I suppose I must have met him when I was eight or nine years old, and in third grade at José Luis Tassende Elementary School. His sister and I were classmates, and yes it has been many years … And I say I have met him, because I don’t remember him from that time when I even visited his house. It was probably because he was a few years older than us and, of course, he wouldn’t notice the sister’s friends, just as I wasn’t interested in her relatives; at that time we were only concerned with studying and knowing where someone lived who made suede shoes, openwork, that were used, at that time.

Destiny

Then the paths of that friend and mine separated, because we studied in different places, and I left the city to study my career in Havana. However, after my return, life wanted us to meet again to become work colleagues, since we had studied the same career: History; and we worked in the same Pre-University Institute as teachers.

My good friend Hilda Rosa Torres Betancourt, the willful and talkative girl who one day tried to take her middle name off and did the unspeakable to do so, but I don’t know why she didn’t succeed; and he, her brother Rafael Torres Betancourt, Filo, as they call him, and they also nicknamed her father. He was a talented and friendly musician, one of the best troubadours, who always said, and I liked it when he did it: “… the trova without drink gets stuck …”

I remember that he sang to me every time I had a chance that theme that fascinates me, because I am a huge fan of that musical genre, and in its chorus says: “… calm Juan Francisco, calm down, that this revolver that you have does not fire anything, does not fire anything, does not fire anything, that revolver that you have does not fire anything …”

Thus we met again and although we left the teaching profession, we went to work in the culture sector, where we also met, with Filo; because he had become a director of the Houses of Culture of the municipality and therefore we saw each other frequently, to have a word on many occasions.

At the Office

Time passed and the Office of the Historian brought Hilda and me back together for several years. Working together, until she retired a while ago. But with Filo the friendship also continued, and although there was a period in which we were even estranged; one fine day we said hello again and we met at the parties of the decade, where he is as popular as he could be one of the most renowned artist.

Among anecdotes, a friend

Of him I keep an anecdote, among many, that has been very emotional for me that perhaps, he does not even remember…

It was when I suffered an accident and they put a cast on my leg for several months, so he very kindly offered to take me on his bike to where I needed it, because he knew that my husband did not have one and was very difficult for us to move. At that time, pedicabs did not exist and the fundamental means of transportation was the bicycle, which got us out of trouble and with which we traveled long distances; sometimes even hard to believe.

Filo and Covid-19

Well, that same Filo that I am talking about in recent days, he fell ill with COVID-19, a thing that I confess I do not know how it happened, because he is one of those who when you came to greet him, he did it at a safe distance. With his pertinent mask and not even with his elbow we ran into, because he is a disciplined and very cautious person; but hey, life has those coincidences and whims.

All friends worry and with good reason, because he was also operated on a kidney only a few years ago and of course, those coincidences are not encouraging or compatible with this pandemic, on the contrary, that made him have greater risks.

The news spread like wildfire and we all focused on finding out about his condition, pending the daily reports given by the doctors at the Amalia Simoni Hospital, where he was in the Intensive Care Room for more than 20 days. Fortunately, and thanks to his resistance and the incalculable dedication of the health personnel who treated him there, it was not even necessary to intubate him.

After a great battle for life, he overcame the disease; but a persistent and strong pneumonia remained, which he also managed to overcome, but already in the Manuel Ascunce Domenech Provincial Hospital, in this city, in the Minimum Access Room, currently for respiratory cases.

I have countless memories of this site. There I was operated on, a few years ago and the magnificent care I received cannot be captured in just a few pages. The personnel who work there, headed by the nurse, Lic. Alexis Torrens Llanes, are characterized by the dedication; They spare no days, hours or minutes to dedicate themselves completely to their patients. With the love and affection with which they treat each one of us as if we were part of their families.

From that experience my friend came out victorious, and speaking with him on the phone, like so many times.

He told me how grateful he was for the attention he received, and he told me from his heart a few words, which all of us who know him know were sincere and without the slightest hint of flattery. His personality, his fine humor, and his irony do not allow it: “… I tell you one thing; I am an achievement and a result of Cuban medicine …”

And so we confirm it too, that we are sure we will have Filo Torres for a while, and we will continue laughing with him at each party of Albertico’s decade, where he already encourages more than one of these, his friends, who every day and in different ways feel really happy knowing he is safe and sound; in these times of pandemic where love, friendship, respect and discipline must prevail in our City of Waterpots.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García