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Three
centenarian brothers
IT
would make Gerardo García Reyes very happy if this
coming January 20 his centenarian brothers – Joaquín,
his twin, and Manuel, aged 102 – could celebrate
together, as usual, the birthday of the family
twins, but he thinks it will be impossible because
Joaquín is wheelchair-bound in his home in Habana
del Este, and his older brother is not in a physical
condition to participate in the reunion, even though
he too lives in City of Havana.
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Gerardo García
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He
also would have liked them to participate in the
interview, because at over 100 years old, he says
that they have all experienced interesting events,
each one with his own version, “since we are very
united, but with our own personality.” When one
turns 100 and has lived like that, there is simply a
lot to say; and so just being alive grants certain
rights.
I
ask him how his life has been, and he answers, “very
normal,” having worked behind a counter for 53
years, at first as the owner with his brother
Joaquín of a clothing and hardware store. After the
triumph of the Revolution, he became an employee,
both at the establishment the brothers voluntarily
handed over to the state, and at similar centers.
“We were still the owners of the store, and we kept
selling militia uniforms from our store in
Contramaestre,” an eastern locality about 800
kilometers from the Cuban capital.
If Joaquín were at the interview now, he would tell
the story of the bloody battle of Maffo (near
Contramaestre), where the twins were mediators
between the rebels and the Batista garrison that
refused to surrender the Plaza even though their
defeat was evident. Fidel told Joaquín: “Look for
the head of the guards and tell him that if he
doesn’t surrender, he will be responsible for the
blood uselessly shed in this combat that they’ve
already lost.”
The order was carried out, avoiding the final
assault on the Batista supporters’ positions, which
would have caused casualties on both sides.
Gerardo tells of other events, just as interesting,
which played a part in changing his way of life and
his own thinking. That is how he talks about his
first voluntary labor, his participation in two
sugar-cane harvests cutting cane, and his entry in
1970 into the Communist Party of Cuba. He shows a
photo of himself and Joaquín, taken when they both
attended a party with General of the Army Raúl
Castro.
“We turned 80 that day, and Raúl embraced us, asking
for a picture to be taken together with us ‘to see
if I can also reach 80 with such vitality.’”
I have been closely followed the fluent narration of
this centenarian who still goes to the meetings of
his Party cell, walks daily to shop for food at the
nearby store, likes music, and recalls his youth,
when he was a good dancer, and when occasionally
drank beer and rum and smoked cigars, “although
everything in moderation,” he warns.
With good sense, he recommends that young people
shouldn’t replay those dirty tricks on health, so
that they can live to 120 or more. Although he never
played sports, his duties at the store kept him
active. And now, on the recommendation of the family
doctor, he does light exercises, mostly with his
legs. He drinks water half an hour before eating and
two hours after, following a custom he began “after
reading a little Chinese book with health advice.”
He believes that his longevity is aided by a
continuous diet of vegetables and greens, some of
them raw, although he does not dislike pork, fish
and seafood. But all in moderation, he reiterates.
It appears that the genetic factor is not unrelated
in the case of these three centenarian brothers.
Their father, Paulino García, died aged 90, and
their mother, Matilde Reyes, almost reached 90. They
have been told about other long-lived relatives.
How is his health now?
In response, Gerardo refers to the examination he
recently underwent at the Calixto García Hospital,
where the doctors found him to be completely healthy
and recommended one aspirin per day as his only
medication.
He confesses that he feels optimistic, because he
still has the strength to be active. “I can’t remain
sitting in a chair waiting for life to be over,
because there is always an opportunity to do
something useful that fills you with satisfaction,”
he tells us as a good-bye, somewhat hurriedly,
because it’s already 2:30 p.m. and his Party
meeting, at which he always arrives on time, begins
at 3:00 p.m.
For more information:
redac2@granmai.cip.cu |
