find accomfrom Lavandero; eight are men and two women; four
modation to stay in the community. As a consequence,were born between 1924 and 1940, and six between
we kept a detailed diary, which was the best testimony 1941 and 1957. The selection of the cases does not
we got at that time and decided to limit ourselves topretend to be representative of the total of people inter
what we could compile in single day-trips. viewed, but provides a way to present the argument
However, things changed when we met Enrique.here. All the names used are pseudonyms.
Already retired, Enrique'4 was not born in Lavandero
sugar mill, but in a little town in Havana province. HeThe closure process and the plan to
had lived at Lavandero for ten years and, even if he wasmoderate the impact on workers
not there when the mill closed, he is a perceptive man, In 2002, the Cuban government decided to close seventy
a member of the Communist Party, well-informed and sugar mills throughout the island." It seemed then that
interested in collecting oral testimonies. We consultedcircumstantial causes accelerated a definite and necessary
the digitised notebooks he had created from his intertransformation.'6 However, due to the typically unstable
views with neighbours about their participation innature of the global sugar market, some sugar mills were
Angola's war in the 1970s. He became our gatekeeper,reopened in the following years, while others, not
opening many doors and becoming a true friend. Hisincluded in the first list, were closed afterwards. The
collaboration made our work at the Lavandero plantprocess was accompanied by the introduction of the re
much easier and it was thanks to him that we collected qualification system Estudio como trabajo.

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 Autumn 2017 ORAL HISTORY 63

Left: Granma's sugar workers carrying out the rice harvest, one of the agricultural projects associated with the TAR schools
Centre: The entrance to the old Granma sugar mill, which no longer exists, 2004. Right: Former splendour: the towers and t
pool at Lavandero, 2013. Photos: Ana Vera Estrada.

President Fidel Castro took on the responsibility would

of emerge stronger after such a difficult period. In
officially informing the workers about the details oftheir
this interviews, some residents of Lavandero still
innovation. He did so to an estimated 10, 000 workers
remember details of the meeting, which they consider
a great event. A worker present at the place where the
at Lavandero, aiming to explain, in the words of Alberto
(an engineer interviewed in 2014), 'to the people meeting
and was held in 20021' offered us a telling anony
to the world',17 that these new training opportunitiesmous account:

were expected to reinvigorate the country's economy.

This very much reflects the paternalist character of the A painter came and painted the inscription there. W
policies already referred to. Those who were interested painted it twice there, and we have always kept
there...20 five days before, they came... they check
in the possibility of retraining while keeping their salary
would be offered new jobs commensurate with the level the area... they put a huge quantity of plant pots t
decorate the place, they brought ten thousa
of qualifications achieved. In time, the initial goals,
promises and hopes raised in the president's speech chairs... When [Fidel Castro] got here, everythin
would show their true face, and reality ended up being was ready and so the act began. It was very beautif
different to those original promises. I was up there in the office... they only let one gro
While presenting the plan with a great sense of pass who received a special badge [...] other peop
historical opportunity, an unbeatable optimism and could a not come in [...] invited fifty per cent of t
respectful tone, Castro explained the reasons that motistaff from here [...] The guests were sitting at t
vated the restructuring of the industry, such as the front, and the others [...] at the back. The guest
were from here and people from other provinces al
recent increase in the price of oil and a drop in the price
of sugar. He also talked about the cost of production, came [•■•] Here is where he presented his famou
stressing that only those sugar mills which had recorded the inscription that is over there... this was the fir
low production results had been closed and that techtime the option of studying as a job was creat
nological innovations had been installed in the remain [referring to the Study as Employment scheme].
ing mills in order to diminish production costs, and to
guarantee both national consumption and exports whileWe did not ask this interviewee the reason why
the crisis lasted. watched the meeting from the office and not from t
In his speech, he explained: square. His narrative suggests that he was not able
reproduce details of the president's message, possib
There was only one logical thing to do: restructurebecause he was engaged in surveillance work. The u
the industry. What does it mean? Simply selectofthe the term 'beautiful' could mask a lack of knowl
best sugar mills with the best lands that produceedge.
or
can produce sugar at a cost below even four centsIn contrast, other participants - like Hugo, sitting
in we
[...] But restructuring is not a traumatic thing [...] the square - were able to recall and reproduce
are actually putting ourselves in a situation where Castro's
we explanation. Hugo, a Cuban Communist Party
can do no wrong, in fact, we can take advantage militant,
of had worked at the sugar mill from the age of
this situation.18 fifteen.21 He participated in the war in Angola and was
an amateur actor as a young man. When we inter
He ended by listing the advantages of the planviewed
and him, he was a member of an agricultural co
recommending workers not to be influenced by the operative,
fear where he was working as a night watchman.
of change. They must have confidence in the factHe clearly remembers that day because, besides being
that
the sugar industry and the economy of the countryamong the guests, it was also his birthday:

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64 ORAL HISTORY Autumn 2017

Left:
Left: Daily
Dailychores,
chores,
Lavandero,
Lavandero, 2013.
2013.
Photo: Manuel
Alvarez.
Alvarez.

