One of the great pillars of Cuban exile: Esperanza Bravo de Varona, died this Thursday afternoon at her home in Miami.
Esperanza was one of five Cuban librarians hired at UM in the 1960s, who had the foresight to create a Cuban collection from the library department where she worked, along with Ana Rosa Núñez, Gladys Gómez-Rossié , Lesbia Orta Varona and Rosa M. Abella. A visionary idea that over the years has become the Cuban Heritage Collectionofficially established in 1998.
Many people consider this magnificent collection “the most remarkable achievement made by the Cuban community in exile”.
Esperanza Bravo de Varona has always had the vision that all Cuban documents, books and maps should be brought together and that there should be designated personnel to help researchers explore the archives. He also knew the value of every coin they collected.
On their own initiative and later with the help of the administration, they collected documents, posters, newspapers, maps, books and everything that had to do with the Cuban experience and the Cuban exile .
Bravo de Varona for over 40 years has contributed many notable collections and donations to the Cuban Heritage Collection. In his honor, the University of Miami established the Esperanza Bravo de Varona Professorship.
Another facet of Bravo de Varona’s life is creative writing. Among his well-known books are: “Posters of the Cuban Diaspora: A Bibliography (Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials Bibliography and Reference Series)” and “Cuban Exile Periodicals at the University of Miami Library: An Annotated Bibliography (Seminar on acquisition of Latin American library materials)”
His granddaughter, Laura Rodríguez, a reporter for our sister channel NBC 6, wrote on her Facebook page: “Today I lost a piece of my heart. My beloved grandmother, Potato, now rest in peace with God. She passed away surrounded by her children and grandchildren…a true testament to the family she created and the love she had for each of us. They don’t make them that way anymore.
“Potato: THANK YOU for your example of faith, leadership and family unity. What pride to know that your legacy will live on forever. Your contributions to the preservation of our Cuban culture are countless. I LOVE YOU. CAN YOU REST IN PEACE ESPERANZA BRAVO DE VARONA”.