August 18, 2026
Diana Hernandez
While treating dozens of patients in Cali, one of the cities hardest hit by a deadly earthquake, Colombian doctor Diana Hernández recounts how the importance Cuba places on life has left a lasting impression on her heart.
A 2012 graduate of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), this native of Cali—who now calls Payán home—passionately defends everything she learned on the island as part of her training to become a healthcare professional.
She kindly agreed to set aside some of her limited free time to answer my questions. She did so in the early morning hours when she had a few free minutes amid the chaos Cali is currently experiencing due to the earthquake. More than 280 people died as a result of the natural disaster, and thousands of homes were destroyed in the country. In total, the Unit for Risk and Disaster Management (UNGRD) reported 127,608 homes affected, 26,392 destroyed, and nearly 200 buildings collapsed, affecting nearly 120,671 families.
Although the chances of finding survivors are dwindling, she tells me that hope has not yet been lost for rescuing those who may still be trapped.
“The outpouring of solidarity has been immense, and in the first few days, many people who were near the sites where buildings collapsed stepped in to help—which was also key to rescuing some people early on,” he says.
She also highlights the need for personnel to help sustain and rebuild the city at a time when hundreds of health centers are reported to be damaged.
“The hospital network was affected; the University Hospital was severely affected. There are health centers on the hillsides and in certain parts of the city that can no longer operate in their original physical locations and have had to relocate to other places,” he explains.
One question arises: how much of what she learned on the island applies to this context?
“Studying in Cuba undoubtedly opened up many possibilities and perspectives for me; it taught me to build a solid scientific foundation—but above all, a human one. It was a people who welcomed me with love, who stood by me during those years, who taught me, and who also inspired me,” she recounts emotionally.
“I experienced hurricanes while I was studying; seeing how the entire country mobilized and, above all, the importance of protecting life—that is something that remains etched in my heart,” she confesses.
Hernández clarifies that she is not the only ELAM graduate who went to Cali to help the victims, and as proof, she sends me a photo showing her with two other doctors. She also emphasizes that there are several others in other regions of the country.
Since yesterday, news has been circulating that the Los Mambí-10 de Agosto Humanitarian Brigade, made up of professionals trained on the island, has departed for Chocó—one of the poorest departments—while others are providing their services in Buenaventura and Pereira. The doctor is in Cali alongside a group of specialists who, as she tells me, wanted to join in to “spread hope” and “provide the best possible support.”
Even though there is much to tell, memories of the island creep in once again.
“Wherever we go, people immediately know that we’re Colombians who graduated in Cuba—and I know this happens to many people in many places—so they say, ‘The Cuban doctors have arrived.’ That also reminds us of how Fidel used to tell us that we were Cubans born abroad,” she acknowledges, her voice breaking.
Diana had no qualms about sharing with me personal decisions and experiences that also stemmed from the altruism she learned on the island.
She tells me how, once she graduated, she refused to do her social service in a town near the capital—a decision that cost her a disciplinary penalty—and instead went to the Colombian Massif, a vast mountain range in the Andes where the Magdalena River has its source.
She explains that everyone who studied in Cuba has created a network that is now unbreakable.
“The fact that we’re part of ELAM connects us in our hearts (…) we all know that if we need something for ourselves or for our patients, we’re there for each other, and I think that’s very valuable,” she says.
I asked her opinion on a possible breakdown in relations between her country and the island, and her response was emphatic.
“Behind relations between states there are families, communities, and decades of cooperation and solidarity. I am an example of that solidarity. The doctors who are here—and not just the doctors, because Cuba has trained many Colombians in different fields. That is something Colombia must not forget,” she remarked.
In closing, she summed up in a single sentence what she believes the largest island in the Caribbean represents for the world.
“Cuba is a heritage of the peoples,” asserted Colombian doctor Diana Hernández with conviction.
Source: Cuba en Resumen