An eloquent proof that “where nature has flowers, the brain has flowers too”, is the progressive and sustained scientific and spiritual growth of Arnaldo Botello Rodriguez, who, thanks to his spirit of self-improvement and the kindness of the Revolution, was able to realize his dream of becoming a protector of animals, to whose realization he has added the transmission of his knowledge and experiences.
This prominent executor, researcher and promoter of actions for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disorders, diseases and injuries in animals, was infected with the love of veterinary medicine since childhood, when, in the rural community of Manacal, in Guaro, municipality of Mayari, where he was born on July 17, 1948, he supported his uncle Antonio Rodriguez in the care of the herd, milking cows and other activities.
In that peasant environment Arnaldo grew up, whose decision to be useful to the country began early, when he joined, at the age of 12, the Literacy Campaign and at the end of it, on December 22, 1961, he assimilated Fidel Castro’s call for the brigadistas to devote themselves to studies, thus obtaining a scholarship to the Manuel Bisbé secondary boarding school, in Miramar, Havana.
With the fixed idea of becoming a veterinarian, he went to the “Juan Pedro Carbó Serviá” Technological Institute, also in the Cuban capital, graduating as an intermediate technician and continued his studies until, in 1976, he received the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Oriente (Santiago de Cuba).
From then on he practiced the profession with total dedication, in different responsibilities, in Mayarí, Sagua, Moa, Birán (Cueto), Holguín and during an international cooperation mission, as advisor of the Agricultural System of Guanare, capital of the state of Portuguesa, in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
A tireless researcher, professor, tutor of several postgraduate and master’s theses, consultant of agricultural projects and a wide range of services as a specialist in epizootiology, Arnaldo Botello made about 60 scientific publications, won a large number of courses of improvement and participated with papers in more than 60 scientific conferences, forums and other events, including an international congress on animal production. In this way, he obtained a large number of awards in the categories of Relevant and Outstanding.
In Arnaldo Botello Rodriguez, the brain has flowers
Events that marked his life
Being born in the rural community of Manacal, belonging to Guaro, municipality of Mayari, in close relationship with nature, being raised by his grandmother, although Melva Rodriguez, a very poor peasant woman brought him into the world and having seen for the first time his father, Pedro Botello Perez, when he was in junior high school in the Cuban capital, are events that marked his life.
From that happy moment of the first meeting with his father, a mutual rapprochement took place, including the family, living in Yara, Granma province. He told me that Pedro Botello, an amateur photographer with a basic command of English, as a young man moved from Yara to Biran, the Castro Ruz family’s settlement, where he worked as a telegraph operator and when the teacher Eufrasia Feliu died, he alternated those functions with the lineman Pepe Sanchez, in the rural school number 15, where Fidel studied in one of the first desks.
It was in Biran where Pedro met Melva before she returned to her homeland and the result of that eventual relationship was born the renowned veterinarian, who has made so many contributions to the care, nutrition, reproduction and racial improvement of animals, epizootiology, anthropozoonosis, biosecurity and zootechnics.
From a young age, Arnaldo learned that families are like the roots of the people. Despite not having been born and raised in a harmonious family, Arnaldo created his own, based on love and respect, together with Norma León Martínez, with whom he has shared more than 50 years of marriage and as a result of this happy union two children were born, to whom they transmitted their values. One, a doctor in Veterinary Medicine, who teaches in the sister Republic of Ecuador. The other, an Agronomist Engineer and Master in Science, works in the meat company Felipe Fuentes. Their three beautiful grandchildren are growing up in this environment.
Recognitions, awards, decorations
A militant of the Communist Party of Cuba, member of the Scientific Veterinary Council and of the Society of Animal Reproduction, Botello honors, with his rich background, Fidel’s efforts to achieve the progressive development of livestock farming in Cuba, since 1961, when he signed Resolution No. 254 of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA), which led to the founding of the Livestock Health Section, with the unification of the country’s veterinary services.
Delving into history, I learned that our country held the First Congress of Veterinary Medicine in 1936 and founded the first school of that specialty on April 10, 1907. The following year, the National Association of Veterinary Medicine was created and on December 14, 2017, in Havana’s Vedado, the first National Museum of that specialty was opened.
National Vanguard on several occasions, Botello traveled, by encouragement, to the former Soviet Union, participated in 2000 in the Congress of Veterinary Sciences, in Panama, and in the years 2005-2008, served as advisor to the Agricultural System, in Portuguesa, Venezuela.
He holds the Medals of the Literacy Campaign, for the Defense, Marcos Martí, 40th anniversary of the FAR (Armed Forces), 60th anniversary of the CTC (Cuban Workers Confederation), Labor Achievement, Jesús Menéndez, as well as the commemorative coin of the Centenary of the Association of Veterinarians of Cuba and the National Award “Juan Pedro Carbó Serviá”.
In his 76 years of life, Arnaldo Botello Rodríguez learned from José Martí that “when one’s eyes are fixed on the heights, neither brambles nor pebbles distract the traveler from his path”.
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