The Cuban psychologist and academic Carolina Luz de la Torre Molina passed away this Friday at the age of 79, reportedly due to a heart attack that occurred in the early hours of the morning. The news, confirmed by the Cuban Society of Psychology, sparked an outpouring of condolences from intellectuals, artists, former students, and friends of various generations, both inside and outside of Cuba.
Born in Matanzas in 1947, De la Torre graduated with a degree in Psychology from the University of Havana in 1971 and earned her doctorate in Psychological Sciences from Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1982. Since 1983, she served as a full professor at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Havana, where she taught for over four decades subjects such as History of Psychology, Social Psychology, and Political Psychology. She was the president of the Cuban Psychology Society and, at the time of her death, held the title of Honorary Member of that institution.
Among his most recognized works are Latin American Psychology: Between Dependence and Identity (1996) —Academy of Sciences of Cuba Award, reedited in Puerto Rico and Argentina— and Identities: A View from Psychology (2002), awarded the National Scientific Criticism Prize and the Catauro Cubano Prize from the Fernando Ortiz Foundation. He also directed the documentary The Accident (2009), which won an award at the National Video Festival in 2011.
One of his most personal works was Benjamín. When Dying is More Sensible than Waiting, published in Spain in 2018. In it, he reconstructed the story of his brother, a young homosexual artist interned in the UMAP —forced labor camps created by Fidel Castro's regime that operated from 1965 to 1968— who took his own life in 1968 after enduring discrimination and stigma. Carolina was never able to publish that book in Cuba.
Beyond his academic background, De la Torre was a critical voice against the Cuban regime. In August of this year, he wrote on Facebook that "no power, in order to maintain itself, has the right to let die" those it is supposed to serve, apparently referring to the government of the island. In the same message, seemingly aimed at the government of the United States, he stated that "no power, in overthrowing another, has the right to suffocate those it claims to want to save."
In March of this year, she also had supported her son Abel Tablada, an architect and professor at CUJAE, after the non-renewal of his teaching contract due to critical publications about the government.
The reactions of sorrow following her death multiplied on social media. Journalist Wilfredo Cancio Isla, who shared the faculty with her at the University of Havana between 1983 and 1994, described her as “a lucid intellectual, a sharp thinker regarding the reality of her country, and admired by students and friends for her deep kindness and human qualities.”
The academic and historian Alina Bárbara López Hernández wrote that "Carolina de la Torre, Carola, was, above all, a good person. Fair, ethical, with a civic attitude that brought her no small number of challenges in a polarized environment," and emphasized that "she always spoke up for just causes, going against convenient trends and what was 'politically correct'."
From Havana, audiovisual producer Yasmani Castro Caballero noted that with her passed away "a significant part of the pedagogical legacy of Cuban psychology [...]. The most important thing was her status as a Cuban citizen who always championed an idea of a nation for everyone."
The actor Luis Alberto García Novoa expressed words that capture the feelings of many: "How deeply it hurts us […] not to hear your advice and compliments again! Your lessons on ethics and Cuban identity! […] Farewell, Professor to so many, Carolina de la Torre. Wonderful mother. Alma Mater."
For his part, the economist Mauricio de Miranda Parrondo noted that "Carola was a brilliant woman and also of her time. She contributed to the training of several generations of psychologists in Cuba and leaves behind an important professional and human legacy."
For the actor Héctor Noas, with the professor goes "a woman and a friend like few others." Speaking directly to her, Noas stated: "You sowed love, loyalty, and wisdom in every one of your actions."
The Cuban Society of Psychology highlighted in its obituary note that alongside the public figure "there resided a woman of deep feelings and a devoted mother, who dedicated the best of her life to the education and well-being of her children." De la Torre leaves behind four children —Abel, Johana, José, and Claudia— and several grandchildren.
In a polarized society, ravaged by years of dictatorship and with deep fractures ranging from the social to the familial, the image of Professor Carolina de la Torre—a devoted mother, a fair intellectual free from extremism, capable of both conducting science and contemplating society while nurturing and educating her large brood, which, like Cuba itself, harbored diverse political tendencies and life orientations—might be a symbol we should turn to time and again.
In November 2025, from Miami, he declared to OnCuba, referring to the legacy for his children when he would no longer be there: “If you ever feel like drifting apart, remember your mother and, in my memory, do not stop loving each other, as you do now, despite your differences. Never forget that family is not only the new one you build, but also the one that shaped you, leaving you with the pride of belonging.”
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