Only the work of life makes it possible for death not to be a definitive goodbye, but rather a transition. Those who have made collective dreams their own and have worked tirelessly for the good of others first, never completely die, because there are footprints so deep that they can face time, without fear of losing the battle against its relentless pace.
That is why it is impossible to talk about Vilma in the past, to do so as if she were not there, as if she had left; because her existence was so prolific, so colored with otherness, so human, so revolutionary, that there is not a moment of evocation in which we do not seem to see her in the face of the daily tasks, the feelings of the Cuban woman, the challenges most pressing problems of the Homeland.
That girl, of multifaceted youth, who once decided the course of her life would never change it, has the merit of having understood the determining role of women in the full growth of all work. At the same time, he understood the need for this growth to also be individual, from inclusion, equity, opportunities, non-discrimination for reasons of gender, improvement, and many other achievements that have at their root the payment of his tireless work.
Vilma Espín Guillois, founder and leader of the Federation of Cuban Women, made the organization a pillar of unity around the Revolution and its leaders, especially Fidel, who always saw her as a close collaborator, and who assumed dreams alongside she.
We owe a lot to the clear vision that always accompanied her, and allowed her to be the architect of profound transformations, of unprecedented programs, of imprinting a gender perspective on the concepts of social justice. She was the architect even of what she could not see materialize, and that today we celebrate in large part thanks to her.
That is why this is a day of evocation, of remembrance, of tribute, but it is not a day of tears. And if all the reasons explained up to now are not enough to affirm it, it will be enough to close our eyes for a moment, bring her to mind, and her imperishable smile of an enlightened woman will make us understand that Vilma is still here, also with her foot in the stirrup, making Revolution .
