She has a surprising skin. A transparent and bright skin that keeps the splendor of hundreds of successfully evenings, and her sweetness, hiden behind the discipline that it´s been with her in her job around the world.

She can represent a witch, a princess or a peasant. She has the gift of transfiguration, of taking any life as her own, of dancing sincere and emotionally thanks to iron muscles and a strong tenacity that is her best talisman. A living legend, a living standing legend; Alicia Alonso is a muse, a diva, a dream. Cuban writer Dulce María Loynaz, her friend and admirer, said: she is a brief imaginary cloud, undulated, almost translucent, that lowers its eyes so that nothing interferes her dancing.

What was your first remembrance or, what made you love dance, love ballet, in this way you feel it? I don’t know. What I remember is that when I was little girl, I listened to music and danced; I had never seen ballet, never seen anything. I needed to move, to move with that music, that is, rhythms, music was always awakening movements in my body. And then, my mother used to turn on the “vitrola” (record player) so that we leave her alone and I was left dancing in the living room and I loved it. I don’t know what I did because I didn’t know anything about dancing, I hadn’t performed any dance, anything.

Do you remember your first teacher? My first teacher was Nicolai Djavosky. When I came to Spain being a little girl, my father belonged to the Cuban army and he was entrusted with the melody of “Cría Caballer”. Then, our grandfather asked us to give him some Spanish dances as present and we learned Seville dances, Aragonese dance, Malaga dances, fandango, playing castanets..., so the first dance I learned was Spanish.

What is dance for you? For me, dance is myself; not that I am the dance but that dance has taken possession of myself. It is part of me, it is myself. Whenever I think, I do it through dance; everything I think, I think it through dance.

What is it that you value the most in a dancer: feeling or technique? Art.

Where have you felt more loved? In what place? On stage. Certainly our hands are life because you use them with an incredible expression. I am watching you now and... Yes, that is a dancer. But this is the Cuban, the Caribbean.

Do you have ballet schools opened or, are there ballet schools from your own school, asserted redundancy, opened in the Caribbean? There are places on which we do have and we are constantly asked for professors; sometimes for the whole year and some others for short courses. We give many short courses; there is a large market. The main part is Cuba, Havana, Cuba in general. Many do not realize it and it is something I cannot stand because when one starts dancing, starts doing it from the tip of your feet to here; in the breathing, in the moment one move a foot, how you put it, how you walk, how you move your body. As soon as one gets on stage, is already dancing. One starts dancing in the dressing room, while putting on some make up, one starts dancing. When one goes down and gets on stage, the character is already inside the person and the air is filled with dance. This is valid for all that. For everything from the plainest character to the hardest. Everybody have to dance and cannot stop doing it until they get to the hotel and take off their shoes; then, they can say they have stopped dancing.

Do you think the Caribbean should be considered as something more than a tourist spot with sun and beach, I mean, like a cultural place also?

Undoubtedly. There is a sense of dance in the Caribbean. There are dances, habits, meals; very attractive things and culture; culture in its paintings, music, rhythm, theater, books; in everything. The Caribbean is very rich. Maybe because its lands are small, everything is developed to the very best and art expressions within. They developed very much and in Cuba all arts are developed in general. We are going to give a series of ballet lessons to which children, parents and everybody may go because something different will be offered to each person. It is like a big family.

What will this visit of the Pope mean?

Well, I know it but, for one reason, I think he is breaking the blockade.

What has mean the incoming of Pedro in these last years?

But, is this a magazine of the heart?

No, this magazine gets to the heart. Define him with a word.

He is my partner.

How would you like to be remembered?

Well, I guess you mean what opinion will I have about people because I am planning to live two hundred years. On the contrary.