Rosalina Lorie celebrated her 100th birthday on September 6, surrounded by friends and family at Hialeah Park.
The theme of the party was a celebration of the family’s Cuban heritage with a cafecito window - with coffee, of course - music from the island and even some bongo playing.
Daughter Rosalina Lorie-Restrepo describes her mother celebrating the milestone as a blessing.
“She’s my rock, she’s my peace, her personality is so giving, so tender and so loving,” Lorie-Restrepo said.
She said her mother is also considerate and just so full of love.
It’s these things along with the peace and patience her mother has had that Lorie-Restrepo believes has led to her long life.
It’s also the virtues she held in her life such as tenderness, patience and gentleness among others, which Lorie-Restrepo used for the seating chart at her mother’s birthday.
“Instead of [table] numbers for the seating chart, I used her virtues,” Lorie-Restrepo said.
Lorie arrived in the United States in 1962 from Cuba and moved to East Hialeah with her husband, Rafael Lorie. When the couple left with their young daughter, he had been a political prisoner and hoped to return to the island in a few months.
The couple always dreamed of going back to Cuba, but that dream was never realized, and the family settled down in South Florida.
That dream of returning to the island is why Lorie-Restrepo brought a piece of the island for her mother’s birthday.
Party details included representations of the stained-glass windows and shutters of Havana, a moka pot of coffee near the ventanita along with coffee bags that were stamped with 1926, her birth year. There were centerpieces made with moka pots filled with flowers.
The coffee theme even extended to the party favors, which were small coffee cups for Cuban coffee.
The theme was centered around the coffee and gathering to share the 100 years of love the family have for their matriarch.
One that has been passed down to Lorie-Restrepo’s own children.
The work ethic of their grandparents, and their love and kindness, is something her and her children still practice.
“The they worked all kinds of jobs to get ahead,” Lorie-Restrepo said.
Lorie worked in a shoe factory, at Dobbs Brothers book binding company and as an office clerk to help support the family in their new life.
“She retired around 62 and moved in with us to take care of my first son,” Lorie-Restrepo said.
The family has remained together and for Lorie-Restrepo, this has been special.
“I’m very grateful to have been able to celebrate this with her, it was a big celebration,” Lorie-Restrepo said.