There is an episode in Cuban history that not many people outside of our community are aware of .
When Castro and his cronies took power, not only was personal property at risk of being confiscated by the new communist government, but parents were going to lose their rights over their own children.
Desperate and terrified Cuban parents made the unthinkable decision to send their children out of the country rather than risk losing them to Marxist-Leninist indoctrination.
Airplane tickets and passports were clandestinely secured. With the help of the Catholic Welfare Bureau (Catholic Charities) of Miami 14,048 (!) Cuban youths were placed in foster homes and orphanages throughout the U.S during those years.
The largest recorded exodus of unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere was known as Operation Pedro Pan. From December of 1960 to October of 1962 they left Cuba, a few at a time. The Cuban parents who sent their children out of the country didn't
know if they would ever see their children again. Many did not. About half of them were reunited with their parents.
But if you were to talk to most Pedro Pans today, they are nothing but
grateful to their parents for making this impossibly heartbreaking sacrifice.
My friend, Christina Diaz Gonzalez has taken on the topic of the Pedro Pans and has crafted an absolutely beautiful story. The book is called The Red Umbrella. It is an historical fiction novel that follows 14 year-old Lucia from her
carefree life in a small town in Cuba to an unknown future, without her
parents, in the heart of Nebraska.
The story strikes a personal chord with Christina, as both her parents and mother-in-law were part of Operation Pedro Pan.
Carrie and I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting Christina in May at Cuba Nostalgia in Miami. (And yes, as a matter of fact, she is absolutely adorable, but that's not important right now.)
(Of course, Carrie got up close and personal with the video camera and got Christina to give us some Tiki Tiki love.)
I was so personally delighted with the book (and with Christina, herself) that I asked if I could please promote her book here on MBFCF. She graciously agreed.
Christina will be in Southern California this coming weekend.
So, readers, please get yourselves over to one of these signings. Get a copy of this beautiful book. Pick one up for a friend. It's written in an elegantly simple style and would be most appropriate for a young teen also. My Lucy is reading The Red Umbrella as I speak write.
Christina will be at:
SCBWI Annual Conference
July 28 โ August 2nd
Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, July 31st at 6:30 pm
Vromanโs Bookstore
695 East Colorado Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101
Sunday, August 1st at 2pm
Borders Bookstore
100 South Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91204
(818) 241-8099
Please go and meet the lovely Christina and and get yourself a copy of her beautiful book. Tell her Marta sent you.
I loved this book so much that I have procured two copies of The Red Umbrella to give away.
To be entered in the drawing, please leave a comment here on this post. Answer one or both of the following questions:
- Are you personally related to or do you know any Pedro Pans?
- Is this the first time you've heard about the Pedro Pan exodus?
I'll be choosing a winner on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 11 am Pacific Time.
By the way, one of the reasons this story impacted me so much…
My brother was a Pedro Pan.
(cross-posted at Tiki Tiki Blog)
Dated a gentleman who was a Pedro Pan. At the time he still had mixed emotions about the whole episode…grateful to be an “American” but still a bit resentful towards his parents.I also have a friend, poet Sandra Castillo who along with her husband Joshua Shear, were working on a documentary about this very subject. So in answer to your question, yes, I have heard about this before.
* Are you personally related to or do you know any Pedro Pans?My father in law is a Pedro Pan. Thankfully, he was reunited with his parents. I don’t really know the details, though.
* Is this the first time you’ve heard about the Pedro Pan exodus?
No, but I didnt know it was so many children.
Ivis
My Pedro Pan connection is Monsignor Brian Walsh. He was the head of the Pedro Pan operation.I worked at Catholic Hospice in Miami in the mid-90’s, and he was the Chairman of the Board.
I’m not religious, but there was something special about him. He exuded peace. It was an honor to work for him.
I’m a US born Cuban American, married to a Cuban whose dad died a political prisoner, and the mother and grandmother of more proud Cuban Americans. EVERYBODY speaks Spanish, including the babies, who are just now starting to talk, mostly in Spanglish.
I have sometimes wondered if I would have been able to make the difficult decision to send my daughter to a foreign country without knowing if I’d ever see her again. I hope that I would – but am ever so glad that I never had to.
Hi Marti, I never heard about Pedro Pan until we met. I remember being stunned that I had never learned or heard about it in any class at school. I would very much like to read about it! I love you MORE!