Right:
Right: Local
Local transport
transport
in
in Granma
Granma today.
today.
Photo: Ana Vera
Estrada.

The Älvaro Reynoso programme paid you to study. day. In my view, it is mainly in the memories of the
Fidel came and explained that the workers would not protagonists who survived those experiences that the
be without work, he made that clear. He offered a facts and their impact remain.
good historical explanation and all were more satis
fied [...] The meeting with Fidel was held with espe Fifteen years after the restructuring process
cially selected workers and many people from other It is impossible to understand the strategic need to radi
municipalities. It was a regional event. It was con cally change the basis of the Cuban sugar industry
ducted on a large yard. Fidel was there on the day of without fully understanding the Special Period, as
my birthday, 21 October 2002. I turned forty-five. growing economic difficulties influenced governmental
My daughter's boyfriend gave me a bottle of dry decision-making. For example, it was at this time at the
Giiayabita del Pinar, but I went to the meeting. Those Granma sugar mill when women were hired to do tasks
selected to study were seated in the back, where the usually carried out by men.
leaders were, and the president was ahead, on the In 1996-1997, Leonardo was the head of the power
podium. When the meeting was over, I took a long plant, and decided to employ women workers as it was
time getting to my house given the heavy traffic due his view that their work attitude was more disciplined
to the event on my way home. I arrived at 2am. I sat than the men's. He is one of the few narrators who
in the doorway, with my bottle, to celebrate my birth gives detailed information about the psychological state
day, proud that the event with Fidel was held on that of workers in the early 1990s:
date.
Those were very bad years. In those years it was said
From the extensive, although ambivalent, descrip that people who had worked down there, in the sugar
tion Hugo gave, two key sentences stand out. When he mill, those were heroes.
says, 'Fidel came and explained that the workers would
not be without work, he made that clear. He offered a Ana Vera Estrada: Heroes because of the bad conditions
good historical explanation and all were more satisfied,' in which they were working?
Hugo refers to the atmosphere of expectation that
preceded the meeting, which apparently disappeared Yes, because of the bad working conditions. We did
after the speech if we believe his words. However, when not have any snacks to give to the staff, nor a lunch,
analysing transcribed testimonies, it is not a matter of and above all that, embezzlement, theft, robbery,
taking what is said at face value, but to ask new ques misappropriation of resources, [and] sixty thousand
tions of the transcribed words. The adverb 'more' problems we had with workers' food...22
suggests that people attending the meeting were still not
totally satisfied. As Hugo's interviewer, my memory of This vision does not seem to be consistent with the
that moment was seeing his expression and findingeuphoriaas of mass participation that had distinguished
I had expected from his look and tone of voice that the life of most of Cuban society in the years after the
there was a certain sadness, intentionally hidden, prob triumph of the Revolution in 1959. The Revolution had
ably motivated by the feeling (mentioned by other replaced the hard physical work of the macheteros by
machines, mechanised tasks in the fields, guaranteed
participants) that the closure of the mill represented the
year-round permanent work for all the peasants, and
end of an entire tradition of a shared way of life in the
community. rewarded the best workers with travel and consumer
It is not easy to ask painful questions of a sad inter
goods. The Revolution even supported the practice of
using
viewee, but it is possible to interpret gestures, words not additional resources such as machinery,
actually verbalised. His expression made me think that
construction materials, transport to hospital for the sick
he would have wished for a happier ending for his birth
and help for families with their daily problems. As Pura,

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 Autumn 2017 ORAL HISTORY 65

