Antonio’s paternal grandfather, Jose Iturrioz Ochoa (“Pepe”), circa 1968 in Havana.

My grandfather “Pepe” Iturrioz was one of the people I have loved most in my life. And his memory always lives with me. I remember we used to go on many long walks together when I was a little boy in Havana. One of his favorite pastimes was to watch boxing on television. In contrast, he would listen on his phonograph to operatic arias, and Beethoven symphonies and the famous Mexican singer Pedro Vargas. My parents and my two sisters and I left Cuba in 1962 and I never saw my grandfather again.