For us, weary of the crowds and sleepless nights, arriving in Alamar—the promised land—confirmed, among other things, that there was a place teeming with life, without hate or betrayals; a castle where we could exercise the greatest spiritual tranquility. Then Belkis would come with her enormous eyes of an Egyptian goddess, open the door and let us in, and nobody dared to get rid of this state of mind while we sojourned comfortably under her warm smile and contagious optimism.

I see Belkis as a mysteriously invulnerable woman, ready to offer the best spaghetti in Havana and the finest beer, to satiate the appetite, thirst and fatigue of the most demanding traveler. I see her with her kind and enthusiastic face, giving each of us a flow of affection and vitality.