an administrative worker, acknowledged: 'Everyone's that no one was going to be unemployed, that some
lives depended on it, it depended on it, in every way, were going to go to the school, others to a new enter
financial, material way. If you needed any service, like prise which would be created ... imagine, that was...
a carpenter ,..23 there were not too many problems here, but in some
However, in the early years of the new century, the sugar mills it was terrible, they wouldn't even let them
same revolutionary government which had set up a speak*
protective strategy for workers, shut down many sugar
factories, leaving thousands unemployed. At the same The elliptical points before and after 'imagine, that
time, there was an alternative strategy promoting was...' are used here to convey a common expression
in daily conversation in Cuba which emphasises the
organic farming, going back to out-dated traditions like
importance of what is being said. It is usually accom
using machetes to cut cane and oxen to transport the
product to the factory. This was difficult to understandpanied by a hand gesture, as if the person is trying to
for workers and their families who were directlydistance him or herself from something unpleasant.
affected by these changes. Pura did not go into great detail about what happened
The old Granma sugar mill had never been veryduring the assembly held at the other sugar mill. She
important in the sugar production of Matanzas
was not present, but she clearly alludes to an altercation
province; on the contrary, it was among the oldest at abetween the workers and the assembly presidency.
national level and was of medium category, given the Julian had worked in agriculture during his child
hood, studied after 1959, entered the factory and
volume of its production." Referring to it, Pura (inter
viewed at Granma in 2004) uses the out-dated word
became a representative of the older workers' move
cachimbo* when she says: 'No investment had to be
ment. He conveyed the emotion of the moment when
made, this cachimbo would grind the cane and produce
in 2014 he told us vividly about the impact of a meeting
sugar.' Despite the pejorative connotation that this term
with the Minister of Sugar:
commonly receives, she uses it in a cultural sense which
highlights the historical value that, as a long-time resi So... when he came... the harvest finished in 2000...
dent of the community, she gives the place where she he came in 2001 and then they called me and said:
has spent her whole life. It is an affectionate term that Julian, tomorrow the minister is coming, and we
reinforces her negative feelings towards the closing of would like to invite you so you can bring some of the
the mill. cincuentenario council members. That's how it hap
The workers at Granma received the news of its pened, we went over there. Then I said, 'May I, min
closure during the 2002 end of sugar harvest celebra ister, comrade minister?' - Yes. So I said to him: 'On
tion. Pura's testimony stands out for its honesty: behalf of the cincuentenario council, their relatives
and the workers' council here... we would like to ask
We had never been profitable ... we hit production you, since the Lavandero is not going to do the 2002
targets, had a good harvest... well... as harvests are harvest, whether we could do the 2003 harvest.' He
nowadays ... and suddenly, when the news came ... said: 'Of course, cincuentenario, of course! Let's
that the sugar mill had to be dismantled, along with grind sugar, let's grind sugar.' When the meeting
the others [...] unexpectedly took place, they told us: 'Look, two
important documents are going to be read and the
Ana Vera Estrada: In what way did the news about the workers have to pay attention to these documents, as
closure come? we will be gathering your views afterwards.' We
began to read those documents... how it was going to
The news ... when did it come? We heard that they be, the sugar mills that were going to be dismantled,
were going to shut down a number of sugar mills, we then, out of the sugar mills that were going to be dis
did not think ours was one of them. I'm telling you, mantled, which were going to close, there was the
we were working hard, we were doing well. That was Eduardo Garcia Lavandero sugar mill... It felt like if
in 2002, we finished the harvest, the 2002 one was a bombshell had dropped in the meeting! Like a
the last one we did... They organised a meeting... bombshell...27
because they came to all the sugar mills to hold
assemblies, a commission from the Ministry [of The minister appears as an episodic character in a
Sugar] [...] to explain to the workers how it was lot of interviews carried out at the Garcia Lavandero
going to be, why the sugar mill was going to close. sugar mill, because he went to many of the workers'
Here they gathered... wait, [it was] at the end harvest meetings that took place in the community. Some
celebration, it would have been in May... they held the outline a kind portrait of him, which complements
meeting in the workers' recreational building. Imag others' assessments of bad times shared. As Ricardo
ine, no one had an idea of what it was going to be. says:
First of all, everyone thought that they were only
going to close the mill but then they saw that they Every fifteen days he came here, he struggled a lot to
would also dismantle it and that there was nothing revive the sugar mill plantations [...] what happens is
going to be left... he outlined how it was going to be, that the minister had a very hard task, because it was

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66 ORAL HISTORY Autumn 2017

Left: The slogan on the TAR school reads: 'For the first time in history, study as employment is created', Lavandero, 201
Manuel Alvarez. Centre: Engineer in the orchard with friends. Right: Anonymous written testimony no 14. Photos: Ana Ver

