Being a mother is a difficult job, a job for life. It is like riding a roller coaster of emotions, where you are happy if the person who came into the world attached to you by an umbilical cord is also happy, or you get sad if it is not a time of light for that being.

The progenitor (without taking possession of that "someone" who has his or her destiny) accompanies, repairs, encourages... In addition, although she is not perfect, her shoulder will be there for you, despite everything. However, if mother and daughter are united - in addition - by a passion that surpasses them, complicity becomes strength. We are talking about an invisible bond that goes beyond blood. This is what happens with Verónica and Leonor ("the Hinojosas"), first-class actresses who perform in the Los Zahoríes puppet theater, the first scenic collective of the province.

AN INCOMPARABLE EMOTION

"Being a mother is a source of pride, a privilege that God gave us. It is beautiful to feel the baby inside, to caress the womb, that sensation of how it grows, and - at the end - to hear the cry that announces its arrival. All the risks that a pregnant woman is exposed to in the process are left behind when time goes by and she takes her first steps, say her first words, starts teething...", comments Verónica, who, besides Leonor, the youngest, has Ángel Luis and Amabilez, the firstborn.

"Motherhood makes us more human and sensitive, we see life differently. It is difficult because no book tells you how to assume it. It is a blessing and a responsibility. We must teach and listen. We must have authority, but also become friends with our children," adds Leonor.

THE THEATER, THE OTHER HOME

Her daughter grew up attached to the puppet show, watching her mother grow up on stage. And she even argued for the first seat, because of the sense of belonging she felt since she was a little girl in the theater. "My mom 'catches' the audience; the audience can listen to her for an hour without getting tired; her joy is contagious. She is pure sacrifice, tireless, a fighter...", she says with the admiration that we sometimes find difficult to transmit. "She instilled in me a love for art, she took me to every workshop; I owe everything I am to her," she adds.

After the maternal steps, when she was only four years old, she premiered on the stage of the Raúl Gómez García Hall. "I went out with a text to present the staging, but I was impressed by the number of people, especially the children. Then, Mommy came on stage and talked to me; I simply let go. Everything went well," she recalls.

Verónica does not hide her pride either: "She is my most perfect creation because I have trained artists, but there is no one like her. She confesses that she had to go through difficult times when she had to decide between profession or offspring. But "time in art can be recovered, what can never be recovered is the time lost with children," she says.

"What I admire most about Leonor is that she is careful, that she tries to maintain quality, and gives herself with passion. That's why, despite her youth, she has won several awards and today she is a member, like me, of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC). I have always told her: if you are going to make art, do it well; we must bring decent creations to the public."

OF INSPIRATION AND WORKS TOGETHER

Beyond emotions and gratification, "Las Hinojosa" have a strong repertoire together, also recognized in other provinces. In their agenda there are proposals such as: La cucarachita Martina, works on Nicolás Guillén, Tres para dos, Te regalo un sueño, Café Fiñe project (of clowns), Cuentos negros para niños de todos los colores, Las invencibles, and others.

When I joined the puppet show it was a difficult stage," says Leonor, "several founders were leaving and a new group was left. My mother made a project and I joined. Working with her has given me professional tools, it's beautiful, besides accompanying and protecting each other."

"Most of the pieces she has performed have passed through my hands. We treasure many special moments. When I premiered The Story of the Letter H, for example, it was at her side. I was the teacher and she was the student. She has also inspired me with works such as Para dormir a Leonor, which won the national Juglar award", Verónica narrates.

María Karla (right) and Laura Patricia, Leonor's daughters.

TIME FOR GRANDCHILDREN

María Karla (15 years old) and Laura Patricia Batista Pérez (9 years old) arrived to unite and brighten up the family a little more. Leonor remembers the words Veronica said to her when, at the age of 16, she became pregnant for the first time; she was in the second year of her acting career.

"At home, there is a table with four chairs, three of them are currently being used, and one of those chairs is empty; if you want, there it is for the baby that is on the way', she told me... And that's when I decided to leave Maria Karla. The next day, Mom returned to the Family Club (where we lived) with a basin, a glass baby bottle, and a set of sheets, which my other daughter also used and I still have. I will never forget that act; it moved me very much."

She tells me that Patricia wasn't planned either. "At the time I heard the news my husband and I were building our house. I opted to terminate the pregnancy, but after two attempts with pills, my daughter was clinging to life. That's when the doubt took hold of me, because - despite everything - I wanted to leave the little one to me. So I called Mommy and told her: I don't know what to do. She, who was in charge of the inaugural parade of the Ánfora festival, asked for the car of Nay Caballero, then provincial director of Culture, and he quickly showed up at the Ernesto Guevara provincial hospital... And I left Patricia behind," he sums up.

Actress Leonor Pérez with her youngest daughter, Laura Patricia.

Gone are the times when Leonor traveled with a child in her arms from Majibacoa to Las Tunas (and vice versa) to work in the puppet show, the two or three hours waiting at a bus stop to travel to her municipality, or when one of her children got sick in those early years and it was difficult for her to do her job.

Meanwhile, Verónica remembers - further back in time - when her daughter would flutter indoors and, together with Dionne Pérez and Clotilde Aguillón (also pregnant at that time), would run to the stores when she heard that something was being taken out of the layette.

"I am talking about Leonor because this interview is about us, but I also love my other children and my four grandchildren; even if they are not around, I always have them present. And I can say, with total conviction, that although I was born for the theater and the passion I feel for the show is great, it does not compare to the joy of being a mother. Now that I am a grandmother, the joy is multiplied. I love my grandchildren madly and I will always support them; let them be whatever they want to be in life, but let them be happy."