Interview with Hilda Diaz-Alonso
Title
Creator
Publisher
Date
Contributor
Rights
Relation
Format
Language
Type
Duration
Bit Rate/Frequency
Transcription
Erika: This is Erika Alonso, a multidisciplinary artist, and I'm here today in the home of Hilda Alonso in north Houston, Texas to interview her for Land(e)scape, an art project funded in part by the city of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance. Accompanying us today is Sylvester Alonso. Today is July 19th, 2022.
All right. So, I guess I'll call you Hilda, or grandma, maybe both.
Hilda: You can, yeah, you can call me Hilda.
Erika: Hilda, I'd like to begin by asking you, if you could tell me when and where you were born.
Hilda: I was born in Havana, Cuba. It was not in the center of Havana, it was in a close neighborhood to Havana called Guanabacoa. It was a really nice place. You can go to the beach from there in 15 minutes. When I was young, I was going to the beach on a bike and it was really, really nice.
Erika: How long did you live in Havana?
Hilda: I live in Havana all the time I was there, I lived in Havana. I was born in the same house that I was living in until I have to come to United States because we were not happy with the government. That's why we came to the United States in 1969. So, we came January 1969 and we were so happy because we have freedom. When we came over here and we were happy. I have my three kids. They were Juan was uh, six years and a half. Maria was three years and Hilda that was one year. I was happy because I can, I start to work and we can pay school for the kids and they did good.
They were working on the school really good. So right now, Juan is successful, and Maria and Hilda, they pass away. Hilda passed away from cancer in 2015 and Maria pass away from a heart attack in 2018, but, you know, they are with God.
Erika: And grandma, how about your parents?
Hilda: My parents came with me from Cuba because I'm the only kid. And when I came to United States, we came all together. We were seven: my three kids, my husband, my father, and my mother and me. So we were seven. I don't know how we survive because we didn't have any money. We didn't know the language. So, but anyway, we start work. We were working two jobs and we did it. We did. You know, if you— in this country, if you want to work, you can do it.
Erika: So is that different from, in Cuba?
Hilda: Well, in Cuba, it's not easy to find— it's not like here that you can find a job really easy. When I was living over there, I was working. I work over there and my husband work over there too, but later, because the government... so if you are not happy with the government so you can work, they, they don't give you job. No. And, uh, so, but my husband have a truck and he was working and he was doing some money so we can live okay until we came.
Erika: And how about your parents? What did, what did your parents do?
Hilda: My, my father, he was a barber. He has a barber shop and he work until they, you know, they, they take it, they take because the government take all the business. You cannot have a business. Only the government can have business.
And my father, my, yeah, my father have to come home. I remember that day was really sad, but you know, it is okay. It's the past.
Erika: What was it like growing up in Cuba before Castro?
Hilda: It was really, really good to grow in Cuba because, uh, like me, I have a lot of friends, I went to a good school. Most of these, the week at the end of the week, uh, we have parties. We get dance with, you know, like, uh, all the, the, the, uh, the, the friends from the school, they were together and we enjoyed life. It was really nice before, but later when the government, that government came, that's not good.
Erika: Do you remember when that happened?
Hilda: Sure. In 1952, it's supposed to have elections for the president, but, the Batista, Fulgencio Batista, he came and he, uh, took the government and the president who was at that time, Carlos Prío. All the students, you know, from the university say we can fight, but he say, no, I don't want blood.
So they, they didn't do nothing. And he stayed from 1952 to 1959 when Fidel Castro arrived to Havana.
Erika: So Batista took power. And, and what was it like for those few years that Batista was in, in power? Was it the same sort of lifestyle?
Hilda: Yeah. Yeah. The lifestyle in Cuba was really nice. We were, uh, we have poor people, but anyway, I don't know why, people was happy. The Cuban people is, uh, is, uh, people who likes to dance, who likes to, to talk, who likes to dance, uh, is, is so, uh, friendly that's that's Cuba. Yeah. You know, it's not like. Well, here is different, but, uh, in Cuba was like that. Everybody knows everybody. You know, most of the people knows, uh, in the neighborhood. They know everybody, they, uh, at night, they go outside and they sit in the, in the rocking chairs and, talk, and sometimes start dance, start singing. So, you know, was happy to be in Cuba it was really, was really nice.
Erika: How was the weather?
Hilda: Well, the weather is fantastic. We had about, uh, between 70º and 75º most of the days in the winter maybe 68º or 70º. So we have a good, good weather. Really good. And good beaches. The beaches are so beautiful in Cuba. We have the beaches so beautiful. I, I love it.
