Maritza Deroncelé is a psychologist turned into a conservationist. Currently the Natural Reserve “El Retiro” manager, she tells us how her work preserving the Aguacate cimarron, changed her life.
Fecha: 17/11/2020
Project: Conservation, assessment and recovery of Dendrocereus nudiflorus.
I never heard about Dendrocereus nudiflorus before, a tree-like cactus now called Leptocereus nudiflorus. In 2007, biologists searching for this plant in the locality of Sigua (Santiago de Cuba) showed me photos of this amazing and long-lived cactus, but at the time only fishers and furtive hunters knew about it. I was then a young psychologist involved in social work, knowledgeable of the area, and the mother of a 12-year-old. Today I can say that cactus changed my life.