a difficult period, the sugar cane price fell andishe

why it is very difficult for the sugar workers to get
could not... [inconclusive sentence]28 into their heads that this was the right thing to do,
that they won and that they will live well.30
The elliptic end of Ricardo's sentence probably
evokes known problems in the period of the plantIn the anonymous opinions we collected in Lavan
dero,
closure, which he did not want to recall during thenumber 14 stands out. In this document (see
photograph), someone lists a number of issues that the
interview. What he wanted to highlight was that, despite
community was experiencing following the closure of
his high position, the minister was receptive and asked
him how to improve the sugar cane plantations thatthehad
sugar plant. These included:
been lost: • There is no place to develop any kind of activity,
only the construction made by the old union, which
has no known owner.
He asked me what I thought about the Lavandero
and the sugar cane plantations' recovery, and I said:• A great feeling of bitterness among the population
'Look, I've been working in sugar for many years. still exists, not only because of the closure of the
The cane is sown now in the month of January inmill, a but also, and above all because of the destruc
hard and dry soil. We are going to lose this entire tion of the civic building (of the old plant). Many of
plantation, the crop and the seed. If you do what I the
tell premises, such as the large sugar warehouses,
you, you will see [...] that the Lavandero, insteadcould
of have been used for other purposes related to
the economy, culture or housing. Who benefited
thirteen million, it is going to grind eighteen.' The
from this destruction, who gave the order to carry
next day he told the workers to stop and he sent them
to the new sugar plantations, they gave them better it out?
• Gradual destruction of the sugar plant owner's
food, with cold water to drink, they treated them bet
house,31 which could be used in many different
ter and we all moved onwards. And do you know how
much the Lavandero produced in that harvest? ways, 18 even of regional character.
million two hundred thousand! I weighed the cane!• What I was planned with the Alvaro Reynoso's
have been in sugar cane since I was born and I am programme82 was not carried out fully (at least only
years old! I have weighed so many harvests!29 in part), as the proposed noodle factory and other
sources of employment never materialised.
We can see now what the people from communities • Finally: time is running out.32
of the closed sugar mills feared from the beginning: In theher oral testimony, collected ten years earlier in
impoverishment of community life after the closure. Matanzas, Pura anticipated these and similar problems.
Pura clearly anticipated it in 2004: Similar situations are described by participants in both
places. For instance, Atilio (born at Camilo Cienfuegos
This is what everybody fears, that the day this sugar is dismill; formerly Hershey) moved to Lavandero
mantled, there will be nothing left, so no one would after graduating from the Union of Young Communists
School,
have, I do not know... it is like... helplessness, I do not where he met his wife. He worked at the mill
know, I think... People would remain helpless... from they1975 as a sugar and molasses weigher. After the
feel that they have lost something, something dismantling
big... of the plant, he was a railway worker and
at the time of the interview he was a bricklayer. In his
that is what I say... everything is very beautiful, really,
the country's economy could not afford that, but I do
testimony, he describes a situation that was not unique
not understand it either, because until now thetocoun Lavandero:
try was sustainable with sugar, and the investments,
for example, had already been made. It was not nec
I saw the dismantling of the sugar mill [...] I was
essary to make any further investments, this there... until the whole plant was deactivated... But
cachimbo ground cane and produced sugar, so that the life in the sugar plant was very different, much

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 Autumn 2017 ORAL HISTORY 67

backbone of the Cuban economy for so many years and

more different, I do not know... workers coming and
going, car movements, all those things... and nowhad proven its adaptability to island conditions. The
here you have a very dry place, no one comes here...proposal to increase the sugar industry by thirty per
now here we have nothing. We were left in pieces, leftcent, outlined in the 2017 budget,36 confirms the value
at zero, with nothing. Here they deactivated every
of testimonies in reflecting the conflicts of this period
of history. They also show how circumstantial deci
thing, they deactivated the machine floor, the winch,
and everything was shut down. They demolished thesions, justified in a certain context, can become mean
ingless when an unexpected change happens in
sugar plant and everything remained that way you
see. And, now, imagine, we are here, as I say, adrift.33 conditions behind a transformation. Thus, in light of
the rejection of sugar cane, and the desire expressed not
In these words lies a tacit criticism of the lack ofto see any, as Ricardo asserted, even 'in a garden', many
people believed that sugar no longer had a future in
effective authority, an absence felt by the community,
in contrast with the professional management and the Cuba and that the destructive fury manifested in 2002
prestige that a sugar plant director would have had in
had to come to stay.
the past in the eyes of the community. A repeated However and by chance, a decision to abandon
phrase we heard such as this place 'has no known
sugar did not happen. After a painful pause in which it
owner', referring to the local authorities - who shouldseemed that the industry would disappear entirely, one
have supposedly taken care of the buildings after the especially difficult for the most skilled workers who had
closure - suggests a certain anachronism encountered spent most of their lives in the sugar plants, the spirit
and confidence of the producers in their experience,
in the collected testimonies. This needs further study as
it reflects the survival of ideas anchored in the social
and their knowledge of what are the best conditions for
memory of those who, despite having benefited from developing successful cane agriculture, meant that a
the nationalisation of the sugar mills since the earlycompetitive industry prevailed.
1960s, had also not forgotten the strict discipline char
acterised by the former system of private ownership. Why the workers told us about their
As far as organisation was concerned, the disorderlyexperiences of the restructuring process
way in which the deactivation and dismantling of equipAddressing a sensitive issue such as the closure of the
ment and materials was carried out in many places sugar mills was a great challenge. Investigating the
when selecting what could be reused in other sugar feelings of a large group of Cubans whose lives were
plants should also be mentioned. This was one of thecompletely changed by the restructuring, and without
topics that emerged with critical force in the narratives.
the intervention of the research team interfering with
their normal daily activities, required intuition and
Problems such as lack of historical knowledge, lack of
skill.
opportunities for young people, irregular use of equip
ment and other resources, as well as other issues, The TAR schools were one of the leitmotifs that
emerged together with a desire and aspiration to haveallowed us to observe the process of resizing from
beginning to end and to obtain a varied range of reac
a sugar mill up and running again in areas with a long
sugar cane tradition. tions. Delfina worked as a phone operator in the sugar
With eighty years of experience in sugar cane agrimill. Now retired, she was born at another plant in
culture, Gustavo3* was born and grew up harvestingMatanzas province, so presents herself as a person from
sugar cane in the area of Cardenas in Matanzas. He the sugar tradition. When she was a young woman, she
studied until the age of fourteen and started workingmoved to Granma with her sister, and there she met her
on his father's estate, but managed to save and bought
husband. Delfina emphatically referred to the benefits
his own land in 1947. In the interview he claimed to she received from her status as a student at the TAR
have benefited from agrarian reform. Gustavo was
school. A certain triumphalism, combined with some
known as one of the great producers of Matanzasreserve, predominates in her words, which can be seen
province. After the closure, he dedicated himself to the
in several moments of the interview. In the fragment
production of food and to cattle breeding. At the time below, her lack of confidence with us even leads her to
of interview he valued his farm at about 100,000 pesos,paraphrase some ideas from Castro's speech, although
which highlighted what he called the 'economic secushe also speaks of the difficulties she faced in adapting
rity' associated with cane production as a small owner.to the new situation:
He had already warned in 2004: 'We cannot end up
with no sugar cane', because 'sugar cane is a sure For me, as for the rest of the sugar workers it has
thing'. In 2015, Ricardo upheld Gustavo's certainty meant something very important... It is no less true
about the profitability of the cane and its convenience, that with some timidity and fear, because it was not
given Cuba's climatic and soil conditions, when empha easy at that moment to adapt our minds, that we
sising: 'The farm is like a clock that you wind up and it would change from being workers to students, but
runs on its own.'35 well, we took it seriously and with responsibility [...]
The old cane producers such as Ricardo and For me it is an experience, more than a school [...]
Gustavo mentioned early on that it was a strategic This Alvaro Reynoso project has had a great impact,
mistake to give up on an industry that had been the it has been of great importance, because... it has

