Memories of a childhood are still woven in these days when closing my eyes takes me to my primary school Victoria de Girón; in the municipality of Nuevitas. This educational center was at one time the largest in Latin America; currently it is a mixed center that includes primary and secondary education.
Making history
In 1977, the first steps were taken to build this school, which cost 800,000 pesos and was built almost entirely by young people from the Youth Labor Army (EJT, by its acronym in Spanish) in Nuevitas, with the Support of qualified personnel from the local establishment of the Construction Company # 18 of the MICONS’s architecture works.
On July 26th, 1979, it was inaugurated with the name Los Micros Elementary School, until three years later the National History Commission requested a group of names of martyrs and historical events from the Municipal Education Directorate of Nuevitas to change the name of the school, among them the chosen one was Victoria de Girón, in honor of the first victory against imperialism in America.
The educational institution initially had 34 classrooms, a library, a workshop, a management and administration office, several living areas, a recreation plaza and green areas and sports facilities for basketball, volleyball and baseball, with a capacity of 1450 students.
When I began my journey as a student at the institution, there was a lot of talk about the visit of Raúl Castro in the 1982-1983 school year, who promised to return to the center if they managed to achieve the status of National Vanguard.
A year later, he fulfilled his promise because the center managed to achieve the proposed goal, giving all students from 4th to 6th a trip to the International Camp for Explorers in Varadero, also made a donation of a sports module and musical instruments to support the development of the two Rhythmic Bands that existed in the school, considered the largest in the territory.
Unforgettable experiences
There were many stories in which every corridor and classroom of the institution was the protagonist. As part of the leadership of the group of students, I had the opportunity to share on behalf of all my colleagues with Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, the first Cuban cosmonaut, Orlando Cardoso Villavicencio, hero of the Republic of Cuba, Faure Chomón Mediavilla, Commander of the Revolution; and with Alberto Granado, a great friend of Ernesto Che Guevara; who dedicated beautiful words to me for the songs that I performed.
In this school I also remember with great pleasure the first time I was in front of a computer in a laboratory, dedicated to that exact science; which by then looked a lot like a spaceship.
I played soccer in their sports areas that were implemented for the practice of sports, dance contradanza, recited, sang; I was really very happy. Not only did I fall in love with the space of the building, its teaching staff and discipline helped me to prepare myself for the future.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
