I was delighted to hear Radio Rebelde’s Holguin correspondent, Aroldo García, report on the awarding of a solar energy module to university professor Ileana Concepción García. As part of the program to provide photovoltaic systems to 300 teachers.
Ileana confessed to the radio reporter that she has the soul of a teacher. A fact she discovered while working in elementary school.
She would ask for a blackboard, sit dolls and children in front of it, and teach classes. In fifth grade, her mother died in an accident. She would attend classes in the morning and then teach her classmates in the afternoon.
Since then, her teaching career has been marked by great academic achievements, leading her, with great passion, to earn a Doctorate in Science from the University of Holguin.
Ileana told the radio reporter that she has a teacher’s soul. A passion she discovered while working in elementary school. She was 10 years old when she lived in the village of Uñas, in the municipality of Gibara. Also where she was born into a farming family that cultivated garlic, beans, tomatoes, and plantains.
Iliana told the correspondent that her family consists of six siblings. And that thanks to the educational development during these years of the Revolution, they all went on to university. Which is why there are professors, doctors, engineers, and chemists among them.
Despite the difficult period the Cuban people are going through due to the energy blockade imposed by the Donald Trump administration. Iliana emphasizes that we are moving forward thanks to the unity and sacrifice of every Cuban. Which allows for the existence of a more humane social system—a system whose full potential is stifled by the absurd policies of the White House toward Cuba.
“As long as there is unity, there is a people,” she said. “And who can say that we used to cook lunch at two or three in the morning when we had electricity? Who can say that we walked miles to get to the university?” How is it that our people endure so much? It’s because Fidel Castro taught us that the Revolution is full of sacrifices to keep moving forward.
“I was with my mother, who was very ill in the hospital, and because there was no electricity to cook, we were using charcoal. The quality assurance director at the University of Holguin called me and said, ‘In the midst of your pain, I have good news. You’ve been awarded a solar panel. There aren’t enough for all the professors, but it’s been given to you because of your life’s work and the role you play at the University.'”
“There’s a huge improvement in the quality of life with the solar panel. It’s enormous, but you can also help your neighbors with your equipment because the sun isn’t going to go out, because the sun is for everyone.”
Photo: Aroldo García/Radio Rebelde
“It’s a meaningful moment in life. I’m a happy teacher, and happiness comes from fulfilling one’s life’s work, which is the satisfaction of a duty done.”
Iliana is beloved not only for her high academic standing and her work as an undergraduate and graduate thesis advisor. Also for her profound humanism and wisdom when facing teaching decisions and challenges.
She has taught master’s students, and we journalists have also benefited from her instruction. Having had her in the classroom for the modules she has taught in the field of Social Communication.
Iliana was a great help to me when I was pursuing my master’s degree in Social Communication. She was on my thesis defense panel, and it was a wonderful moment, because a friendship blossomed between us from that professional encounter, even though she was my opponent.
Later, she supported me by reviewing my daughter Isabella’s thesis when she graduated with honors in journalism from the University of Holguin.
Iliana, “the professor,” as those of us who know her in the university setting call her. She is beloved for her boundless humanism in helping graduates better prepare to build a society that doesn’t alienate human beings.
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