Bolivar “Boli” Bajana Moran just turned 102, and at Carter Burden Network, that is very much a reason to dance.
The celebration at our Leonard Covello Older Adult Center in East Harlem had all the makings of a proper Boli birthday: cake, music, dancing, and a room full of the family and friends who have watched him become something of a neighborhood legend.
If you've spent any time at Covello, you already know Boli. He's the one telling jokes at lunch, and the one who will tell you, without missing a beat, that the secret to a long life is his favorite phrase, and his favorite song lyric , “Don't worry, be happy.”
Boli was born in Ecuador, where his working life began as a municipal police officer before he joined the navy. Later, he was elected Secretary of the Union representing plantain and banana farm workers for the United Fruit Company, the company known today as Chiquita Banana.
In 1969, Boli and his wife, Carlotta, left Ecuador in search of a better life and made their way to Manhattan. Neither spoke English when they arrived, so they enrolled in night school: Carlotta studied bookkeeping, and Boli trained in refrigeration and air conditioning repair. Both found work quickly. Boli went on to spend the rest of his career at the Dover handbag company, working his way up to assistant purcasing agent before retiring in 1989 at the age of 65.
He's called East Harlem home ever since. 57 years and counting.
Happy 102nd birthday, Boli. Here’s to many more!