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68 ORAL HISTORY Autumn 2017

opened up many possibilities, one is the security of to study there and continued studying there, almost
not being left without protection; in past time it did
until yesterday. I did not decide that, I decided to go
not happen like this but now it is safe, we have the to work."
option [of] Study as Employment, and another great
possibility - for even the young and not so young, as Refusing to study was for him a conscious deci
it is my case - to expand knowledge, and prepare sion, and a valid way of responding to the invitation
ourselves, to update ourselves, to acquire new skills. to integrate himself into the economic transformation
that was envisaged at that moment; one which every
This happened to me and I have learned new things
that will serve me as well as the rest of my comrades, one took advantage of in different ways, although not
to undertake new projects.37 always according to their professional training. Telling
us their hopes and frustrations was for them, as for
Tirso, an engineer and agricultural worker, arrived us, an exercise designed to preserve the living memory
at Lavandero in 1969. Thanks to the TAR school, he of those years for future generations.
became an agro-industrial engineer, but when he talked
to us he was not practising that profession. He told us On being Cuban researchers in Cuba
that he was working as an agricultural worker until heThere are certain advantages to being a Cuban
reached retirement age. In his narrative, he highlights researcher exploring Cuban socio-cultural processes
the changes that had occurred in the community: in comparison with researchers from other countries
working on Cuba. One of them is a deep understand
Here, after the industry closed [...] people were verying of the connotations of the language. This refers in
unhappy with that. This was the life here in the comparticular to the terminology used, such as in the
munity, but now, if you visit at night, it looks like aabove-mentioned example of the affectionate use of
cemetery. There was no electricity in the streets the anachronistic term cachimbo. It is also relevant to
either... and before the whole community was lit [...]interpreting unspoken words, gestures and looks
now people at least feel as if they were... as they lackvaguely sketched during oral communication, such as
something, and among those people I... the onlythe hand gesture described earlier.
place where 1 ever worked is here. I started as an We Cuban people are known to be expressive and
assistant in the sugar mill, I moved up and was thetalkative, but prudent reserve can be a dominant
head of the power plant and then second in charge offeature when it comes to expressing opinions about
machinery... 1 am from Limonar, in Matanzas.complex problems regarding our contemporary
When I finished my electrical studies, I was sent herereality, or 'sensitive problems' as they are sometimes
for my social service and then... you know how things described. These are specific to our own context,
happen [laugh] you fall in love, you start a familywhere criticism and self-criticism are welcomed, espe
and... here I stayed [...] Then, after the industry wascially if it comes from the authorities. The restructur
closed then came the great Alvaro Reynoso projecting of the sugar industry is undoubtedly one of those
sensitive topics. For that reason, it was not easy to
and there was the possibility of studying... the Alvaro
Reynoso project gave me that opportunity... they saidovercome some initial resistance to accepting our
that if we wanted to, we could continue in engineerpresence at the sugar mills. However, when the rele
ing and I said: let's go for it! I was already old then...vance of developing the research was clarified, we
were able to rely on the co-operation of the many
1 am now 64 [...] until we graduated. Ours was the
first promotion in Artemisa. Engineer in agro-induspeople with whom we openly shared our motivations.
trial process... when there were no more sugar mills Our knowledge of the Cuban historical sugar
here... [laughter]. The opportunity arose and oneproblem, as well as our mastery of the mother tongue
always aspired to do it, no? Since I was a young boy,and its nuances was invaluable when establishing a
yes, Study as Employment, the great project createdfluid dialogue with the people we interviewed. The
by the Commander [Castro]...38 familiarity with non-verbal codes, such as certain eye
expressions, was crucial to finding meaning in the
Study as Employment was as unproductive for thissilences that resulted from inappropriate or ill-formu
committed revolutionary man, who went to college toolated questions. With a spirit of solidarity, more than
the art of listening, we put into practice the art of
late in life, as it was for those who did not join. Atilio
commented: being silent at the right moment, and of choosing the
tone that best fitted the circumstances of each inter
I could not study. I'm going to tell you one thing, I view. In the most tense moments, or with the most
always said that I did not like to take advantage of the difficult issues to discuss, we used our observation
Revolution for such things. I could have gone to... theand field notes to explain short and inconclusive
Alvaro Reynoso Project, to study only and I did not sentences which revealed when participants were
want to. I decided to go to work and [...] There was reluctant to be questioned. It is for this reason that
a bunch of people who stayed studying there. Theydelicate issues do not produce much information,
paid them during all of that time. There were people although they can be significantly rich for those who
who were, practically, engineers, as I say, and startedhave the opportunity to compare several testimonies.

