I have never been an improvised mechanic (+photos) – Escambray

With greased hands and the necessary tools to carry out his work, Arsenio Espinosa Castro, known as the Indian, appears, who for more than 20 years has worked as a worker at the Sancti Spíritus National Bus Base.

Just upon arriving, a single question was enough for several of his companions to point towards a Yutong parked under the spacious ship, where he was submerged, by the engine part, as if he were a diver at the bottom of the sea.

He showed himself to be so skilled all the time, while telling the story of his working life, which keeps him tied to the cars that provide passenger transportation service from this province to many destinations in the country, trips that, for the most part, are achieved thanks to his experience and the effort he puts into getting them rolling in the shortest time possible.

“My beginning was as a Workshop Manager, an activity in which I spent eight years and thus moved through several departments, as I graduated as a technician in repair and maintenance of automotive equipment. Later I was a specialist and even deputy technical director of the base, but as a matter of taste and passion for mechanics I devoted myself to this job. Here I am a poet and crazy musician, I may repair an engine or clean a Yutong or fix its electricity, although mechanics is my main dish.”

What is your best experience?

I have worked on the Ninfa, Maz-500, V-8 and Kamaz line of cars, but I have never been an improvised mechanic, I always prepare, study and take courses with specialists who come to Sancti Spíritus to know a little more about each car.

I was with the Chinese technicians on three occasions before taking over the repair of the Yutong buses. First there were mechanical cars and then, when the electronic line came in, I specialized in these. It hasn’t been a matter of arriving and that’s it, before I had to attend several courses and then impart what I learned theoretically to the rest of my classmates, but practice is what gives you everything.

Having hands full of grease is the motto of every mechanic; These electronic Yutongs require much more mastery when dealing with each breakage, that is the reason why I am always tangled with some car, but the priority is that they go out and roll in good condition, that is why I make an effort and have given good results.

Do you consider yourself an essential man at the base?

I have a lot of knowledge of the electrical part, but if it is necessary to change a tire or scrub a car, I do it too, which is why they tell me that here I am integral, although the important thing is to make each car technically available so that it can go out into circulation.

Why do drivers request your services so much?

Each driver also specializes in the type of breakage that your car has, this helps when bringing it to the workshop, because they come with an idea of ​​what may have happened and then they join us in fixing the equipment, many of them They change their suits and get grease all over themselves.

I live in Tuinucú and I almost always travel on my own, but I am early at the base; Although departure is at seven at night, sometimes I leave much later or come at times when I don’t have to work, that must be the reason why the drivers always wait for me. In addition, I advise other colleagues on the subject of mechanics and, if necessary, support them in arranging the equipment.

With the demand for good mechanics in the private sector, haven’t they offered you the opportunity to work with an MSME?

Of course, on several occasions I have been approached with job offers in the non-state sector, with tempting salaries; However, even though I don’t earn the same here, I have always liked mechanics, not working as a teacher, but rather stuck under a car, with the keys in my hand, enjoying the beginning and the end of each job. to measure the quality of the repair, because these buses travel throughout the island and a breakage loaded with passengers damages the quality of the service and can be expensive.

I repeat, they have made me tempting offers, but I have always liked working at this base, here I am the Indian, the mechanic already known to everyone; In another place he would be the last in line and, although I master my job perfectly, it would never be the same. Here I have earned the respect and admiration of my colleagues, and that is worth a lot.

Some ask me how much I earn for repairing an engine, and I tell them that I do it for my own salary and with the parts we have in the workshop or with those that can be solved. But I value my job a lot and I feel at home here.

Have you repaired buses from other provinces?

Yes, many, for example, the 61-20 from Santiago, others from Las Tunas, Camagüey, Havana, from the Víazul agency, and although the 61-20 line of equipment has been more durable, they are conventional cars, while The electronic ones have more breaks and many times their solution depends on the advice of Chinese technicians and the use of computerized equipment to detect the problem, equipment that does not exist in this base; However, we assume it.

How do you resolve breakages due to a shortage of parts?

Nobody knows how much is done to get the Yutongs back on the road, especially when there are missing parts, that is complex, because sometimes the means are in the non-state sector and not at the base, so the drivers try to look for them on their own. own means and, meanwhile, the equipment remains in the workshop.

Despite this, it is a source of pride for this base that last year and so far this year not a single scheduled departure has failed due to breakage problems and we work with the conviction that the Yutong will make the trip and return. , although later it gets out of hand again.

And what time is left for the family?

Mine is scattered, but an effort is always made; My oldest son lives in Havana, the other is doing his Military Service and graduated from the same specialty as me, then we will see if he follows these steps, but I support them whenever I can.