Nilvia Calzadilla Núñez and her burial service
Nilvia Calzadilla Núñez, the
90 year old cultural institution of Cueto, Holguin in eastern Cuba, died late
afternoon Saturday 4 June 2016. Her service and burial was 10AM the following morning.
Cuba does not embalm or normally refrigerate bodies so burial is done quickly.
Ms. Calzadilla Núñez was a
graduate of painting and sculpture at the Art School of Holguin as well as a
college graduate in English and Fine Arts. She became a published author at age
16, was noted for the unique painting technique she developed, and her hand
made dolls. Her works were included in a Cuban cultural exhibit that toured
internationally.
She was born into a Spanish
aristocratic family in 1926, an era when Cuba was very class conscious. Early
in life, she shocked society by having a publicly open relationship with a
Negro man. Never married, she had a number of significant relationships. She was
noted for her independent socially liberal thinking which remained consistent
through her life. People say society eventually came into sync with her, not
the other way around.
Pictured in the middle with
the red and white cane, she recited a several minute long poem without
hesitation during the Culture Week presentations at the old folk’s home in
December 2015. She apologized for her rusty English saying she had little
opportunity to speak to Americans since the 1959 Triumph of the Revolution.
The news of her death spread
quickly via “radio bemba”, or “radio lips” in English, the very effective Cuban
word of mouth communication system. She had no living family and lived at the
hogar de ancianos or old folk’s home. Many friends attended her service the
next morning, a Sunday.
The local hearse is an old
Toyota pickup truck with a cap on the back. It does have mechanical problems
but only has to make the half mile trip from the funeral home out to the
cemetery and back.
Wreaths were home made of
paper and local flowers. This one was from her friends at the Catholic Church
which she left following the Revolution. The non religious ceremony included a short
eulogy read by a local official.
Cuban coffins are lightweight
using only the bare minimum amount of wood to support the body. The top and
sides of the coffin are a cloth covered wooden frame as they do not have to
support the weight of any dirt on top and are intended to be temporary.
The crypt was sealed with
reusable concrete slabs and mortar. After 2-3 years to allow for decomposition
of the body and casket, her bones will be removed and placed in a small
concrete container for permanent storage on a shelf. Then the crypt will be
reused for another burial.
The entire funeral and burial
ceremony took 30 minutes from departing the funeral home via bus to return.