The wars of independence brought disaster to many Cubans and opportunity to Spanish immigrants. Of the three Bonet Morra daughters, Antonia married a criollo who sold off his land to pay debt while Lola wed a Spaniard who by acquiring land from impoverished land owners laid the groundwork for a large fortune.See Chapter 8 Photo: Antonia Bonet Morra de Villareal 1901. She was widowed and left to care for eight children in 1898 and died of cancer in 1912 at age 56. See Chapter 9Antonia and Lola’s daughters married G. de Mendoza – Batista brothers in the 1920’s. (Rogelio Villareal the fourth in birth-order is not mentioned in Guillermina’s memoir and therefore mistakenly omitted from the chart.)birth certificate Maria Otilia (Guillermina) Villareal y BonetGuillermina Batista Villareal memoir written on a steno pad. See Supporting Documents. Her life story is launched by recollections of the famine and epidemics that accompanied war. It was largely through food supplied by Lola Bonet de Falla and the assistance of their former slaves that the Villareal Bonet’s survived the worst days of the war.Guillermina Villareal’s note indicating that this flag hung in her home to celebrate the new Constitution, 20 May 1902.In 1900 the Villareal Bonet family moved from Santa Isabel de las Lajas to 68 Colon street, Sagua La Grande where Otilia Bonet de Becerra, the third Bonet sister, was based.Guillermina Villareal Bonet ca. 1900. American educators brought Montessori kindergarten to Lajas in 1899 causing her to “fall in love with school”. The 1902 Constitution made primary education compulsory and free. Guillermina and her sisters would pull their family out of poverty by working as teachers.Guillermina Villareal 1917. Between 1900 and 1910 two of her sisters, first Matilde, the eldest, and then, when the latter married, the middle sister Hortensia, study, passed exams and were appointed to a teaching position so becoming the family breadwinner. The youngest, Guillermina began her teaching career in 1914. It was during this period in Sagua when she was five to nineteen years old that her world view was formed through close observation of town, school and domestic life.Guillermina Villareal ca. 1918. Her training was influenced by the educational techniques and values promoted by the American occupation administration but she, like many Cubans, appreciated these because they mirrored the beliefs of nationalist reformer Jose Marti who called for compulsory, secular and practical education to realize each individual’s potential and secure a just society. The national curriculum called for education “to form habits habits in children that facilitate the carrying out of their patriotic duties.” See Chapter 9.Guillermina Villareal ca. 1925. The first phase of her adult life was spent as a teacher in villages as well as sugar mills owned by her uncle, Laureano Falla. Following this, Guillermina worked as a provincial school inspector. Through correspondence studies and periodic examinations in Santa Clara and Havana she was able to continue her education eventually completing graduate studies in Pedagogy. In the capital she was drawn into the lives of the Batista family through her Falla aunt and cousins.This home was built for Agustin Batista and Maria Teresa Falla after their 1926 marriage. “B y 13” was the intersection harboring the homes of Lola Falla Bonet and her daughter Adelaida “Lala” Falla wife of Viriato Gutierrez and the Colegio La Salle de Vedado.The Central Adelaida was the country home and major mill of the Falla family. In 1915 Laureano Falla had bought it from an American company and upgraded it with the latest technology. The mill’s directors included Falla’s son in law Viriato Gutierrez. After Gerardo Machado was elected in 1925 the latter became his right hand man. The family connection would provide government sinecure positions to the newlyweds, Jorge and Guillermina until Machodo was overthrown in 1933. Chapter 14Julia and Melchor Batista ca. late 1920’s or early 1930’s. In the early 1930’s Batista family members seem in constant movement and mention of their travel to the United States and Europe begins to feature prominently in Julia’s journal. The travels reflect their ability to take part in such events as the Chicago World Fair and, in a seemingly minor way, escape the political upheaval at home.Melchor and Julia, snapshot taken by one of their children, ca. 1930. Melchor died in 1932 after a heart attack and Julia succumbed two years later to cancer.Jorge Batista 1929. As a child he was operated in New York City for a middle ear infection. As a result of infection from the surgery he suffered from epileptic seizures throughout his life. Working as an engineer in the highly mechanized sugar mills he was at risk of accidents and at one point suffered severe burns. Jorge died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 48.Left to right: Ernesto Batista, Mary Heydrich Batista, boy likely Juan Gabriel Batista Heydrich, Jorge Batista, Jorge Batista, Maria Antonia Batista (seated) Guillermina Villareal (centre) Victor Batista, Julia (seated with daughter of Maria Antonia possibly Isabel) and Enriqueta Batista. ca. 1929Guillermina Villareal de Batista, Diciembre 14 – 1929Guillermina with Teresita Batista Villareal 1930Jorge with Teresita Batista VillarealTeresita Batista (centre) w. Batista Bonet cousins ca. 1932 Batista Villareal family flanked by Batista brothers Julio and Victor. Although Jorge lost his job overseeing municipal infrastructure projects after Machado’s fall, Agustin hired him to oversee his Sevilla Biltmore Hotel’s physical plant including the very lucrative electric laundromat. Guillermina established a school in 1935 which prospered and in 1937 the family moved to a large apartment at B y 13. Jorge’s death forced the school’s closure and, until she immigrated, Guillermina lived on her government pension.Maria Teresa Falla de Batista, Maria Teresa Batista and Dolores Bonet FallaIn a letter sent to Ernesto Batista by his brother Agustin from France dated August 15, 1933: “What appears obvious is that Machado has fallen and fled the country during which time there has been serious social disorder. I have received several telegrams from home and from the offices of Falla and Claudio informing me that all of our families are safe. We have also been warned that Lala (Adelaida’s) home has been looted…” See Chapter 14Teresita Batista Villareal ca. 1935Guillermina Villareal de Batista and Teresita shortly after the 1937 death of Jorge Batista. His death brought his widow and daughter closer to the extended family but in a position of greater dependence. They first moved in with the unmarried Batistas, Julio, Enriqueta, Consuelo, Victor and Eugenio. Following that arrangement, they moved to a hotel near B y 13 to be able to continue the daily visits to Lola Falla.Teresita Batista was brought up by an English speaking nanny and educated at Ruston Academy and St. George’s both private, secular, bilingual schools according to the progressive and atheistic outlook of her mother.
