Dr. C Santiago Lajes Choy, rector of the University of Camagüey Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz.

“I had the opportunity to share with Raúl for many hours, on the occasion of belonging to the group of deputies who, with him at the helm, prepared the proposal for the new Constitution of the Republic.

“Raúl, he is an extremely intelligent and very simple person, capable of listening to all opinions, no matter how simple they may seem, that makes him even greater. He knows how to promote democracy, with patience and wisdom. As no one seeks diversity of opinions and criteria and with his excellent teaching, he achieves consensus and promotes unity. He has left us humility, adherence to principles and revolutionary firmness as a great teaching ”.

Fidel Eusebio Lezcano Escobar, union leader

This man's eyes shine. With pleasure he opened the door of the house, located in the Plaza de Santa Ana. He, 78 years old and currently retired, for many years served as a member of the Provincial Secretariat of the Union of Transport Workers.

When Raúl visited the Bango camp on February 19, 1992, of workers from the Transportation sector who remained mobilized to support the agricultural development of Camagüey, there was Lezcano on the front line.

“Raúl made a tremendous impression on me. It was the first time that he had so close a leader with so much history. He spent about two hours in the camp, he was very sociable and talkative. Our colleagues, after he left, were happy and more committed ”.

Esther Quintero Labrada, ecumenical leader

Pastor Esther Quintero Labrada had the privilege of participating in the first meeting that Fidel had with the religious leaders and twenty years later in the exchange with Raúl, at the José Martí Memorial, in the Plaza de la Revolución in the capital to remember that fact and the twenty-five of the presentation of the book: Fidel y la Religión, by Frei Betto.

At the age of 92, lucid and with an unshakable religious vocation, at her home on Avenida Madame Curie, in the Previsora ​​district, in the city of Camagüey where she has lived for a long time, she agreed to speak about the personality of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz. .

“I could summarize it in the following: he impressed me with his simplicity and greatness, because he is a kind person, with an exquisite treatment. That meeting was very emotional and I will remember it forever. Now that he is 90 years old, from my faith I ask God to leave them there for many years ”.

Liliana Boudet Nápoles, political leader

As president of the José Martí Pioneers Organization in the Provincial Committee of the Young Communist League, she attended congresses, but the Fifth of it marked her.

“One of the qualities that I most admire about Raúl are his simplicity and humility, how he is able to ask the pioneers to allow him to represent Fidel and at the same time convey to them the reassurance that the Commander will be present in each of the congress sessions.

“I have been very happy in all these years for having had the privilege of sharing a few minutes so close to Raúl, which for me were hours; answer his questions, together with Jorgito, about his proposal that he be the bearer of a message to Fidel; she inquired about his illness, his education, in short, without delaying that little encounter she worried about him, as she did with every pioneer who asked to greet him or just give him a kiss.

“Being close to Raúl, studying his history, his career, visiting from his home in Birán to so many other historical places in our country where he has left his mark, such as the Second Eastern Front Frank País, has created a superior commitment to the built work for him and many other comrades of struggles and victories, ”said the current member of the Municipal Bureau of the Party in Camagüey.

Jorge Enrique Jerez Belisario, journalist

“Raúl is presented as a tough, upright, unloving man, although we knew that he was not like that, one always feels that he is going to meet an upright military man. Really the impression that I have and how he spoke to me and treated me is very different from how he was painted.

“At the Fifth Pioneer Congress, I thanked the Revolution, him and Fidel for all that they had done for me, that they had given me the opportunity to study. I was 14 years old at the time.

“It was something unexpected and shocking. Actually, I asked him by audio, from where I was in the auditorium, to take my message to Fidel, I never thought I would go to where he was.

"That the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces stand up from the chair, where he presided over the Congress, to talk to a child, that is not done by anyone in the world. He called me "Jorge," as if he had known me forever, "what are you going to send to Fidel?" "This, a letter that I wrote to him," I said. "Is that nothing else?" Raúl asked ... "And a hug too," I pointed out. So he asked me to give it to Fidel. The most tender hug they have ever given me in my life was given to me by Raúl Castro.

“Furthermore, the exchange he had with the children made us live the story of when he and Fidel met in Cinco Palmas, after the defeat of Alegría de Pío, an experience of a lifetime.

"Today the photo on my Facebook cover is that meeting with Raúl that marked me for life."