MATTER began more than 20 years ago when our founders, commercial real estate developers Dennis and Megan Doyle, asked themselves a simple question, “What do we have in our own two hands that can help others?” For the Doyles, it was warehouse space. Recognizing the opportunity before them, they soon began filling their extra space with food donations for the community and excess medical equipment for hospitals around the world. The rest, as they say, is history.
For Nachito Herrera, the answer to that simple question literally is his own two hands. Nachito is a world-renowned Latin Jazz pianist from Cuba. Together with his wife, Aurora and their two children, the Herreras have called Minnesota home for the last twenty years. And despite how much they love Minnesota and the life they’ve created here, their hearts are still and will always remain in their home country of Cuba.
In March 2020, Nachito was diagnosed with COVID-19. In a coma for two weeks, the doctors were unsure if he was going to make it. Coming so close to death gave Nachito a new perspective on life. “For me, it changed my life,” Nachito said in a recent interview. “I don’t want to waste time. I don’t want to waste any minute, any second of my life.”
Making the most of his time includes giving back to Cuba, his home country. Recognizing the unique position they’re in to affect change in Cuba, the Herreras reached out to MATTER for help to improve healthcare there. “The doctors in Cuba are amazing. They’re very well trained and do a wonderful job,” explained Aurora. “It’s the hospitals that are in desperate need of supplies due to the US embargo. They just can’t get what they need to provide people with the dignified care they deserve.”
Teaming up with MATTER in 2021, Nachito held two benefit concerts to raise funds to send several shipments of supplies to Cuba including ventilators, wheelchairs, bassinets, incubators, personal protection equipment and mixed medical supplies.
For Aurora, the 14-hour days she spends working with government officials to expedite the shipments and complete the piles of paperwork required between the two countries has become another full-time job. Yet despite the long days and extra work, her determination to help her fellow Cubans has only grown. As has her vision for the future of their partnership with MATTER.
“I believe this will be a long-term relationship and I’m anticipating we’ll be able to do a lot together. In fact, my goal is to see MATTER open an office in Cuba someday. There are a lot of needs but I believe with all my heart this partnership will bring dignified care to the people of Cuba.”
Taking some of the first steps to see the Herreras’ dream become reality, a small team from MATTER has joined the Herreras in Cuba this week for the prestigious Havana International Jazz Festival. Not only will they enjoy performances from some of the world’s finest jazz musicians, including Nachito who is headlining the event, but they’ll also visit hospitals and meet with government officials to discuss the future of MATTER’s work in Cuba.
Frustrated by the political divide between the two countries he loves, Nachito sees the partnership with MATTER as an opportunity to show the world what can happen when Cubans and Americans come together for the good of others.
“The politics make it complicated, but it’s really not that complicated. People need help and we can do something to help them. It’s that simple. MATTER is an important key to facilitating this work and we do appreciate what they’ve already done. If we can continue to help the Cuban people together, it will be a dream come true for me.”
If you would like to support the projects being launched in Cuba this year, please go here to learn more. We’d love your support as we work together to give the people of Cuba the dignified care they deserve.
