Everyone can bond over the human phenomenon of having a song stuck in their head. Few, however, would tell you that they’ve had that same experience but with a single sound. Those who knew Alicia Otavo are among the few lucky people on this earth who have had the pleasure of having a sound stuck in their head; that sound is her laugh.
Alicia truly laughed with all the joy in her soul. Joy, which she managed to find despite what was by all accounts a difficult life filled with hard work and little reward. As an immigrant woman who grew up in the 1930’s in Colombia, she took very little with her, but did not lament what she didn’t have. Rather, she laughed, danced, and joked as if she were the richest person on the planet, which, she probably told you at one point or another (in jest) that she was.
Most of her joy came from family and friends. A tiny woman, she made a grand life for herself full of connections she created with her own voracious spirit. There aren’t enough words in English or Spanish to encompass all that she was, and yet those she left behind (including, but not limited to: children, nieces, nephews, grand children, great grand children, great-great grandchildren) will spend the rest of their lives trying to give, recreate, and share the pieces of her that are left -- most obviously, her laugh.
The great irony of her was that no matter how small, how limited, how seemingly stuck in place she may have been, at her core she was always a larger than life, limitless, free spirit. Whether she was stuck in her apartment on a cold day, or stuck in a hospital bed during her last days, she found a way to make herself smile. Those who knew her will never forget the wonderful lesson she taught that yes, you may have a set hand that you’re dealt, but there’s nothing wrong with throwing all the cards on the floor and dancing on top of the mess.
We will miss her endlessly. Rest in eternal fun, our queen, Alicia Adorada.
A Memorial Service for Alicia will be held on Saturday, October 13 from 3pm to 5pm with a Service of Remembrance at 5pm at Swan Funeral Home in Madison, located at 825 Boston Post Road, Madison, Connecticut.
Memorial contributions in Alicia's memory may be made to Smilow Cancer Hospital.
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