My grandfather Santiago

MY GRANDFATHER

My grandfather Santiago was born in Mugardos in 1898. He left home when he was only fourteen years old.

. He went to Havana , Cuba, to work in a grocery store that belonged to his maternal uncle. He went to school there and learnt basic bookkeeping and management. Soon he started to run his uncle´s business

He worked very hard but he had many other interests too. He loved music and books.

In 1923 he joined the Centro Gallego in Havana and he became one of the most active members. They organized conferences, concerts and workshops for the Galician immigrants in Cuba.

In 1934 he came back to Spain and married my grandmother. In 1936 the Spanish Civil war started and he couldn’t get back to Cuba, but he never forgot his beloved island and he told us lots of stories about his life there.