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UBERCHIC
New Yorker of the Month
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Donna Maria Victoria Del Valle, NYC Uberchic January 2009
Ask a New Yorker: Hello, Donna Maria Victoria Del Valle, where do we start? That
is the question.
Victoria: I’ve got a very good idea. Let’s start in the crib.
Ask a New Yorker: Excellent. Where was that crib located?
Victoria: The crib was in Havana, Cuba. A few years ago, let’s not mention
the exact date because it’s not important. It was in Havana, Cuba in a beautiful,
beautiful house that is now the Mexican embassy. It was a big home, too big for
the three of us, my mother, my father and me. But we enjoyed it while it lasted
and then we left Cuba when Castro came into power in 1959. We did not sell the
house or rent it or do anything. The Mexicans take care of it very well.
Ask a New Yorker: Tell us more about your family?
Victoria: My grandmother on my father’s side married General
Santa Anna from the Alamo. This General Santa Anna was married to my grandmother
at the time. She was 14 and he was 36. They had two children. Then he died and
she remarried Mr. Del Valle, who was my real grandfather on my grand- mother’s
side. They had five children--they were very Catholic as you can see--of which
one was my father. Unfortunately, he is dead today. I studied in American schools
in Cuba. I came to this country every year and stayed here for about a month or
two, depending what was happening in my life, because my parents wanted me to
speak good English. My father went to Georgetown. He wanted me to study English,
then French, which I did. I’m as fluent in French as I am in English. I
think it’s helpful, you never know when you’re going to leave your
country as I did and need languages.
Ask a New Yorker: How did your family make their money in Cuba?
Victoria: My father had interests in sugar, tobacco and real estate. Obviously,
all the sugar mills were confiscated as well as the tobacco plantations when Castro
took over.
Ask a New Yorker: On a more serious note. Where do you get your hair done?
It looks great. And do you smoke cigars?
Victoria: (laughter) I did it myself today. I have good hair. It’s a little
bit like a mane of a horse. It’s very think and strong. But I do it myself.
I don’t like to get complicated with hours in a beauty salon. No, I don’t
smoke cigars but I smoke cigarettes. There are some Cuban women that smoke cigars
but they stink forever. The first cigarette I smoked was Lucky Stripe. My first
cigarette generally is at 6 or 7 in the evening when I have my first drink.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s your favorite cocktail?
Victoria: I love vodka. I have a vodka Negroni,
which is 1/3 of Campari, 1/3 of red sweet vermouth and 1/3 of vodka. I keep
having this cocktail. It’s very good and uplifting.
Ask a New Yorker: My mind is racing. Your life has been very interesting.
Victoria: I got married at age 17. He was 19. We were a very young 17 and 19.
It was a beautiful wedding. It took place in a church that my grandmother donated
to the Jesuits, one of the biggest churches in Cuba. We invited 3000 people.
Ask a New Yorker: Small wedding.
Victoria: 800 came to the house for dinner. That’s all, not the 3000.
Then we went on our honeymoon in a house that we had in Varadero
Beach about 2 ½ hours outside Havana. We stayed there for a week
and I was getting used to being married. I had no idea. Nobody had told me.
Nobody told me what really marriage was in any sense. So I had to discover it
.That was exciting. Then the real honeymoon took place in France, Spain, Italy
and Germany.
Ask a New Yorker: That sounds lovely.
Victoria: Yes, but with my mother and my father. I think it would have been
better with just my husband.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you have brothers and sisters?
Victoria: There were 9 children, brothers and sisters. They all died. Not when
they were immediately born but within two weeks of their births. Nowadays they
would know those things. But at the time they didn’t know. My mother had
two uteruses and one should have gone somewhere else. (laughter)
That is why my name is Victoria. I made it! When I was born apparently all these
9 children born before were absolutely gorgeous. But when I was born my mother
looked at me and said, “And I have waited so long to have this little
tiny brown thing?” Apparently I had hepatitis and I was born a mixture
of brown and green which was not very appealing. A year later I won a beauty
contest here in this country, like a Gerber baby type contest. After being green
and brown I became cute.
Ask a New Yorker: Don’t stop now.
Victoria: Well I was married the first time, as I said, when I was 17. Then
I had a baby nine months after. His name was Francis. Unfortunately he is not
with us anymore. After that I had a baby girl, Victoria, that was born 1 ½
years after Francis was born. Then I remarried a second time with a Doctor.
I had a baby, now a grown up man, who is married to a Japanese opera singer.
Then I married a third gentleman. He was very, very handsome and ten years younger
than me. Then I started going down in ages. (laughter) It was a very good marriage
although he wanted to liberate Cuba which was a little too much for me.
Ask a New Yorker: What is a New Yorker?
Victoria: For me I would say a New Yorker is a very attractive human being.
He is exposed to everything that happens in the world. Not many more things
can happen more than New York. Everything happens here. Everything interesting
and attractive and from different countries happens here. So if you’re
exposed to New York you get the best of everything.
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