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 Autumn 2017 ORAL HISTORY 69

An aspect that was more difficult, perhaps, was to Conclusion

understand someone's detailed explanations of sugar
production processes, both in the fields and in the sugar
refinery, or references to members of the community
mentioned by their nicknames or diminutive names. For
someone who is not familiar with the details of contem
porary Cuban sugar history regarding the permanent
dilemma between the need to fulfil export commitments
and the urgency to renew technology, a phrase like
Pura's 'how the sugar harvests are now,' would go
unnoticed. It seemed necessary to us to go deeper into
the common productive harvest routines in order to
understand the allusion to the lack of agricultural and
industrial efficiency that this sentence suggests.
When using testimonies as primary sources to
recover the unwritten part of our national history, it
is not common practice in Cuba to ask interviewees
to sign a consent form to enable testimonies to be
quoted and to copy excerpts for use in academic
publications. This of course brings risks and quite a
few unexpected consequences, such as having to leave
out a key testimony if the person interviewed decides
at a later stage not to allow the reproduction of their
words. On the other hand, discarding a practice which
is common amongst oral historians - and therefore
going against oral history protocol" - leaves us a
margin of freedom and spontaneity, I would argue, in
the rapport with the interviewee which overcomes
power imbalances in the interviewer-interviewee rela
tionship. It also produces a sense of camaraderie and
mutual respect in which it is tacitly agreed that issues
we have talked about are as much theirs as ours, and
therefore the responsibility for what is said and what
is not said is shared. This contributes to the creation
of a relationship of mutual respect and solidarity.
The closure of more than half the existing sugar mills
in the country between the last decade of the twentieth
century and the end of the first decade of the twenty
first was undoubtedly a surprising and painful event for
contemporary Cuban society, one which was emotion
ally expressed through various spaces of discussion in
which we had the opportunity to participate. Somehow,
all Cubans carry in their memories moments lost in
sugar spaces and landscapes. When the closure of the
sugar plants took place, not everyone in Cuba was
aware of the accrued problems and particularities of the
international situation. This explains the didactic tone
of the speech of Fidel Castro when he gave detailed
information to explain the need for closures. Although
the reasons he gave were understood, Hugo claims that
the promises were not honoured: 'When the situation
of the closure of the sugar mill came, the Commander
said that it had to remain closed, at least for two years.
They were told what the Commander had said. They
had heard it, but then it was reaffirmed. And ... it was
determined that it had to be closed for good!'41
In the opinion of those people we interviewed, the
methods used to dismantle the sugar mills did not take
into consideration the feelings of the workers. Although
respect for the president's authority limited the expres
sion of emotions in public spaces, the pain remained,
expressed in silences during the interviews, especially
amongst older people for whom the history of the sugar
mill is a major part of their lives. Memory amongst the
youngest was not as clear; for some it was blurred or
never existed. Oral history has been shown to be an ideal
tool to pass on these memories to new generations, offer
ing the possibility to build bridges with the past and create
sources for the Cuban historiography of the future.

