‘That was my home’: Estefans tackle Surfside condo collapse in emotional Red Table
The horror of the Surfside tower collapse is revisited on “Red Table Talk: The Estefans.”
The episode, out noon Thursday, shows hosts Gloria, Emily and Lili Estefan all choke up as they speak to a survivor of the unspeakable tragedy in the early morning hours of June 24 in which 98 people died.
“In this powerful episode, the family pays tribute to the lives that were forever changed with stories of grief, survival and love,” says the episode description.
On the Facebook Watch show, Sergio Lozano, whose parents Gladys and Anthony Lozano were killed in the collapse, had dinner with them just hours before the condo went down.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he tearfully told the panel of what he last said to them. “Then I left.”
Devastated while planning their funerals, Lozano had one question for first responders: Could he use an open casket?
Yes, the coroner’s office told him. His parents were found asleep in their bed; “based on their [bodies’] conditions,” they could fortunately have an open casket. But because all their possessions were destroyed, their son had to buy both his mother and father clothing for the service.
Lozano was thankful, though: “I was able to say goodbye, and give them a kiss.”
Fellow resident Zulia Taub knew the Lozanos, having lived in Champlain Towers for more than two decades. She was one of 35 survivors plucked from the rubble that awful day. Red Table shows a never seen before picture of Taub climbing onto a fire truck after being rescued from her terrace, carrying just a purse.
“I lived 22 years there, that was my home,” said the former Surfside resident, who managed to bring a few items in her handbag. “Pictures from when I was a little girl, a watch my father gave me when I was 17 years old that I brought from Cuba and my books...”
Most of all, Taub misses the close bonds made over time.
“I lost my beautiful neighbors and my friends that were with me for so many years.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 3:22 PM.
