Ariel Valdés Pinto, a Cuban farmer from Mayajigua in Sancti Spíritus, dedicates between 15 to 17 hours each day to his sugarcane juice stand, which he takes to various markets in Tacoronte, Tenerife (Canary Islands). After finishing his rounds around three in the afternoon, he tends to his sugarcane fields, avocado trees, and ají cachucha peppers on a farm he shares on this Spanish island.
Valdés Pinto can't envision running his business in Cuba due to the numerous bureaucratic hurdles. In Tenerife, he has found a place that allows him to embrace what he loves and has known all his life: sugarcane. "I was born among the sugarcanes," he shares with CiberCuba.
Overcoming Personal Challenges
In an interview with the portal, Ariel Valdés reveals that he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He discovered this condition years ago while frying pork rinds, when he experienced numbness in his cheeks. A CT scan confirmed a pea-sized lesion that hasn't grown, suggesting it might be congenital. "I consider it a work companion. Dwelling on it can make you feel down, so I choose to move forward," Valdés Pinto commented to the portal.
A Passionate Commitment to Community
Valdés expresses no greater ambition than continuing to cultivate various sugarcane types, like Cinta and Media Luna, and bringing his sugarcane juice stand to the Tacoronte markets. His passion not only sustains his family but also brings joy to many Latinos in Tenerife, for whom the juice is a nostalgic taste of home.
His approach is generous; everyone is welcome at his stand, whether they can pay or not. "I don't charge a pregnant woman or a lady in a wheelchair," he remarks with humility.