Diverse experiences that demonstrate the existing options in the midst of so many limitations.

The recovery of the INDER swimming pool in the municipality of Ciro Redondo has multiplied recreation during these summer months.

It is called this way to differentiate it from six others in the locality, two of which are leased.

Five pools are currently available to a population of more than 138,000 inhabitants, another is under repair and the last one is in the recovery phase.

«Our users come from everwhere, Ciego de Ávila or Morón. They mainly use the trains and the buses returning from the keys,» INDER municipal director, Elisabel Batista Ortiz, told JIT.

«They also arrive from Ceballos and other places, that is to say, we provide service to a good number of people,» she added.

«Last May everything was working, but in July and so far in August the number of visitors has grown,» she expressed.

«A practically capital repair was made to the pump room, turbine, valve, electrical system and painting, and shaded areas were created. It was built in 1930 and had been unused for more than 20 years,» she detailed.

«It has several advantages. We have constant chlorinated water and the entrance fee is only five pesos. That allows us to pay for electricity, water and chlorine,» commented the enthusiastic executive, with much to tell, but very little time available at the time of our visit.

EL MANGUITO COMMUNITY

The community of El Manguito emerged after the revolutionary triumph of 1959, next to the small stretch of the main road that precedes the heart of the municipality of Ciro Redondo.

We are talking about a territory that owes its notoriety, above all, to the sugar mill of the same name and to the first bioelectric plant in the country, designed to burn sugarcane bagasse and other biomasses such as marabú.

Ariel Díaz Toledo, a graduate in Physical Culture and Sports, is in charge of recreation in the community of El Manguito.

«Whenever an idea comes to me, I try to make it happen. I made a batintín different from the traditional ones and a kind of hula hoop with knobs connected by a cable, which serve as a marker on the ground to develop different actions with the children,» he said.

«The important thing is that they have the option of, while having fun, building skills and exercising,» he added.

Díaz also spoke of the improvements they enjoy with the construction of a playground, and repairs to the store and other common goods for the residents in El Manguito.

«This summer we have multiplied. Due to the COVID-19 we had had two years of few recreational actions in the community», concluded «el profe», as dozens of children and adolescents call him.

SARDIÑAS, OF COUNTLESS «REVOLUTIONS» PER MINUTE

To say Sardiñas in the community of La Yuca, in the municipality of Ciro Redondo, is to say leader.

Almost fifty children, fundamentally, integrate during these summer days their «army» of playful people from nine in the morning until six in the afternoon. «With a lunch break,» as the 68-year-old veteran rightly says.

«I’ve always enjoyed working with the kids. They have fresh minds, are agile and quick learners. Besides, as our José Martí said, they are the ones who know how to love,» said the man who has dedicated half a century of his life to physical culture.

He was named the best recreation teacher in the country a few years ago, Sardiñas is the father, uncle and grandfather of many of these children, because of the time he spends with them and the respect and love they have for him.

A small plaza is his headquarters. Everything is played there, especially the traditional variants.

«I like to innovate in the games and for that I create means with whatever I can get. They are almost always discarded objects,» he assured us.

«Here I have had children who, almost without realizing it, became young and went on to the Eide to become athletes. That makes me proud,» he maintained.

«I was able to work in another area within the sports movement, because after passing through the Epef I became a graduate, but recreation is what I like,» he recounted.

From the dialogue with the director of physical recreation of INDER, Eric Gutiérrez Rodríguez, the subject of continuity came up… «It would be good if you could think of someone to pass on your knowledge and experiences to,» said the visitor to the seasoned professor.

«I am helped here by several people who are interested. I have already retired and rehired. There is Sardiñas for a while, but I am going to prioritize this suggestion. It is beautiful to have fun exercising these children who are our immediate future», concluded the man who works at thousands of «revolutions» per minute. Taken from Jit