One could say that my mother has been a housewife all her life and raised 5 children. And you would be correct. But, my mother was way more than that. She raised 5 children, kept a huge house going with a lot of servants, and did it all mostly on her own. My father was always gone because of his profession and later circumstances. In the meantime, everything ran smoothly because of my mother. She cleaned, gardened, decorated, took us to school and picked us up, did all the shopping, paid all the bills, sewed, helped us with homework, and when our house needed painting, she painted it. When a lamp broke, she fixed it. Even though my father was a great handy man and an excellent carpenter, my mother didn't wait for my father to fix things. She was hands on. From her I learned to get up in a ladder with a bucket of paint and just do it. If you didn't like it, paint it another color next day.
When we came back from Miami, after the Civil War, we had lost everything. We had hardly any furniture, everything was old and beat up. So, my mother got her spray paints and started to make it all look better. The fridge was old and rusty, but we couldn't aford a new one. So, she had me paint the fridge as a pop art piece. It was a big black and white face. Then we painted big, black and white polka dots all over the kitchen wall. We painted all the cabinets black. Then there were many bright red accents. Then she had the idea to get the table top of our old table that had lost the legs and turn it into a painting. I painted a reproduction of a Frans Kline painting. It was the finishing touch.
My mother's garden was another work of art. All the plants were started from cuttings and seeds. And what an amazing garden it was. We had breadfruit, orange, grapefruit, nispero (sapodilla), guanabana (soursop), cashew, guayaba (guava), lemon, plantain, banana, and many more fruit trees all over the yard. They were all surrounded by beautiful ornamental plants and herbs. There were almost every species of bougainvillea and hibiscus that existed in the island. As well as every fern, palm, and of course, framboyan (Royal Poinciana). And many orchids.
Nothing stopped my mother from making our house look great even if we didn't have money. So I learned an important lesson. You might be poor and live in a hut. But it will be the nicest hut in the neighborhood with the nicest garden to match.
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1927 Six Months 1927 Six Months
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1938 1938
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1938 First Communion 1938 First Communion
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1938 Santiago 1938 Santiago
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1938 Mami y tia Princesa 1938 Mami y tia Princesa
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1938 Santiago 1938 Santiago
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1940 Con tio Mincho 1940 Con tio Mincho
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1948 Habana, Cuba 1948 Habana, Cuba
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1940 1940
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1940 con Carmen de Pol Serafin de Asis 1940 con Carmen de Pol Serafin de Asis
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1940 1940
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1941 con Violeta Seijas 1941 con Violeta Seijas
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194 3 Miami 194 3 Miami
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1943 Miami 1943 Miami
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194 3 Miami 194 3 Miami
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1944 1944
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1945 Mami, Mary Jorge, Olga Alvarez 1945 Mami, Mary Jorge, Olga Alvarez
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1945 Yleana Nadal, Colombina Dalmau, Mom, New Jersey 1945 Yleana Nadal, Colombina Dalmau, Mom, New Jersey
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1945 NY 1945 NY
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1945 Riverside. NY 1945 Riverside. NY
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1945 Central Park 1945 Central Park
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1946 New Hampshire 1946 New Hampshire
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1946 New Hampshire 1946 New Hampshire
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1946 New Hampshire 1946 New Hampshire
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1946 New Hampshire 1946 New Hampshire
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1946 New Hampshire 1946 New Hampshire
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1946 Agnes Surh, Mom, tia Olguita 1946 Agnes Surh, Mom, tia Olguita
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1946 NY 1946 NY
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1946 Newark, NJ 1946 Newark, NJ
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1946 Alfredo Dalmau, Mom, tio Mincho 1946 Alfredo Dalmau, Mom, tio Mincho
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1946 Passport photo 1946 Passport photo
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1946 Skytop, PA 1946 Skytop, PA
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1946 Skytop, PA 1946 Skytop, PA
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1946 Tennis coach. Central Park 1946 Tennis coach. Central Park
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1946 Mom, tio Mincho, Papa Fello 1946 Mom, tio Mincho, Papa Fello
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1946 Skytop, PA 1946 Skytop, PA
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1947 Boca Chica, DR 1947 Boca Chica, DR
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1947 Boca Chica with tia Princesa Nadal 1947 Boca Chica with tia Princesa Nadal
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1947 The Borinquen 1947 The Borinquen
