Fleeing the Nazi regime in Europe with her family in a treacherous escape to Cuba, Felicia met Edmundo at a dance in Havana at age sixteen, where they fell in love. He stayed in Cuba to fight in the revolution and become a legendary writer, and she left Cuba for New York and started a family with another man. But everything came full circle decades later when Felicia attended a film screening based on Edmundo’s book in New York. As she reveals, “There was a scene in the film, a flashback about us. Suddenly I saw myself the way I had been when I was young up on the screen. It brought everything back for me.” Forty-five years after their first meeting, they reunited and turned their intense attraction into a lifelong commitment.
In a profit-driven culture that encourages fixation on youth and devalues the beauty of life’s journey, Felicia and Edmundo, now in their late 80’s, reveal what real cool is – the messy, no bullshit, enchanting truth of love and aging. As Felicia explains, “If I lived my life over again, I don’t think I would live it all that differently. I’ve learned a few things, but I’m not sure I would even apply what I’ve learned. I think I’d make the same mistakes all over again. In a way, I feel as if the whole world is inside of me by now.”
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