As a child he used to visit with his grandparents the town of Santa Lucia, and Gibara, with the Atlantic Ocean on the horizon and the aroma of saltpeter and shrimp. This is how Cosme Casals Corella evokes it. He tells me smiling behind his glasses, the diligent researcher and indefatigable writer from Holguín. Geologist by profession.
He is a geologist by profession, whose personal modesty sometimes prevents him from talking about his successes without imagining that he would be awarded the National Environmental Prize in 2023.
In one of these summer afternoons from the colonial patio of the large house headquarters of the Cuban Fund of Cultural Heritage (FCBC) as location, the author of “Los derroteros de Cristóbal Colon” (The paths of Christopher Columbus), talks in an exclusive dialogue for this digital portal.
Archaeology, Cosme Casals, Holguín, Bariay, Chorro de Maíta
Why did you decide to research on Colón and Bariay being such a controversial topic?
“Without a doubt it is in my family roots. My paternal grandparents lived in Santa Lucia, municipality of Rafael Freyre, and my maternal grandparents lived in Gibara. My grandmother used to take me to the Plaza Colón and read me the plaque that said that Christopher Columbus (October 28, 1492) had arrived in Bariay.
My father would take me to Bariay when he went fishing and he would tell me about Columbus and his arrival on those shores of the Bay.
Then when I studied together with the son of Francisco Benítez (Paquito), a journalist from Holguín, one day I asked him about the environment of Bariay and from there I began to investigate about it at Alex Urquiola Public Library, and Estela, Manuel Ángulo Farrán’s wife, lent me the “Diary of Cristóbal Colón” published in 1961 and from that moment on I began to investigate about Colón.
Also when I went with my father to Bariay, I did research based on what I read and appreciated the site.
I remember that over the years one of the happiest moments of my life was when I was published in the newspaper ¡Ahora! an article about “Cayo Bariay”.
Archaeology, Chorro de Maíta, Chrome Mine, Moa, Holguín
How do you know Dr. Archaeologist José Manuel Guarch del Monte and how much does he contribute to your career?
“I met him at the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, in the years of my first studies as a Middle Technician in Geology, in Havana. He was a frequent visitor to the institution. Milton Pino, an archaeologist from Holguín, introduced me to him and from then on we became friends.
With the years he told me that he was coming to Holguin. I waited for him and helped him move with other colleagues. Then he asked me to help him in the research of Chorro de Maíta, in the aspect of advising on the stratification of the sites.
We were co-workers at the Academy in Holguin. For me it is an honor to have written a book about his life, the work of a family that will contribute so much to Cuban culture in Holguin”.
Cosme, considering his work, did he have any influence on his children?
“My two daughters, one has a degree in Economics and the second is a doctor. They studied what they chose and according to their vocation. Children should be allowed to choose their professions by themselves”.
Your relationship with Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler, Historian of Havana, your friendship and work ties. How do you remember it?
“For me it was a friendship and mutual affection. A professional relationship that grew over time. The book “El primer viaje de Cristóbal Colón a Cuba” (The First Voyage of Christopher Columbus to Cuba) that I wrote with Miguel Esquivel, I had the honor of having Leal write the prologue.
What research occupies Cosme Casals?
“I am working on an aspect on the nature of Holguin. To cover the whole province. To extend to the whole territory of that coastal stretch that is related to Christopher Columbus’ route. I am finishing a book about Cesar Salas, an expeditionary who came with José Martí, and the family environment of Salas”.
Did you ever think of becoming a National Environmental Award winner?
“No, I never thought about it, and from my years of research I proposed tourism products. During the 12 years with the Gaviota Group, I was able to put my research into practice. The product recently awarded in Biotur on Cayo Bariay, is an immense happiness”, he asserts and smiles.
Cosme Casals Corella, the researcher and creator of tourism products that are part of the portfolio of rural and nature tourism products in Holguin, does not feel the vanity that perhaps someone could experience with a National Environmental Award. Cosme continues to be the diligent researcher who always has new topics to continue developing.
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