A story marked by sacrifice, hope, and a devastating outcome has touched the Cuban community both on and off the Island.
Hortencia Rosado Rojas, a 69-year-old Cuban, passed away in Brazil just hours after reuniting with her son, Adolfo Hechavarría Rosado, following a long and difficult migration process that they both undertook with the hope of being together again.
Adolfo himself recounted his ordeal in a video shared on Facebook by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada.
Visibly affected, he explained that he had been struggling for some time to bring his mother out of Cuba and gather the necessary funds to have her by his side.
"Now, at the moment I was able to bring her... my mom arrived here on Wednesday, she experienced a very strong state of anxiety when she saw me, she fell ill, and yesterday at one in the afternoon she passed away here in Manaus," she said tearfully.
In another post, Mayeta Labrada shared details of this sad story.
He reported that Adolfo arrived in Brazil on September 23, 2024, and settled in Curitiba with a single goal: to gather the resources needed to reunite with his mother, whose health was compromised by various illnesses and advanced age.
After months of effort, at the beginning of October, he managed to cover the travel expenses and arrange for Hortencia's departure from Cuba in early December.
Last Monday, December 8, the elderly woman left Havana for Guyana as part of her journey to Brazil. The next day, she was already in Brazilian territory.
The long-awaited reunion took place two days later, at night, when Adolfo arrived in Manaus from Curitiba to pick her up and take her to her new home for good. Hortencia saw him and, excited, shouted, "We did it!"
However, that long-awaited embrace also marked the beginning of the tragedy.
After the emotional impact of the trip and the reunion, the lady suffered a severe anxiety crisis and had to be urgently admitted to the 28 de Agosto Hospital in Manaus. There, the doctors informed her son that she had been suffering from a serious lung problem for years and that only one of her lungs was functioning.
His condition worsened on two occasions during the hospitalization.
Finally, on Saturday, December 13th, around 1:00 pm, Hortencia Rosado Rojas passed away, leaving her son engulfed in deep sorrow: he had managed to bring her out of Cuba, embrace her after their separation, and lose her just a few hours later.
The elderly woman would have celebrated her 70th birthday on January 10th.
Mother and son lived in Santiago de Cuba, in the Dessy neighborhood, known as Chicharrones.
Now, far from her homeland, Hortencia will be buried in Brazil with the support of solidarity from Cubans and the local government of Manaus.
Meanwhile, her son faces mourning in solitude, in a foreign country, along with the financial burden of giving his mother a dignified farewell. After missing the planned flight to Curitiba due to hospitalization, he needs to transport Hortencia's remains to that city, which is why he has sought assistance to complete the journey in the coming days.
Those who wish to show solidarity can contact Adolfo Hechavarría Rosado directly at +55 41 99874-5407.
Beyond the personal drama, this story starkly encapsulates one of the most painful aspects of Cuban emigration: families separated for years, reunions that come too late, and farewells that happen far from home.
For the vast majority of Cubans, leaving the country is not a light choice, but a forced escape driven by necessity, which comes at a very high emotional cost.
On that journey, mothers and children, fathers, siblings, and partners risk it all for the hope of embracing each other again, even when the body can no longer endure, but love does.
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