Rogelio Ortúzar: The Cuban Farmer Who Embodies Fatherhood and Legacy

At 74 years old, Rogelio Ortúzar Carreño cannot pinpoint the exact moment when the countryside became his place of work—he has simply always known himself to be among the fertile and blessed lands of Consolación del Sur, where he grew up surrounded by tobacco leaves, rice dryers, and rows of beans.

This farmer from Pinar del Río, the only Hombre Habano who is also a Hero of Labor of the Republic of Cuba, has become the face—along with part of his family—of the postcard President Miguel Díaz-Canel used to congratulate Cuban fathers on Father’s Day, celebrated on the third Sunday of June 2025.

Why was Rogelio chosen to represent Cuban fathers on such a heartfelt occasion? What makes him worthy of this recognition? Those questions led us to his farm, San Pedro, located in the community of Puerta de Golpe, in the municipality of Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río.

San Pedro is no ordinary place in western Cuba. The dust clouds the view on the road off the highway, but once you arrive at the Ortúzar homestead, your eyes light up with both admiration and inspiration.

Across roughly 67 hectares, there is not a single patch of unused land: homes, tobacco selection houses, rice paddies, plots of cassava, corn, beans, and vegetables, and even solar panels “sowing energy.” Rogelio eagerly shows us every corner of San Pedro, a farm that began as brush and parcels when his grandfather settled there in 1923. A century later, it’s “very different,” he emphasizes, “because it is at its highest levels of production ever,” which, he insists, has been made possible through effort, dedication, innovation, and above all, the Revolution.

Rogelio highlights how new incentives for tobacco growers in recent years—such as improved access to supplies, bank credit, and compensation in freely convertible currency—have significantly improved yields, quality, and diversification on the farm.

What sets San Pedro apart—even beyond the gleaming, resin-coated tobacco leaves that grow there as if gifted by nature—is that multiple generations of the Ortúzar family have enriched the land with traditions perfected over time. Like an Olympic relay race, Rogelio’s grandfather took the starting line, and now the baton is in the hands of the fourth runner: José Ángel Ortúzar, Rogelio’s son.

Rogelio carries in his skin and heart the marks of a lifetime of hard rural work, including over 20 years leading the 26 de Julio Cooperative in Consolación del Sur, one of the largest and most productive in the country. He has also contributed as a member of the National Committee of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) and the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party.

Health issues have recently slowed Rogelio’s pace, and it has taken great effort on the part of his wife, Ica Valdéz, to keep him on schedule with meals, rest, and medication. “Imagine a man of the land, of work—he never wants to stop,” says his partner of 54 years.

In these later years, Rogelio has found in one of his two children the worthy successor that his father once saw in him. “For a father, there is no greater pride than seeing better results and knowing that your son continues the same political, social, economic, and productive path,” he says.

Beyond production and economic gain, Rogelio finds joy in the fact that his successor honors the legacy of the Ortúzars within the Revolution, maintaining social commitment to the community, ensuring worker welfare, fair pay, incentives, work conditions, and opportunities for technical and professional growth.

“My dad is my mirror. I’ve learned almost everything I know from him,” says José Ángel, speaking in the humble, heartfelt tone of the Cuban countryside.

From his father, he learned to rise early, to lead by example, to choose seeds carefully, plant them in seedbeds, and select the right time for manual transplanting. He learned how to classify tobacco leaves by ripeness—and, perhaps unknowingly, he also absorbed the importance of treating workers with care and respect, closely monitoring every task, and always being grateful.

“I’ve been fortunate to benefit from something he didn’t have in his youth—the support of other father-figures in agriculture. They helped me produce with greater quality and improve yields,” he adds.

For the Ortúzars, land and family are their twin crowns of fortune. For both Rogelio and José Ángel, being a father is “the greatest thing in the world.” It means the ability to sow in one’s children the best values, principles, and traditions—the ideal way to carry forward a century-old race, passing the baton to successors as capable, or even more so, than their predecessors.