Erika: Do you remember any hurricanes?
Hilda: Yeah. Well, in the forties I was, uh, I don't know. I was, I was about seven years old. Uh, they have a hurricane. I don't know the name, but I remember was in the, the forty... I think it was in 45. And when we have a hurricane it was like a party, all the family go to one house and we have, uh, chocolates, you know, the, like my grandma make a big pot of chocolate with crackers and, uh, uh, butter and all the kids were playing, was, it was really fun.
Erika: So I'd like to know how you met grandpa.
Hilda: Mm. When grandpa... I was working in a store, like they, they sold everything. They sold everything to do clothes. And I was working over there. I work half of the day in the office and the other half of the day I work in the store. And he was a police. He was a police.
And I saw him watching all day the store. And I was thinking he was looking to rob the store. So he was watching the store, and I was watching him. But…they have a big, cafeteria that the name is Puerta Del Sol and I go there at break time. I go over there and I took café con leche because in Cuba is not coffee like here, it is café con leche. And he sits sometimes beside me and we were talking, you know, we were talking until, we were at the end when he asked me to marry. He was going to my house, and he asked to my father and my father say, well, if you are in love and you wanna marry, marry.
So we married in a small, you know, was not like a big wedding. Was like a small wedding with the family. And, well, we are 62 years.
Erika: Did grandpa continue working with the police?
Hilda: No. He worked only close to two years and his family belonged to the high people in the government, but, they decide to leave Cuba and they went to the Colombian embassy. But he didn't wanna go with the family because, uh, Juan, my son, was only 40 days old. And he didn't go. So, but they got him, they put him in jail.
Erika: Why did they do that?
Hilda: You don't have to do nothing to be in jail in Cuba. You don't have to do nothing—it's only because his family left. They put him in jail. Uh, when he get out of jail, he start with the business of the trucks and well, thank God we can live over there, until we came over here, we were waiting to come seven, almost seven years because, uh, because he belonged to before to that part of the government so they didn't like to give us the exit, you know, we cannot exit from Cuba.
Erika: And that was because of the Cuban government at the time.
Hilda: Government, yeah.
Erika: How was that seven years like? Like, was it really stressful?
Hilda: Well, that seven years was really bad because at that time, if you say something. You know, like they put you in jail. So, like example: one time we rent a house in the beach for one month and we were taking all the…I have my kids were a little and I was taking everything that I need.
And they have in Cuba, they have somebody in all the blocks of the house. You know, every block have one place that they call CDR. Comités de Defensa de la Revolución. That people is watching you every day. You cannot take nothing out. You cannot bring nothing like, like legal. So when they saw me taking some furniture, the crib for my Hilda, she was a baby, and some clothes and things. They came over at my house and he say, you cannot take anything, you cannot.
And I say, you know, you have to get permit to get out these things. And, but I have the permits, but not from the people who live in the block of my house. Yeah. I get the permit from the other principal office. And then I say, look at, I have the permit. So he has to [let us go].
When you say you are leaving Cuba, they come to your house and they do inventory. And when you have the permit to get out from Cuba, they come again and you have to have everything you had before. If one glass broke, you have to keep the glasses, the pieces you cannot throw away. So it is, it's really hard for people though. I think people doesn't understand what happened, but it's really hard to live in Cuba now.
Erika: So when was grandpa in jail? Do you remember what years?
Hilda: Uh, yeah, it was in 1961; it was 1961 because he get out December '61. So they got him the 6th of July until December 3rd.
Erika: So that was after Juan was born. So you were at home with a newborn. How'd you handle that?
Hilda: Well, it was not easy, but I have my father and my mother, they helped me a lot. And, you know, we did it.
Erika: What were some of the things that you would do like activity-wise? I know you mentioned dancing and having, you know, parties...
Hilda: Well, you know, we were happy because we have reunions with the people from school…and we don't have to have a party. We have, we were maybe four or five people and we start singing. We start dancing. It's something different than here. Like here, it is more formal. In Cuba, we live more easy.
Erika: Could you tell me more about the beaches?
Hilda: Well, they are really nice, especially one that they call Varadero. That's a really nice beach and we have more beaches close to my house that they call Guanabo, Santa Maria Del Mar. That was really, really nice beach because they have the beach, but, uh, before you have to go through the pines and later the beach, it was really nice. Was really nice. And the sand is white, completely white, and you can walk in the water, I say maybe half mile or something? And you can see your feet because the water is really clear. I was going almost every day to the beach.
