The big house on Marti and Carteles Streets does not seem to be the place where for 30 years have carefully preserved the historical memories of Vueltabajo.
This Provincial Historical Archive from Pinar del Rio amasses important documents permanently guarded by 24 workers who face the most dangerous enemy: the years. In this place there are valuable documents from Julio A. Mella, Fidel Castro and Isabel Rubio, among other important personalities of history.
The 30th Anniversary Party
“Our mission is to treasure the patrimonial documents of the different historical periods. You can find papers when Guanajay, Artemisa and Cabanas belonged to the current territory of Pinar del Rio,” said Ania Pampillo Cheda main specialist of Services and Automation Department
This institution was founded on December 1, 1983, but this territory has only a provincial entity.
“All the documents were dispersed in different organisms, so they created a commission from the Cuban Communist Party to compile them. There are even other documents that are nowadays in the National Archive,” Pampillo noted.
Vivian de la Caridad Mendez, director of this entity said that Law 265 passed in 2009 strengthened even more the net archives performance with the coordination system between the archive with the enterprises and organisms.
Valuable Treasures
The collection is made of 37 funds and collections, and about 1,383 meters long of documents. The oldest is a notarial protocol from the Notary’s Office of the government from 1175 to 1789, although the youngest ones are related to outstanding personalities from our struggles.
A file that belonged to Julio Antonio Mella was found at the Instituto de Segunda Ensenanza. He was registered with the name Nicanor Mc Pórtland- his father’s name and mother’s last name-, due to the political situation he had at the University of Havana, so he was forced to study in Pinar del Rio.
There is also a trial inside the fund of the Tribunal de Urgencias (Court of Ungergies) founded in 1934- presenting as defendants: Fidel Castro Ruz, Pedro Tellez and Blas Roca who were not present in the province.
We can also see the testament belonging to the patriot Isabel Rubio that was signed three days before she died; a magazine edition of El Figaro from 1918, special edition about Pinar del Rio. Also publications like El Heraldo Pinareno, El Vocero Occidental and other magazines, besides a small history library.
Obstacles that are beyond time
The staff of this entity has other problems besides the irreversible years. Its director told us they have no means for the digitalization of these treasures and other equipments where to store them. Humidity is another enemy and the facility has no air conditioning. The facility does not have all the adequate conditions to preserve all the documents.
“The Archive has been presented to three ADAI announcements– an international aid for the Latin American archives, which were approved. Thanks to Francisco Casos Luengo fund and the Mineral Resources, we have been able to restore several maps and plans from the colony to the present, but they were not enough,” Mendez noted.
The international aid mainly collaborates with the entity; likewise the will and knowledge of the workers do, who carry out a strong preventive job, guarding and restoring the treasures according to their possibilities. The staff is constantly fighting against the plagues and dust to protect such delicate papers from the silent enemy; but, despite difficulties, the 24 workers from the Provincial Historical Archive of Pinar del Rio restlessly take care of Vueltabajo’s treasures like genuine guardians of time.