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1947 Mom, Ivon y Princesa Nadal, friend, Monin Alonzo 1947 Mom, Ivon y Princesa Nadal, friend, Monin Alonzo
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1947 Papa Fello, Mom, tio Mincho 1947 Papa Fello, Mom, tio Mincho
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1947 5th Ave, NY 1947 5th Ave, NY
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1947 NY 1947 NY
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1947 with tio Talito, tio Mincho, Ruben Dalmau 1947 with tio Talito, tio Mincho, Ruben Dalmau
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1947 Mary Jorge, tia Olguita, Mom, Gardner School 1947 Mary Jorge, tia Olguita, Mom, Gardner School
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1947 Mom and Virgilio Dalmau 1947 Mom and Virgilio Dalmau
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1948 Portrait 1948 Portrait
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding announcement 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding announcement
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1948 Mom and Kazan 1948 Mom and Kazan
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1948 San Pedro de Macoris 1948 San Pedro de Macoris
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1948 Monte Cristi 1948 Monte Cristi
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Title Title
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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Title Title
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Title Title
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's civil wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's civil wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's civil wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's civil wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's civil wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's civil wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding
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1948 Mom and Dad's wedding invitation 1948 Mom and Dad's wedding invitation
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1948 Portrait 1948 Portrait
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1949 Casa Campito 1949 Casa Campito
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1949 1949
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1950 with Pico 1950 with Pico
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1951 with Betsy on board 1951 with Betsy on board
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1951 Base Naval 1951 Base Naval
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1951 Isla Beata on a ship 1951 Isla Beata on a ship
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1952 with Alex and Judith Vadas 1952 with Alex and Judith Vadas
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1952 with Tinita and Piedad, Mexico 1952 with Tinita and Piedad, Mexico
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1952 with Judith Vadas Arroyo Hondo 1952 with Judith Vadas Arroyo Hondo
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1952 Voz Dominicana Club 1952 Voz Dominicana Club
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1952 Portrait 1952 Portrait
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1954 Arroyo Hondo 1954 Arroyo Hondo
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1956 1956
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1956 1956
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1956 1956
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1960 Family portrait, Hermanos Deligne 1960 Family portrait, Hermanos Deligne
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1963 Portrait 1963 Portrait
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1960 Hermanos Deligne 1960 Hermanos Deligne
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1963 1963
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1963 Passport photo 1963 Passport photo
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1963 Jarabacoa 1963 Jarabacoa
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1964 Miami 1964 Miami
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1964 Miami 1964 Miami
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1964 Miami 1964 Miami
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1964 Sarasota, FL 1964 Sarasota, FL
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1964 Miami 1964 Miami
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1965 with Jackie 1965 with Jackie
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1965 1965
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1966 with tia Princesa 1966 with tia Princesa
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1968 1968
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1968 1968
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1970 1970
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1970 1970
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1970 1970
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1970 Christmas with Alex and Ivan 1970 Christmas with Alex and Ivan
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1972 New York 1972 New York
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1973 photo by Lance Trout 1973 photo by Lance Trout
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1973 photo by Lance Trout 1973 photo by Lance Trout
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1973 1973
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1975 with Mariano Eckerd, Washington, DC 1975 with Mariano Eckerd, Washington, DC
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1975 1975
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1976 Jarabacoa 1976 Jarabacoa
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1976 Jarabacoa 1976 Jarabacoa
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1976 Guggenheim, NY 1976 Guggenheim, NY