Erika: Sounds beautiful. Are there any other places like landscapes or areas of Cuba ?
Hilda: Well, in Cuba, I went to too many places. I didn't go to too many nightclubs because my parents were, you know, old-fashioned. Uh, but they have a lot of, I went after I married, I went to some, one that they called Capri was really nice. Tropicana was a really nice place. The ceiling is glass. So that's why they call it Paradise Under the Sky. They take, the people who go to see Cuba now, they take them over there. I went two times to Tropicana and... they have, they have a lot of things to do, but I'm telling you—my father and my parents, they were old-fashioned, so I can't do too much.
Erika: If you're okay with it, tell me, were you there when, when grandpa was arrested or taken to jail?
Hilda: Well, he went to work because he was a police and there they arrested. So somebody, a friend of him, he knocked my door at night was about 12 o'clock at night. And he say he is in jail. And then the next day I went to see him and I was going a lot of, almost three or four times a week because, it was far from my house. But I, anyway, I, I was going to see him and I took, Juan. But the thing is, so the place where he, he was, was so humid, was close to the, be— to the water, not to the beach, to the water, to the coast and it was so humid so I, I didn't like to take too much.
Erika: And so you came to the United States in 1969. And that was one of the Freedom Flights.
Hilda: Yeah.
Erika: How were you able to end up getting on that flight?
Hilda: Well, you have to go to the, to the, uh, police station, fill out a form and ask to come to United States. And then I don't know, they do the, the, uh, the things, and one time they call you, they interview and later they give, they come to your house and say, you, you, you are ready to go.
Erika: And do you remember that day that you left?
Hilda: The day that I left?
Erika: Yeah.
Hilda: Was January 24. But they, they went to my house to tell me I can left-- I can leave, was January 17, and we stay seven day more, but we were not in the house because they came and they do the inventory and they close the house. So you have to get out of the house, left everything inside and you can take only three, uh, outfit to bring over here. One pair of shoes. That's it. You cannot bring any money, any jewelry, nothing. Only the three outfits and one pair of shoes. And that's it. One purse, and no more.
Erika: What was the flight like coming to the U.S.?
Hilda: Was, eh, it's a really short flight. It's only 45 minutes from Cuba to Florida, it is 45 minutes. I remember that I was crying, and Juan was telling me, mom, don't worry. Don't worry. We, the flight is good, but I was not, I was not crying for the flight. I was crying because when I look from the window of the airplane, I saw the island and I say, I never come back. That's why I was crying.
Erika: Was that because you didn't want to? Or because you couldn't?
Hilda: Because I knew that government didn't, you know, I always think they stay over there forever and it is forever. So they, they never, they, you know, they don't do elections or nothing, so they are there to rob whatever they can .
Erika: So you flew to Florida and then did you stay there?
Hilda: No, we stayed there only three days in Florida. And then we went to New York, the Catholic church paid the, uh, for everything for us. They give it to us coats for the kids, and we went to New York. Puli [her husband] have some family in New York and when we got there, we went to his brother's house. we stayed over there until we find an apartment for us. So we were living in, in New York about two years or two years and a half. And then, we moved to California. We live in California, 37 years. So, most of the life we live in California.
Erika: How was it adjusting to...
Hilda: Well, to New York... when I got to New York, I say, oh my God, where I came. Because New York is, for me, coming from an island really clear, the sky always blue. So in New York, that is, the buildings are dark. And I don't know, it was really different. And I was telling, oh my God, where, why I came to this place?
But anyway, we work over there. We keep some money. We went to California, we bought a house, a little house for us, for everybody, you know, my mother and my father always live with me. They live with me forever until they pass away. So we went to California and we find jobs in California. We work a lot and you know, we have the kids in good schools. Juan graduate and, and the Northridge university. Hilda went to UCLA. Maria went to only to the college that was close to the house because she didn't wanna do something too much time. So she went to do the optometrist, that's what she got, she got the diploma she graduated from that. But she never worked on that. She work in, she liked to work in stores.
Erika: What did y'all do job-wise?
Hilda: First, I have to work in factories, sewing, and I went to the college in California for maybe... I don't remember how many months, six or nine months. And I learned to use the register and I went to work as a cashier, but, uh, big stores and was good because they have union and they have a lot of benefits was good. So I work over there.
Erika: And I'm assuming your parents stayed at home to help with the....
