His name was exalted in a provincial activity of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), as the protagonist of innumerable labour feats that made him worthy of a special distinction, the Lázaro Peña de Primer Grado medal.

Martínez Abad, from a very young age, joined the ranks of the Columna Juvenil del Centenario in Camagüey, recognised as the most productive force in the country. He participated in 33 sugar cane harvests as a machetero, and in 18 of them, he was a millionaire for his high productivity in manual cane cutting and was a member of an Agricultural Column where he cut sugar cane in the mountains.

He was mobilised in the Central Amancio Rodríguez, where he participated in manual cutting competitions and was always a winner.

Marcelo has been aspiring to become a Hero of Labour for several years, and has carefully preserved many medals, distinctions and special recognitions, to which he now adds the Lázaro Peña de Primer Grado distinction, which he receives just a short distance from International Workers’ Day.

«I don’t think my effort is nothing extraordinary, I have simply fulfilled my duty to work for the development of society,» says Martínez Abad.