By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -
MIAMI | A street in Miami has been named in honor of Sister Hilda Alonso, an exiled Cuban nun, educator, and mother foundress of the community of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Miami, which serves the needy and the poor. Two signs with Sister Hilda Alonso’s name (written in Spanish as “Sor Hilda Alonso”) now appear in a portion of Tamiami Canal Road at its intersection with Northwest 63rd Avenue, near the order’s convent, Casa San Vicente de Paul, and Casa Maria del Caminante.
Photographer: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO| FC
Sister Eva Perez-Puelles, of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Miami, thanks attendees at the street renaming ceremony in honor of Sister Hilda Alonso. The event was held Sept. 9, 2024.
On September 9, 2024, the Daughters of Charity and friends of the religious community gathered on site for an unveiling ceremony. They were joined by Miami-Dade-County and City of Miami officials, including Commissioners Miguel Gabela, Kevin Marino Cabrera, and Manolo Reyes, as well as Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, all of whom helped in the codesignation of the street. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the Board of County Commissioners also proclaimed September 9, 2024, as Sor Hilda Alonso Day.
“We need to do more events like this celebrating people like Sister Hilda Alonso, who was truly a visionary who dedicated her life to our community and the improvement of our city. I know she wasn’t very tall, but she was a giant for the work she did,” said Commissioner Cabrera.
Photographer: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO| FC
Sister Eva Perez-Puelles (left) and Sister Juanita Flores, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, hold up a proclamation from Miami-Dade County recognizing September 9, 2024, as Sor Hilda Alonso Day. Accompanying the sisters in the photo are, from left, Miami commissioners Kevin Cabrera and Manolo Reyes and City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Mayor Suarez agreed, adding, “It’s just a beautiful opportunity to recognize a local hero and to memorialize her forever, so that when I come here with my children, I can explain to them the legacy of service and of giving back that she embodied.”
Sister Hilda Alonso died July 5, 2022, at the age of 101, with 76 years in religious life.
In her early life in Cuba, Sister Hilda served as principal of two schools, and over the years, she educated hundreds of students. Two of her former students, Josefina and Teresita Vega, were four and five years old when they met Sister Hilda. The siblings, now 81 and 82 years old, were excited to hear that their lifelong teacher and friend was being recognized.
“She was always a truly loving angel,” said Teresita, who remembers listening to the nun teach music at Colegio La Inmaculada in Havana.
“I loved music, so I was always in the conservatory,” she said.
Photographer: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO| FC
Sister Eva Perez-Puelles, a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, poses with Teresita and Josefina Vega. The siblings were former students of Sister Hilda Alonso in Cuba at the Colegio de la Inmaculada in Havana.
She described Sister Hilda as a woman of few words, but more than capable of speaking easily and influentially when she needed to.
According to Josefina, one of Sister Hilda’s most memorable traits was her gaze and her presence, which often times calmed a rowdy school hallway.
“She had a very curt look. It said everything. She didn’t have to say a word,” she said.
Yet, to their recollection, Sister Hilda never yelled or expressed a bad mood.
After the Vega sisters migrated to New York, Sister Hilda maintained contact with them, often reaching out to inquire about their well-being, wishing them happy birthdays, and to check on them after bad storms. When the sisters visited Miami, they always made it a habit to visit Sister Hilda and the Daughters of Charity.
“She has been like a part of the family,” said Josefina.
Photographer: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO| FC
The Sister Hilda Alonso Street sign was unveiled Sept. 9, 2024. It can be seen, along with a banner of her photo, on a portion of Tamiami Canal Road and Northwest 63rd Avenue in Miami, near the convent of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
Sister Eva Perez-Puelles, who leads the Daughters of Charity in Miami, remarked that Sister Hilda had a remarkable gift for remembering all of her students and maintaining those relationships.
“It did not end when they graduated, on the contrary, it continued, even from the exile,” said Sister Eva.
She said Sister Hilda had a talent for building relationships, showing people how to care for the poor and needy. Having a street named after Sister Hilda will serve as a reminder to continue that mission.
“It is a healthy pride that one of our sisters is recognized for what she has done for others, although I know that she was always humble and simple. But this is a recognition for something that she did for Christ and for God, and for her brothers and sisters in need, in every person who came to her, and for so many people whose lives she touched,” said Sister Eva.
A banner made with Sister Hilda’s image accompanies one of the Miami street signs named after her. It was given to the Daughters of Charity by Omar Escobar, a friend of the community, and it serves as a reminder to those who knew her. For those who did not know her and pass by on the street, they will be left wondering who this little nun was, and what she did to have a street named after her in Miami.
Photographer: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO| FC
The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Miami hold the street sign of Sor Hilda Alonso at the event honoring their mother foundress. From left, in the bottom row, Sister Clemencia Fernandez, Sister Rafaela Gonzalez, Sister Olga Gomez, and Sister Reynalda Ramirez. Standing, from left, Sister Milagros Olivencia, Sister Juanita Flores, Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela, Miami-Dade County Community Council Board Member Dariel Fernandez, and Sister Eva Perez-Puelles.
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