Acknowledgments NOTES usually applied to the particular

Two institutions of the Ministry of Culture 1. Interview with Ricardo, Lavandero protectionist mode in which the Cuban

supported the research financially: the sugar mill, born 1935; recorded by Ana socialist government assumed the
Cuban Cultural Research Institute Juan defence of the interests of national
Vera Estrada and Manuel Alvarez,
Marinello and the Alejo Carpentier 30 January 2015. workers. See the use of this concept in

Foundation. I am particularly grateful to Z For decades, de-industrialisation has Elborg Foster and Robert Foster, Sugar
have had the confidence of their been the subject of research projects and Slavery, Family and Race: The Letters
respective directors, Pablo Racheco using the methodology of oral history; and Diary of Pierre Dessalles, Planter in

Lopez, Graziella Pogolotti, Fernando see for example Alicia J Rouverol and Martinique 1808-1856, Baltimore:
Martinez Heredia and Elena Socarrâs. Cedric N Chatterley, '"I was content and Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
To accomplish the fieldwork at the not content": oral history and the 5. Philippe Joutard, Ces voix qui nous

Lavandero sugar mill, the transcription of collaborative process,' Oral History, viennent du passé, Paris: Hachette,
numerous interviews and the design of a vol 28, no 2, 2000, pp 66-78. 1983; Paul Thompson, The Voice of the
database to organise the information, 3. For a careful treatment of cultural Past, third edition, Oxford: Oxford
I relied on the collaboration of the problems resulting from the closure of University Press, 2000; Robert Perks
geographer Manuel Alvarez Muniz. sugar mills in terms of labour conflicts, and Alistair Thomson (eds), The Oral

I would also like to thank Daliany Kersh I recommend La cultura del trabajoyla History Reader, London: Routledge,
for the translation of my paper into reestrvcturaciôn de la agroindustria 1998; and Alessandro Porteiii, They Say
Engish; the editors of Oral History; and azucarera by José Luis Martin Romero. in Harlan County: An Oral History, Oxford:

my colleagues and friends Stéphanie Accessed online at http://biblioteca. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Panichelli-Batalla and Olga Saavedra for clacso.edu.ar/ar/libros/cuba/cips/caudal 6. 'Taller intemacional de literatura oral,'
helping me adapt the original text to the es05/Caudales/ARTICUL0S/Articul0sPDF Havana, 1990; 'VJornadas Historiay
expected practices of the journal. The /25M127.pdf, 5 April 2017. fuentes orales,' Avila, Spain, 1996; 'I
Jomadas nacionales sobre historia de la
photos that accompany the text are by 4. Although the concept of paternalism is
the author and Manuel Âlvarez Muniz. typical of studies of slave societies, it is familia y oralidad,' Havana, 2000; 'VI

