Burende, La Vega, Dominican Republic
You can hear José as he comes down the alley, with colorful tenths as he walks to his yield. He likes to sing when ever he’s happy. “The one thing a person has to preserve is his word”, says the man to turn 93 on July 16 this year.
With the self handmade cigar he has prepared at 4:00 a.m. this morning, José del Carmen Díaz Ysiano relaxes his thin arms from a turbulent day of hard work. He has been a farmer all his life. And at his age, he still is. “I was a member at the union; they were supposed to give me back my money. But those bandits took it!”, says Mr. Díaz about his retirement plan.
Together with the only wife he has had, José fed Blacina, Sonia and Yuset until they got married and left the ranch. He spits and says: “I am shameless, a very silly man, but I am also a hard worker until the day I die.” Mr. Díaz recites a tenth and signs his ID card with three crosses.
Jesenia De Moya Correa 