Gina Montaner breaks the silence about the euthanasia of her father, the Cuban writer Carlos Alberto Montaner

"I am not going to live in Spain, I am going to die in Spain." With that phrase, laden with irony and clarity, the Cuban intellectual Carlos Alberto Montaner summarized his final decision after leaving Miami in 2022 to settle in Madrid and exercise his right to euthanasia, after several years battling a severe neurodegenerative disease.

The writer, essayist, and prominent figure of the Cuban exile , at the age of 80, surrounded by his wife Linda, his children, and granddaughters, after a process that he himself described as his final battle for freedom.

The intimate story of that farewell has just been shared by her daughter, Gina Montaner, in the book “Deséenme un buen viaje. Memorias de una despedida”, and in an extensive testimony given to BBC Mundo (Beatriz Díez, August 21, 2025).

Gina Montaner recalls that it was she who accompanied her father every step of the way, from signing the living will to the appeals when a neurologist questioned his access to euthanasia.

“My father asked me for help and I didn't hesitate. It was a huge sacrifice, but also an act of love. I was his sherpa, the person who accompanied him on the most difficult mountain,” he confessed.

The writer, diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, an atypical form of Parkinson's that limits mobility, speech, and mental clarity, refused to wait until he was bedridden.

"I don't want to be worse off than I already am", she said, facing the bureaucratic hurdles of a law that, despite being in effect in Spain since 2021, often requires extreme deterioration before approving the process.

Finally, on June 29, 2023, Montaner chose to dress up, shave, and bid farewell with serenity. As Gina recounts, he spent the morning watching the news, talked with his family, and shortly after, calmly told them: “I’m ready, I don’t want to wait any longer. Wish me a good journey.”

An inseparable legacy of Cuba

Born in Havana in 1943 and exiled since his teenage years, Montaner never stopped thinking about Cuba. In his final months, he wrote two memorable columns, one about the play "Jacuzzi" by Cuban playwright Junior García Aguilera, and another titled "Open Letter to Miguel Díaz-Canel," in which he reiterated that the island had possible ways forward.

In his latest column, published in CiberCuba, Montaner expressed the sorrow of dying without returning to his homeland, but reaffirmed his belief that the future was in the hands of young Cubans.

She died with that sorrow, but also with unyielding optimism. She never stopped believing in the freedom of Cuba, recalls Gina.

Montaner was a man who defended the right to live and think freely throughout his life. For his daughter, his final decision was not an act of desperation, but of consistency.

“My father was not braver than those who choose to stay until the end. What he was, however, is a determined person in what he wanted and believed. He did not want to suffer slowly; he wanted to say goodbye with dignity,” Gina explained.

His family, although filled with sorrow, accompanied him in peace. “We were devastated, but his serenity was so astonishing that it spread to us. He left calmly, with a relaxed expression, true to himself.”

Two years later, Gina claims she has managed to forgive herself for helping him and sees this process as a testament to absolute love. “Taking care of him while also fighting alongside him to ensure he could die soon was the hardest thing in my life, but also the most honest. Respecting his wishes was the only way to honor him.”

Carlos Alberto Montaner departed lucid, free, and deeply connected to Cuba. His final journey was not just toward death, but towards complete coherence with his beliefs, those that made him an indispensable voice for the exile community and a reference point for several generations of Cubans.

Frequently Asked Questions about Carlos Alberto Montaner and His Decision on Euthanasia