They never lacked shoes or food, and they are leaving
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Consuelo Toledano Salazar was born on September 3rd, 1942 in the province of Guantánamo. Her father was a tobacco worker, and most of her free time was dedicated to the production of homemade cigars that Consuelo’s siblings sold on the streets. This helped sustain the household, which, besides Consuelo, included ten other siblings. Despite the large size of her family, there was never a shortage of food at home. However, it was a rather humble feeding. More elaborate meals were only prepared on holidays. Consuelo’s father was a member of the People’s Socialist Party, which meant that they faced the constant risk of repression by General Fulgencio Batista’s regime. This affected the atmosphere at home. Meanwhile, her mother was especially worried about the boys spending a lot of time on the streets, while the girls did not stay home. Consuelo studied to become a teacher, which eventually led to her participation in the literacy campaign that began after the triumph of the Cuban revolution. In the early 60s, she taught peasants in, among other places, the Sierra del Escambray, where she directly witnessed the soldiers’ clashes with rebels against Fidel Castro’s newly established regime. After teaching in various places throughout Cuban territory, she moved to the capital with her husband. There, she continued working as a teacher in schools until 1992, when she retired due to health problems. She has two children and four grandchildren. Throughout her career, she had the opportunity to observe the change in the mentality of young people, and she is concerned that despite experiencing all the benefits of the revolution, today’s youth do not want to continue living in the country and prefer to go into exile. To this day, she lives in the former vacation of President Carlos Prío Socarrás and considers herself a staunch supporter of the revolutionary process in Cuba.