Hilda: Well, they were, they were old and they stayed home. So my father have a lot of friends that came to my house and visit and talked to him and my mom was in the house and she take care of the kids. She helped me a lot with the kids, thank God I have her because she help a lot with me.
Erika: Yeah.
Hilda: She help me and I can work because if I don't have nobody to take care of my kids, I can't work. But I work, I work because, uh, because I have my mom.
Erika: And did you know English before you came?
Hilda: A little bit, not too much. I went only to second year of the English. Uh, and you know, the English that giving your school so you don't practice. I didn't, I didn't know English. I did, you know, I, I know a little bit, not too much.
Erika: So how was the weather in California? In Los Angeles?
Hilda: Oh, in California, the weather was so good. Was good. Was, uh, I was thinking that was the eternity spring. That's what I always say, because the weather was, you were, you were living in California, so was really, really good weather and was a little hot during the day, but at night you can feel the breeze and it was good. I like it. I like the weather in California.
Erika: And then eventually you moved to Louisiana.
Hilda: Yeah. Well, only for two years because, Maria was really sick and I moved to there because I wanna help her. But later I moved to Texas because I have only, only my son, Juan. So I think if I only have one son, I have to live close to him.
Erika: Are there any particular stories that you have from, from your childhood or, or anything in Cuba that you'd like to share?
Hilda: Well, my aunts and my grandma live close to my house. And my cousins live, uh, you know, live over there in that house. And I love to go over there to play that's uh, the most memories I have when I was a kid, I play a lot. We didn't have a lot of games like we have now, so we can get a lizard and put it something on the leg and that's our pet.
Yeah. yeah. That's that's, that's what, that's what we do. So, because, you know, we, we didn't have, we have toys, but not like here, like now that they have a lot of things. And I had one doll that, uh, one friend of my, of my father went to Spain. He bring me a doll at that time was really nice because the doll cry. When you move the doll cry, have something inside, but was, uh, one material that, if you put close to the fire... blow.
Erika: Because it would catch on fire?
Hilda: Yeah. No it would disappear. So they bring me that, that doll. And one time I took to my, to my cousin's house and we were playing and I put the doll in a chair and one of my cousins sit.
And the doll was, uh, scratched and I start crying and I say, oh no, my mom will, tell me like…you know, put me in, in penite...
Erika: Like time out?
Hilda: Yeah. Time out. And, uh, and one of my cousins say, no, no, no, no, we can fix it. So we did, uh, a fire on the patio and she was thinking that that come back, but no. It disappears.
The doll...
Erika: It just blew up? Or come apart?
Hilda: We only keep the…what they have inside that says wahhh, wahhh.
Erika: The sound, its little sound box?
Hilda: That's it. So we didn't, I didn't have no more doll. No more doll.
Erika: What did you tell your parents?
Hilda: I tell the truth, you know, but my mom say, that's why I didn't want you go over there with the doll because you know. But you know, my mom was so nice. She was a person that she was thinking the material things is an ugly life. She was more like, the love and the friendly. That’s the only thing you can have to live.
Erika: So you had a good relationship with your mom?
Hilda: Yeah. Yeah, really good. I was telling her everything, everything. And even with my father too, my father was nice with me. Very nice. They were so good with me.
Erika: You mentioned earlier about the day that your father came home that they'd taken the barbershop.
Hilda: Yeah. Yeah.
Erika: Could you share some more? Could you tell me more about that?
Hilda: Well the thing is, he has a barber shop in front of my house, so I don't know why I was looking to the barber shop and I saw my father really sad. He was bringing his title, and one, one big, picture that he has of Jesus Christ. So it was really sad because, you know, it's sad to know my father did nothing to nobody. It was his job, and they took. So it was really sad. That day I never forget.
So, but when he came, I start crying and he say, I was expecting, so don't cry. So we were expecting that. And if God help us, we can leave to United States. So we have to be okay.
Erika: I am pretty curious about sort of the time between, I guess the time really that when Castro came into power...
Hilda: Well, at first he didn't take the things.
When he came, he talk and he say, everybody will be the same. Everybody will have a refrigerator. Everybody will have a TV, but was, you know, was lying. Until about two years later; one time he was on the TV and he say we are communist, and if you don't like it, get out. So he say, believe it, we were ready to leave, we have to leave.
Erika: All right. Well, I think that's it for now. And we can, we can take a break, take a break.
Hilda: Okay.
Erika: All right.
Hilda: You wanna eat something? Cookies or something?
Erika: Let's do something like that.
Hilda: Crackers.
Erika: Yeah!
Interviewer
Interviewee
Location
Files
