Juan Virgilio López Palacio Dies at 88 Years Old

October 27, 2024

The Doctor Honoris Causa in Pedagogy from the Central University Marta Abreu of Las Villas (2016), Dr. C. Juan Virgilio López Palacio, Hero of Labor of the Republic of Cuba (2018) passed away on October 26 in Santa Clara, Villa Clara at the age of 88, which he turned on May 21 last.

On behalf of the Central Organization of Cuban Workers and its unions, the general secretary of the CTC in Villa Clara Maglin del Sol Martínez expressed condolences for the death of a hero of these times: Juan Virgilio López Palacio: Master of Masters, Juan Virgilio, an infinite man.

Regarding that honor, López Palacio said:

"Miguel Díaz-Canel, current President of the Republic, when they awarded me the Title of Doctor Honoris Causa from UCLV, sent me a very moving and kind letter, which I deeply appreciate. Machado Ventura, Second Secretary of the Party, decorated me on two occasions: when they presented me in 1977 with the rank of Full Professor in the Main Hall of the University of Havana, and later the Title of Hero of Labor. It is an honor that I don't believe I deserve, I simply did my duty"

He was a technical advisor for the Literacy Campaign and also a literacy instructor. Professor of Merit of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, National Award for Pedagogy; Educator of the Twentieth Century in Cuba; he holds the orders Carlos J. Finlay and Frank País; the distinctions Pepito Tey and José María Heredia; as well as the Martiana Star.

In statements to the press, he said:

In my case, in 1954 I began working as a primary school teacher at the Mariano Clemente Primary School in Santa Clara and in March 1955 they offered me my own classroom in Caibarién and I was there until 1962.

In 1954 I began my studies at the School of Pedagogy of the Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas, where I graduated in 1960. Since simultaneity was allowed, I was teaching throughout that entire time.

While in primary school, the country launched a call for teachers of technical education, it was that year when Fidel said that Cuba needed technicians, men of science, and in this way the boom of technical schools began.

I took the exam, passed it, and began working at the September 5 school in Cienfuegos. In 1964 I transferred to the Pedro María Technological Institute in Santa Clara. All these tasks were in unison with my teaching at the University.

By 1970 this call ended and I was given the choice between technical education or university teaching. I chose of course to continue at the University. In this way I have 16 years of experience in general education and in Higher Education from 1960 to the present, 58 years of work.

When Dr. C. Juan Virgilio López Palacio turned 85, he received a tribute from the Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas, from the entire university community that sent him their congratulations and warm embrace.

At that time he recalled the days when he combined his work in primary school with his studies in Pedagogy at the Central University Marta Abreu of Las Villas (UCLV), after rejecting an offer made by Columbia University in the United States:

"I owe the decision to stay to the advice of Doctor Gaspar Jorge García Galló, my cherished professor. He was not wrong; this was the institution to which I owed myself, to which I am grateful for the man I am".