Ramona, from Pinar del Río, is 102 years old

February 17, 2023

"I've enjoyed this chat," Ramona expresses as the conversation comes to an end. Between laughs and traditional verses, I learned that Monguita, as they call her, smokes tobacco, loves coffee, and although she lives in Viñales, she adores San Luis, both municipalities in the province of Pinar del Río.

Hand in hand with her granddaughter Amaray, she came to recite a few traditional verses of her own composition, which convey her position in defense of women and their rights.

"Gentlemen, in Vueltabajo I will not find a young woman without fault who dedicates herself to work, raises chickens and turkeys, knows how to wash and sew, twist a bit of tobacco and make me my meals, and if I treat her badly, let her not tell anyone about it."

"I will yoke the oxen for you and saddle your horse. You won't find weakness in me, since the laws are equal for us both. In the time of mangoes, I will ripen them for you. I will heat your coffee, make you tobacco and cigars, and if I hit you with a pot, don't ask me why."

Ramona smiles mischievously. She is very thin. Her hair is white as snow and the wrinkles on her skin seem not to belong to a 102-year-old.

The elderly centenarian can be heard singing at any hour. She has a measured and energetic voice. She is charming and brings humor to life. Hers was not an easy life, but she says that "no one's is." Working was her routine. She makes her bed, folds the clothes, and spends her time in the cloak of old age: loneliness that has no remedy even when accompanied.