The life story of a black woman born in 1902 in Cuba, her life spanning the best part of the 20th century. Through her detailed memory of her ancestors, of her still enslaved grandmother, as much as of her own life and times, she gives a portrait of being black and female in Cuba. The book seeks to encapsulate the spirit of her time, and embodies the challenges of many others as she overcomes her poverty, the humiliations suffered because of her race, and the difficulties created by her gender. Based on interviews with Reyita, and archival research, the book is a testimony which deals with all the intimate and public events in the life of this woman of extraordinary determination, who shares with us her religious faith, her sustaining love for her numerous family and her ability to work hard for her independence.