Driven UM archivist responsible for one of the largest collections of Cuban history dies at 95

The Cuban Heritage Collection is one of the largest stores of Cuban culture in the world and the brainchild of Esperanza Bravo de Varona and other skilled archivist and librarians.

De Varona is regarded by her peers as a pivotal change-maker in the growth of the Cuban community in South Florida and its role in the expansion of Miami-Dade County through her dutiful archival work.

On Feb. 23, she died in her Miami home beside family at the age of 95.

“She had an enormous force of will and was very organized in getting people who were contributors excited and passionate,” said Aida Levitan, past chairman of Amigos, which supported the Cuban Heritage Collection (CHC) through recruiting donors and suggesting items to include.

Born in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, on Sept. 29, 1927, de Varona was the third of four children. She studied at Colegio del Apostolado and later attended college at the University of Havana, where she graduated with a Ph.D. in philosophy.

Before arriving in Miami, she went from Cuba to the Dominican Republic with her husband, Francisco Javier de Varona, whom she met in Havana, and children. They were forced out of the country in the late 1960s due to the Dominican Civil War.

She got a Master of Library Science from Florida State University and contributed to the library at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy.

More than documentation of history

In the late 1960s, de Varona began her career in the University of Miami’s libraries division alongside librarians Rosa Abella, Ana Rosa Nuñez, Lesbia Orta Varona and Gladys Gomez Rossie, UM wrote in an obituary.

The five Cubans came together and collected documents, posters, newspapers, maps, books and more that depicted Cuba and Cuban exiles.

“Esperanza had the drive to bring all the Cuban collections together,” Gomez Rossie said in the obituary.

Levitan told the Herald that when the quintet had started the collection there was a misunderstanding about the contribution of Cuban Americans to South Florida fueled by bad press, such as during the Mariel boatlift in 1980 — a mass emigration of Cubans traveling from Cuba’s Mariel Harbor to Florida.

“Our image was damaged as a community,” she said. “The fact that she documented all these wonderful stories about the many, many contributions of Cuban exiles throughout Miami-Dade was very important in changing that image, and in fighting prejudice.”

Jose Bared, a trustee emeritus with the University of Miami Board of Trustees, said in her obituary that de Varona worked hard to create the CHC.

“She was so persuasive and persistent in trying to establish the Cuban Heritage Collection,” he said. “It was her passion.”

Cuban American Chairman of The Coca-Cola Company Roberto Críspulo Goizueta Cantera was one many influential characters de Varona persuaded to contribute to the collection, Levitan recalled.

His children still donate to the fund.

De Varona’s knowledge about Cuban culture and her assistance also proved valuable insight to Miami documentary filmmakers, such as director and producer Joe Cardona.

“Esperanza Bravo de Varona and Lesbia Varona at the Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami were instrumental in my research over the years. Esperanza, in particular, was always extremely helpful and generous with her time. She had a great disposition to go the extra mile and to dig deeper into a particular subject matter. She challenged and inspired me. I will miss her. I will forever hold onto my fond memories of her and her help on so many of my film projects,” Cardona said on a Facebook post.

Survivors

De Varona’s survivors include her three adult children, Beatriz de Varona Craft, Frank J. Varona, and Esperanza de Varona Rodriguez; son-in-law Arsenio Rodriguez and daughter in-law Beth Varona; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren; as well as nieces, nephews, beloved friends, and relatives.

“Although this moment is difficult, we find comfort knowing her legacy will live on,” said her granddaughter Laura Rodriguez. “Not only through the Esperanza Bravo de Varona Chair, but also because her contributions left a permanent mark on Cuban history and culture.”

Service information was not available.