Vicenta Pina's Obituary
Vicenta Martínez (affectionately called “Nina,” “Abuela” and “Vieja” by her immediate family), was born on April 15th, 1936, in Havana, Cuba. She was named after her father, Vicente Martínez Ramos, whom she adored. As a girl, Vicenta loved to dance while living in El Cano. Her mother was Angélica Manuela Martínez who bore alongside Vicenta, her 5 brothers and sisters — Ramon, Margarita, Pedro, Caridad, and Manuel.
Due to the Cuban Revolution, Vicenta emigrated to the United States in July 1959 where she married Oscar Federico Luis González Piña in Dade City, Florida, in February 1961. While juggling a four-year-old and a new baby, Vicenta worked in her sister’s beauty salons around Miami, becoming an uncommon breadwinner for her family. Moving to Chicago in the 1960s, Vicenta became active in Catholicism to find strength against the pervasive racism and misogyny of that era for a working woman. Vicenta studied to become a registered nurse, where she found community in a new world, and always like a queen, she smelled like Chanel No. 5. Not loving the cold, Vicenta moved with her family back to Miami where her beloved husband died in 1980. She later moved in with her son to raise her three granddaughters, as she retired to enjoy limitless days of telenovelas, cooking ropa vieja, and opulent trips around the world.
Her legacy lives on in her two children -- Nancy Piña Barrios and Oscar Piña -- five grandchildren -- Orlando Barrios, Marco Barrios, Christina Damore, Jacqueline Piña, Michelle Piñapol – and one great-grandchild, Dax Barrios; in addition to the countless patients, she supported as a nurse. Vicenta was the rock of her immediate family, the one and only matriarch, and will be missed by all who knew her unbelievable independence, sassy wit, and veracity for life. We love you forever, our Vieja Linda.
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