CAMAGÜEY.- At the distance of almost half a century, Olivia remembers the phrase easily. "I trust the new pines," said that man today, faceless and nameless. You cannot ask so much to memory. But at 73 she can feel like at 27. At 73 you can conserve the energy that forges new pines. And she does the same, with the energy and commitment with which she contributed as a delegate to the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba.

At 22 she had joined the ranks of the PCC through a special process and at 27 she was in the middle of that room being the center of debate in her native Esmeralda. She has been special in all ages.

That condition has earned her not a few fortunes like that of that room in Esmeralda. "Being chosen from among so many valuable colleagues as a delegate to the first Party Congress was an extraordinary privilege."

“I do not forget the emotions. Having been in the analysis and in the decision-making that would lead the life of our young Revolution, more than a distinction, I felt it as a commitment that guides me until today; the commitment to work tirelessly until the last breath ”.

And that sentence believe it. It is not a matter of mere impulse. Because at 73 many strengths are saved for lightness or in saying. At 73 you can count each and every one of the responsibilities that have expired; of each and every one of the places where she has been, always at the disposition of the Party. She could be summed up as an integral militant.

The significance that Olivia Martínez López attributes to that experience grows more when she talks about her first time so close to Fidel. "Very close, very close," she repeats as if for us to accurately construct the scenes. In addition to her leading role as a delegate in the First Congress, Olivia was a member of the Commission of Representatives that, since the days prior to the meeting, debated the proposal that Fidel himself brought for the candidacy to the Central Committee.

“The humility with which she explained to us the merits of each colleague, the arguments on which he based his criteria, made him see much greater before our eyes. He spoke but he also listened to us. In his closeness and his transparency I continue to see his greatest greatness ”, she assures.

Yes, Olivia is clear. The first Congress has a special relevance because not only were the first 15 years of life in the Revolution analyzed, but theses and resolutions were drawn up and approved that guided and defined the way forward.

“I especially remember a speech by Fidel in which he spoke about the Cuban policy of solidarity and support for the causes of independence and liberation of the peoples of the world. Likewise, we approved the new administrative political division, the creation of local organs of People's Power, and the position that the Party would maintain with respect to the Church and the believers.

“It was a large Congress not only in number of delegates, more than 3,000; also in the participation and the depth of the discussions. But that has been the highest in the rest of the Congresses. And now will not be the exception. The Eighth has so much merit because it will show that we continue to choose the same path. This will be the Congress of continuity, ”says the daughter of Cecilia and Benjamin, two parents who are fruitful in giving birth to children and loving the Revolution.

Exquisite work they verified when for four years they received news of this daughter from the Congo. Exquisite work they check from somewhere today in that small office of Attention to the Population in the headquarters of the Party here.

Retirement came to this daughter through the process, but from a small office with a similar sign, she chose to continue corresponding "through struggle and fidelity." At 73 she can feel like at 27. At 73 she can conserve the energy that forges new pines.