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Julia "Juli" Del Río, born in Havana in 1934, lives completely independently at 92 years old in an apartment complex for seniors in New Britain, Connecticut, and she has no intention of changing that.
" I live alone and I really enjoy it. I go out when I want and come back when I want," Del Río told the local media Connecticut Public. "Lately I can't do as much as I used to because my legs don't allow me to, but overall I have good health."
Her story began in Cuba, where she married a man named Benito Del Río when she was just over twenty years old.
Just three days after the wedding, the reality of the revolutionary regime set in: "We got married, and three days later, Fidel Castro's revolutionaries set fire to [her and her husband's workplace], and my husband was left without a job."
It was she who proposed emigrating to the United States, where her sister was already living, and her husband agreed immediately.
The couple settled in New Britain, an industrial city in Connecticut with a long tradition of welcoming Cuban immigrants since the 1960s.
There, Del Rio worked for over 30 years at the Fafnir Bearing Company, a historic local factory.
"Thanks to that, I have very good social security and a pension," he explained. "I was able to buy my house, raise three daughters, see them get married, and that's it."
Providing education for their daughters was a priority, precisely because she was unable to receive it in Cuba. Today, all three are employed professionals, which is something Del Rio takes great pride in.
Although her eldest and middle daughters have asked her to move in with them, Del Río rejects the proposal. The stairs in their homes are too much for her legs, and besides, she wants to maintain her independence.
"I talk to my daughters every day," she clarified. "I only bother my daughter about computer problems, but for everything else, I take care of my own matters. I have no complaints, but I want to live alone."
The case of Del Río illustrates an emerging trend among Latinas. A 2023 study from the National Library of Medicine identified that the key components of successful aging among middle-aged Latina women include precisely independence in old age and the self-sufficiency of their children.
This contrasts with what is documented in a recent study from Yale University, which shows that the majority of Latinos live with extended family and elderly care is provided at home.
Fernando Betancourt, executive director of the San Juan Center in Hartford—a non-profit organization with over 70 independent housing units for seniors—warns that this lifestyle model requires early financial planning.
"We lack an educational foundation in everything related to finance, assets, and wealth creation," noted Betancourt. "So, when one approaches retirement, it's almost too late."
Betancourt advises that Latino seniors start evaluating their housing options from the age of 40, and that families discuss the matter when the aging family member is less than a decade away from retirement.
The contrast with the Cuban reality is stark. On the island, more than 39% of retirees receive the minimum pension, which is equivalent to less than ten dollars a month on the informal exchange rate, while the regime barely authorized the opening of private nursing homes this week due to its inability to care for a population that is aging in extreme poverty.
Del Río, on the other hand, embraces her old age with gratitude and determination, and she knows exactly how she wants to be remembered: "The best mother in the world."
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