The chronicle that I propose to you today is the first of a series that will bring us closer to three sisters named María; three women from Camagüey who love History, and to honor it, they followed in its footsteps from education and teaching.

In their work as teachers of this subject, and as revolutionaries, we focus our gaze. Let’s start with the oldest of them.

Maria Caridad Álvarez Nuñez

She is the oldest sister and the first one who decided to set her life on the path of teaching. Her passion for History came after, when she was already giving lessons.

To discover the mystery of the three María(s) I went to their family residence, where they have lived together since they were little and share knowledge with relatives, neighbors and students, in addition to housework.

After a tasty coffee, we ‘went on a journey’ recalling about the Literacy Campaign, when she set off on her own. When she finished, she was motivated by the classes and decided to study to become a teacher. She graduated from it in 1967 and was placed for two years in Minas de Frío -Pinar del Río.

At the end of the training, she began working at the Camilo Cienfuegos pre-university (known as Los Camilitos), of which she still feels part, since she spent 34 years in the military training institution; and she is proud to have contributed to the education of people who are today senior leaders of the Army throughout the country.

Among her students, the Hero of the Republic of Cuba, Orlando Cardoso Villavicencio, and other generals who died in Angola, while fulfilling internationalist missions, stand out. Those losses caused her a lot of pain.

But let’s not talk about her sadness, because María Caridad has also had many satisfactions. She says that when she attends the Military Hospital consultation, due to her visual difficulties, she is very moved to meet doctors and other members of the health personnel whose faces she immediately remembers, although not always their names.

However, her former disciples recognize her as the History teacher, and come to offer her help and to be interested in the cause of her visit.

With a broken voice, she assures that seeing so many generations of professionals who have passed through her classrooms and still remember her with affection, is -without a doubt- the greatest satisfaction that a teacher can have.

Before saying goodbye to the first María Caridad, she shares a call to the new teachers, so that they emphasize in her classes sharing knowledge about all the beauty that the history of this land holds. These are contents that are not always included in the study programs.

María Caridad also invites them to take care of those distinctive values of the Camagüeyan, such as good speech and attachment to their public spaces with good hygiene and a better image.

The Three Mary(s) and History

The three affirm that perhaps it was “a matter of chance” that the last two followed in the footsteps of the older sister. And that they were seduced by the beauty of History, especially the local one, so rich in personalities and patriotic values.

To deepen her reasons, I will return with two other chronicles dedicated to María Julia and María Elena. If something in common lives in the souls of the three teachers, it is the love for their Camagüey.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García