Esperanza Barroso, Eminent Neuroradiologist, Passes Away in Havana

September 14, 2023

There are Human Beings who, after their death, leave a trail of sadness, of consternation, united with infinite admiration. On Sunday, September 10, 2023, Professor Esperanza Barroso García departed to eternity, one of the strongest and most beloved pillars of the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery.

Upon learning of her passing, we felt a very strange mixture of grief, of asking ourselves why, and of not accepting that we had lost her.

Born on October 27, 1934, she graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Havana in 1960, completed her rural social medical service at the "Baracoa General Hospital" in eastern Cuba in 1961.

She began her residency in Radiology at the "Calixto García" Hospital in Havana in 1962, and in 1964 she transferred to "Pedro Borrás" Hospital, where she finally received the title of First-Degree Radiology Specialist in 1965.

Her first workplace was the Children's Hospital "Pedro Borrás," but very shortly after, another great figure, Prof. Rafael Estrada González, called her to be Head of the Radiology Department of the "Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery" in Havana, a responsibility she fulfilled from 1967 until 2002. With her intense dedication and wisdom, she introduced neuroradiology not only at the INN, but in the country and transformed this department into what is today the Department of Neuroimaging, a national reference in this discipline.

She achieved the rank of Full Professor in 1972, that of Senior Researcher in 1981, and that of Second-Degree Radiology Specialist in 1984. She received the title of Doctor of Medical Sciences, by direct award in 1988. She was appointed Consulting Professor of the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences of Havana in 2000. She received numerous distinctions and decorations, among which stand out: the Distinction for Cuban Education, the Frank País Order, the Medal for the 30th Anniversary of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, the Medals for the centenary of MINSAP and the 50th Anniversary of Revolutionary Public Health, among others.

We all remember her smiling in her office surrounded by students, residents, specialists, with her such simple way of expressing so much knowledge, without elaborate language, answering questions and carrying out excellent teaching work. The originality of her unique character is that she was capable of combining that simplicity with high standards that generated the highest respect and admiration among everyone. Those of us who had the fortune of counting on Esperanza's friendship were able to delight in her refined sense of humor, which she mixed with an enviable mental agility, which made personal interaction with her very appealing.

Her name "Esperanza" (Hope) did not trace an "esperanza," but rather the evidence of creating a new specialty in our country: "Neuroimaging," which earned her the condition of Master of Cuban Radiology.

Cuban Medicine has lost a symbol of wisdom, dedication and devotion to her career. She is, without a doubt, our "Greater Neuroradiologist."

From the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, a tear springs forth today that multiplies among all those of us who had the sole opportunity to enjoy her wisdom and her imperishable example as an irreplaceable human being.