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1976 with Monin and Guillermo Surh 1976 with Monin and Guillermo Surh
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1976 Washington, DC 1976 Washington, DC
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1976 with Eckerd, Doñas Monin y Catu 1976 with Eckerd, Doñas Monin y Catu
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1976 with Doñas Monin y Catu 1976 with Doñas Monin y Catu
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1976 with Doñas Monin y Catu 1976 with Doñas Monin y Catu
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1980 1980
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1980 1980
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1980 1980
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1980 Palmar de Ocoa 1980 Palmar de Ocoa
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1980 Palmar de Ocoa 1980 Palmar de Ocoa
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1988 Mexico City 1988 Mexico City
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1988 Ivan and Licita's wedding 1988 Ivan and Licita's wedding
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1992 Albertico, Mom, Alex, Daniel, Jackie, Camilo 1992 Albertico, Mom, Alex, Daniel, Jackie, Camilo
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1993 Alexander and Alex 1993 Alexander and Alex
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2001 Shelborne, Canada 2001 Shelborne, Canada
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2006 80th birthday with Avaryl, Aurora, Atibel 2006 80th birthday with Avaryl, Aurora, Atibel
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2006 Alex, Me, Mom, Ivan, Avaryl, Aurora, Atibel 2006 Alex, Me, Mom, Ivan, Avaryl, Aurora, Atibel
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2006 Alex, me, Mom, Ivan 2006 Alex, me, Mom, Ivan
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2006 Aurora, Mom, Atibel 2006 Aurora, Mom, Atibel
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2006 Avaryl and Mom 2006 Avaryl and Mom
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2006 Me and Mom 2006 Me and Mom
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2006 Me and Mom 2006 Me and Mom
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2007 Me, Mom, Ivan, Miami 2007 Me, Mom, Ivan, Miami
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2007 Me, Mom, Ivan, Miami 2007 Me, Mom, Ivan, Miami
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2007 Miami 2007 Miami
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2008 birthday-Nora Santos, Elena Mallen, Jackie, Maritsa Zeller, Josefina Baquero 2008 birthday-Nora Santos, Elena Mallen, Jackie, Maritsa Zeller, Josefina Baquero
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2008 birthday 2008 birthday
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2008 birthday 2008 birthday
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2008 birthday 2008 birthday
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2008 birthday 2008 birthday
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2008 Millin, Princesa, Mom, Elena, Yleana 2008 Millin, Princesa, Mom, Elena, Yleana
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2010 2010
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2010 Alex and Mom 2010 Alex and Mom
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2011 Albertico, Camilo, Mom, Gian Carlo, Jackie 2011 Albertico, Camilo, Mom, Gian Carlo, Jackie
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2011 birthday 2011 birthday
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2011 birthday 2011 birthday
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2011 birthday 2011 birthday
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2011 Albertico, Camilo, Mom, Gian 2011 Albertico, Camilo, Mom, Gian
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2011 birthday 2011 birthday
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2011 birthday 2011 birthday
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2012 2012
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2012 Thanksgiving 2012 Thanksgiving
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2012 Thanksgiving 2012 Thanksgiving
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2012 birthday 2012 birthday
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2012 birthday 2012 birthday
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2012 Christmas with Jackie and Atibel 2012 Christmas with Jackie and Atibel
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2012 with Daniel and Jackie 2012 with Daniel and Jackie
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2012 with Elena, Josefina and Jackie 2012 with Elena, Josefina and Jackie
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2014 Jarabacoa with Jackie, Alex, Tamika and Chuchu Reyes 2014 Jarabacoa with Jackie, Alex, Tamika and Chuchu Reyes
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2014 2014
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2017 with Eva and Albertico 2017 with Eva and Albertico
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2016 90th birthday 2016 90th birthday
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2016 90th birthday 2016 90th birthday
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2016 90th birthday 2016 90th birthday
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2017 birthday 2017 birthday
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2017 birthday 2017 birthday
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2018 Birthday 2018 Birthday
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2018 Birthday 2018 Birthday
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2018 Birthday 2018 Birthday
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2019 Birthday 2019 Birthday
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