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70 ORAL HISTORY Autumn 2017

Encuentro nacional de historia oral "Una 15. For an account of the first stage of working in the canefields. See Esteban
mirada desde el siglo XXIBuenos the changes, see Soraya Sarria Cruz, Pichardo, Diccionario provincial cas/'
Aires, 2003; and 'VIII Encontro nacional La tarea Âlvaro Reynoso como una razonado de voces y frases cubanas,
de historia oral "Historia oral y inversion. Accessed online at Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales,
diversidades culturales",' Rio Branco, 1976, pp 116-117.
http://caribeha.eumed.net/tarea-alvaro
Brazil, 2006. reynoso, 5 April 2017. 26. Interview with Pura, 6 April 2004.
7. A Sugar Family and the Changes of 16. For a complete history of the sugar 27. Interview with Julian, Lavandero
the Twentieth Century'. Approved by the cane industry up to the present day, see
sugar mill, born 1920; recorded by Ana
Scientific Council of the Institute CubanoOscar Zanetti Lecuona, Economia Vera Estrada, 8 March 2014.
de Investigaciön Cultural Juan Marinello,azucarera cubana: Estudios histôricos, 28. Interview with Ricardo, 30 January
June 2006. Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 2015.
8. The main results of this research were 2011. 29. Interview with Ricardo, 30 January
published in the monograph Guajiros del 17. Interview with Alberto, Lavandero 2015.
sigloXXI, Havana: Institute Cubano de sugar mill, born 1940; recorded by Ana 30. Interview with Pura, 6 April 2004.
Investigaciön Cultural Juan Marinello, Vera Estrada and Manuel Âlvarez, 31. The house of the former owners of
2012. 10 May 2014. the plant, which was given over to
9. 'The Garcia Lavandero: human 18. Fidel Castro, 'Discurso pronunciado various social uses during the years after
its nationalisation. After a hurricane it
implantation and sugar restructuring.' por el Présidente de la Repüblica de Cuba,
Funded by the Alejo Carpentier Fidel Castro Ruz, en el acto inaugural de was occupied illegally by a group of
Foundation, 2013. los Cursos de Superaciôn para neighbours in need of housing. They still
10. Darryl Hobbs, The Cuban Sugar Trabajadores Azucareros, en areas del remain there.
Restructuring Program (2002-2004): central Eduardo Garcia Lavandero, en el 3Z Testimony number 14, collected at a
A Case Study of Artemisa, Cuba, municipio de Artemisa, el 21 de octubre workshop attended by Ana Vera Estrada
unpublished MA thesis, University of del 2002.' VersionesTaquigrâficas and Manuel Alvarez at the Lavandero
Toronto, 2005; Omar Everleny Pérez Consejo de Estado. Accessed online at sugar mill, 14 December 2014, with the
Villanueva (ed), Reflex/ones sobre www.cuba.ciVgobiemo/discurso^'2002/participation of twenty people, including
economia cubana, Havana: Editorial de esp/f211002e.html, 9 March 2014. neighbours and authorities from the
Ciencias Sociales, 2006; Sidney Mintz, 19. An anonymous person who was community. The last sentence, 'time is
Three American Colonies: Caribbean asked to describe what he remembered running out,' can be interpreted as an
Themes and Variations, Cambridge, about the meeting with Fidel Castro. In expression of the person's irritation at
Massachusets and London: Harvard the conversation, recorded on 5 April, the absence of concrete solutions to the
University Press, 2010; Oscar Zanetti 2014 he offers details of its problems.
Lecuona, Economia azucarera Cubana: organisation. We did not carry out a 33. Interview with Atilio, Lavandero sugar
estudios histôricos, Havana: Editorial de formal interview with him. mill, born 1946; recorded by Manuel
Ciencias Sociales, 2011; and Oscar 20. The ellipses without brackets reflectÂlvarez, 29 March 2014.
Zanetti Lecuona, Esplendorydecadencia pauses in participants' speech; ellipses34. Interview with Gustavo, Granma
del azucaren las Antillas hispanas, with brackets refer to text cut from the sugar mill 1924-2012; recorded by Ana
Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, quote. Vera Estrada, 6 April 2004.
2012. 21. Interview with Hugo, Lavandero 35. Interview with Ricardo, 30 January
11. Paul Thompson, La vozdel pasado: sugar mill, born 1957; recorded by Ana 2015.
Vera Estrada and Manuel Âlvarez,
Historia oral, Valencia: Edicions Alfons el 36. Speech by Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz,
Magnânim, 1988, p 88. 19 February 2014 vice-president of the Council of Ministers
12. The TAR schools were part of the 22. Interview with Leonardo, Granma and Ministry of Economic Planning,
transition programme (known as Tarea sugar mill, 1950-2011; recorded by Ana Granma, 28 December 2016, p 9.
Nvaro Reynoso) associated with the Vera Estrada, 30 July 2006. 37. Interview with Delfina, Granma sugar
restructuring process. Sometimes 23. Interview with Pura, Granma sugar mill, born 1951; recorded by Ana Vera
interviewees referred to them as the mill, bom 1949; recorded by Ana Vera Estrada, 10 January 2007.
Âlvaro Reynoso Programme. Estrada, 6 April 2004. 38. Interview with Tirso, Lavandero sugar
13. For recent changes in the Cuban 24. For information about production at mill, born 1948; recorded by Ana Vera
the twenty-four sugar mills in Matanzas
education system, see Berta Maria Pichs Estrada and Manuel Âlvarez, 27
between 1954 and 1959, see Ana Vera
Herrera, Dimas Hernândez Gutiérrez and February 2015.
Francisco Benitez Càrdenas (eds), La Estrada, Guajiros del sigloXXI, Habana: 39. Interview with Atilio, 29 March 2014.
nueva universidad cubana y sugestiôn Institute Cubano de Investigation 40. Is Your Oral History Legal and
integrada en las sedes universitariasCultural Juan Marinello, 2012, p 65. Ethical? [web page]. Accessed online at
municipales, Havana: Editorial 25. Cachimbo-. the popular name of an www.ohs.org.ulVadvice/ethical-and
Universitaria, 2010. old type of engine with very low legal, 5 April 2017.
14. Enrique, born 1946, helped us to production. See Esteban Rodriguez 41. Interview with Hugo, 19 February
Herrera, Léxico mayor de Cuba: Vol I,
find interviewees at the Lavandero sugar 2014.

mill. He was interviewed, but is not Havana: Editorial Lex, 1958, p 242.
quoted because he was not living thereA cachimba was a deprecatory name Address for correspondence:
at the time of the closure. given to a pipe used by slaves when ave@cubarte.cult.cu

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