Already in 1923, a poem by Nicolás Guillén described the June storm and referred with concern to the Hatibonico River, because as he said: “its waters…already flowing and threatening.”

This is how I remembered it this Friday, June 9th, just the day the City of the Waterpots was officially renamed, 120 years ago, Camagüey. The rivers and tributaries that witnessed the birth of this land, overflowed forcefully over the city and what for some was a blessing, after experiencing an intense drought, for others it was a sad panorama.

At least I was able to verify it when I saw the images that, captured by different lenses, reflected a semi-submerged city. Since the first day of the month it has rained hard, the soils saturated with humidity reflected their maximum expression when rivers and streams left their beds. The stadium, the Triana Bridge, the Casino Campestre, the avenues of La Caridad and Saratoga flooded with water and their residents trying to get there or out, to put their belongings to safety, left me with great sadness.

A story brought me the rain

Commenting among colleagues on such high levels of rainfall, which according to meteorologists exceeded 140 millimeters in the main city, leading the inhabitants of low-lying areas to abandon their homes, when they were evacuated by government authorities.

With some shyness, a colleague tells me about his journey yesterday to get to his home. It turns out that this young man, at the end of his day on the radio, serving with his voice to inform listeners, tried to return home, for this he had to cross La Caridad area, he knew about the Hatibonico flood, but one thing is that they tell you and another very different thing to have to cross it.

Still shocked by what he had experienced, he says that to get to Calle Cuba and get into an animal-drawn car, heading to his residence near the Retiro, the current pushed him, holding on to a column, a post and the bars of the Palace of the Marriages, managed to reach the corner.

His wet clothes weighed more than usual and he lost his balance, two people who were traveling a similar route grabbed his arm and thus, with the solidarity that many of us do not lose in the face of vicissitudes, avoiding the “all river” this young man managed to get home with duty fulfilled.

I will reserve his name for myself, but those who know him will know how to decipher the walker in the rain, who was not nosing around, only working for the common good.

Other wet notes

To record this well-known June storm, which before climate change always moved some plans of the people of Camagüey, I bring popular opinions, from those who live near the river and remain vigilant to the increase in its margins.

Just a few days ago, the lack of water was so great that its level was very depressed. Seeing it grow in a few hours, those who know that slope began to raise their furniture and put what they could to safety.

Others in their daily toil did not have time to prepare. With pity I saw the photos of neighbors coming out with the water up to their waists, with some belongings, their animals and most beloved objects.

I was moved by the images, because in times of such scarcity, like the current ones, recovering from material losses is very difficult, however, until today no loss of human life has been reported.

In search of information to write this chronicle, which almost 15 years ago I had not had to revive, while I was walking the city in the morning I remember the poet again, because as he ends his work, the people of Camagüey also did not stop commenting: “¡ what a river!

It is not because of the rain that we stop remembering 120 years of officializing the name of our land. The situation for some was a blessing with the necessary water, for others it is still a nightmare, but in essence, like the riverbed of Hatibonico, solidarity overflows, friendly hands to clean and recover have been ready since early Saturday, because the river and a new day begins, without ceasing to be attentive because it can happen again, mother nature is that whimsical. (June 10, 2023)

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García