As part of Women’s History Month, I want to share another woman who made such a difference in my life: My grandmother Nieves. I’m actually named after in part since my real first name is Caridad de las Nieves. When I became a citizen, I couldn’t keep that long first name and had to shorten it to Caridad, but I adopted Nieves as my middle name since I didn’t have one.
Nieves was an amazing woman. Strong and determined much like the daughter she raised. But whereas I saw my mother as a rebel and go-getter, my grandmother seemed like a sturdy oak to me, sinking her roots deep in our new home to help give our family stability and a place where we felt safe. That difference between my mom and my grandmother inspired a fictional scene in The Family She Never Met where Carmen’s mother Nieves is challenging her daughter over her involvement in helping Castro overthrow the Batista dictatorship. In that scene, Nieves wonders whether Cuba will be trading living under Batista’s thumb for being under Castro’s boot. Prophetic in hindsight.
My grandmother was always there for me in so many ways, including for my tummy! She was an absolutely amazing cook and she loved to iron. My sister and I were probably the only kids in our school who had jeans that were ironed. My grandmother found it relaxing and actually complained that modern irons were way too light having grown up with heavy cast iron irons.
I miss you abuela! Yes, the baby in that picture is me!
