1920’s

Herrera receives a progressive early education at a Montessori school and Colegio Sepulveda in Havana. She grows up in a culturally rich, liberal Catholic household surrounded by art and intellectual exchange. Her family hosts notable figures like Langston Hughes and owns artworks by Spanish Old Masters and modern Cuban artists.

Herrera begins her education at a Montessori school, then attends Colegio Sepulveda in Havana. Raised in a liberal Roman Catholic family, she is exposed from an early age to high culture. Her brother Addison, who was in New York as the representative of the Cuban National Tourist Commission, often invites friends from his circle there, including well-known figures such as Langston Hughes, to visit the family in Cuba. Her family’s art collection includes works by Spanish Old Masters like Francisco Pacheco (1564–1644) and the School of Velázquez, as well as contemporary Cuban artists such as Fidelio Ponce de Léon (1894–1949).