Museums since ancient times are important institutions in the cultures of peoples. Contemporary museology invites every May 18th since 1977, to rethink museums beyond those sacred places, warehouses of old objects or simple buildings where the sepulchral silence surrounds the exponents that the public discovers.

When did I visit a museum for the first time? I cannot clearly remember it, but when did I become aware of its importance as a professional? I can affirm that without a doubt, that September 4th, 1990, when I arrived at the Municipal Museum of Sierra de Cubitas, I was welcomed by its extraordinary work team.

There I learned that, in a museum, its category does not matter, everyone contributes; workers, collaborators and the public make up an inseparable triad that works together to safeguard cultural memory. Teaching that in the example and words of Eusebio Leal become a paradigm for Cuban museologists.

Memories…

On the other hand, the opportunity to work in a prestigious institution within the network of national museums, turned my stay at the Ignacio Agramonte Provincial Museum into a professional challenge, human growth and the preservation of its thesaurus.

I cannot imagine my life without those years of learning alongside teachers such as Magaly, Ana María, Pareta, Manolo, Thelma, Margarita, Esther and so many friendly people that as a guide supported the knowledge and audacity of the new generations, those demands, at times excessive, in exhausting days of conservation, montages and guided views, which taught me the principle that it was not enough to safeguard, that the commitment was greater.

It was this projection that allowed me to take on museum work in Santa Ana de Cotacachi, Ecuador, where I got into the cultural work of a people of extraordinary values.

Today, with gray hair, but with the impetus of that young woman who fell passionately in love with museology; I thank the Office of the Historian of Camagüey city for allowing me to realize a dream, sharing with a multidisciplinary team the conception and museum work of a renovating, dynamic and inclusive museum.

A space where the imaginary journey by train, will allow us to rediscover in its stations the evolution and significance of the industrial railway heritage of Camaguey; unveil the anonymous faces of women and men that make up the family of the rail and rejoice with their traditions, customs and anecdotes.

The Camagüey Railway Museum has not yet completed all its exhibition areas, the intervention of the building -old Passenger Station- was extensive due to the degree of deterioration it had; the restoration of its surroundings, a work that cannot be postponed. While the recovery of the Watch Inspection local, a commitment to the railway family.

The Hatuey Model Station, featuring miniaturized crafts and the area dedicated to the exhibition of steam locomotives; announce the arrival of upcoming stations where contemporary museum communication, interpretive tools and museum exponents are harmoniously combined to create a novel, unique cultural product of great social significance.

The journey invites us to…

Getting ready to embark on the journey on a train loaded with knowledge, surprises and challenges, allows us to share the theme that the International Council of Museums has convened for this May 18th: “The future of museums: recover and reimagine”.

Congratulations to all the museum workers, especially to the group of the Ignacio Agramonte Provincial Museum, for those who from other professions are always present in museology, to my colleagues from the Railway Museum, the House of Cultural Diversity, of the Finlay House and the Heritage Interpretation Center, all museologists of great merit.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García