Are you personally related to or do you know any Pedro Pans? NoIs this the first time you’ve heard about the Pedro Pan exodus? No. Actually, I want to hear the other side of the story, since the only one I was fed up until nine years ago was the castro version of it, that it was a CIA operation.
After swearing by the rule that I would not have children in Cuba (and I didnt until I came here) and being a mother now, I simply can not imagine what would I have done in a situation like that? Would I have had the courage? Would it had been like the Rumanian mothers who threw their kids from the moving trains while being deported to the gulags? How much pain can a mother handle? …
Hi Marta,Both my brother were Pedro Panes and featured in Ivone Conde’s book. My parents wanted to send me too but my mom and I shared our passport (both of our info was together) and they could not do it (thank God!). I’m looking forward to reading the Red Umbrella and would love to win it. Great giveaway! Thanks:)
Hey Martica, not sure if I can enter in both;) or if it is the same contest:)I have some family members who came through Pedro Pan (they were teenagers) and defend it to the death!! I also have friends who came much younger who have alot of bitterness towards their parents for sending them. I have only respect and admiration for these parents bacause I KNOW that I couldn’t do it. I dont have the courage or selflessness required for that act.
I am looking forward to reading this book, even if I don’t win it here.
I am a Pedro Pan child (well not a child anymore, but that is not the issue right now!). My sister also came to the US via Pedro Pan.I was 3 years old when my parents bravely put me on that flight in September, 1962. I do not remember the flight. My dad made me a tag that had my name and the name and address of the uncle that was supposed to pick me up. They had moved to Miami before Castro had taken power, so I was not close to them. I do remember sitting by the window of this house (for 2 months) every night crying and waiting for my maternal grandmother to come for me.
My parents were jailed for a few days when the government soldiers had visited our house in Cuba (the sameday I left) to take me for indoctrination. It was months before they knew if I had made it to my uncle’s house.
I did not fully appreciate the immense sacrifice my parents made, until I gave birth to my daughter. It took true courage and unconditional parental love to put me on the flight. My parents gave me life twice – once at birth and the second that fateful day I met Pedro Pan.
I have a cousin who came with the Pedro Pan Operation.He was one of the lucky ones to reunite with his parents.
We had a aunt in New Jersey who took him in until my uncle and aunt were able to travel to the states a few years later. I never realized there were so many children that left the island with Pedro Pan Operation. I would love to get the book. I hope I’m the lucky one!! ๐ I know I’ll get it even if I don’t win.
I had heard of Operation Pedro Pan but never personally met anyone involved that I know of. Last year at college our oldest daughter had a professor who had been a part of Pedro Pan along with her brother. They were never reunited with their parents. She had nothing but praise for the operation and was very very thankful for all the opportunities that it had afforded her.
November 12, 1961 is a day I’ll never forget. I was 11 years old when my parents put me on a plane to come to the United States. I was lucky, my uncle was waiting for me when I arrived, and my parents were able to come the following year. My parents’ courage to send their only daughter to a world unknown still amazes me. I asked my dad (my mom is no longer with us, unfortunately) not long ago what made them do it, how did they know. He tearfully explained that they believed I would be sent to work on the fields and that the government was going to take over raising the children. The only answer was to get me out in a hurry, any way they could. He said he would do it again in a minute. I don’t know if I would have been so selfless. November 12 1961 was the last day of my childhood, but I thank God my parents were wise enough to make that drastic decision. I consider this my country, and it has been very good to me. I never thought much about my story until I read The Peter Pan Story and cried through the whole book. Also watching the Havana special on CNBC was very emotional. Am I considered a Peter Paner? I don’t know. I can’t wait to read this new book!
Martica,Although I really wish I could get a signed copy of the book, I already took advantage of my employeed discount (B&N) and reserved a copy … let someone else in our great MBFCF win … ๐
Thank you so much for posting the information … I have older cousins who were “Pedro Pans” … BTW, Alina, wow … your comment touched me greatly!
“My parents gave me life twice – once at birth and the second that fateful day I met Pedro Pan.”
I wish you well ๐ Melek
“We never know the love of our parents for us
until we have become parents.”~ Henry Ward Beecher
Yes, I had heard about Pedro Pan before I met you, but I didn’t have a face to it before. It has a different impact when you know someone who was affected. I cried reading these posts…wow…I have no words…
I left Cuba with my parents as a seven-year-old. Although my father was an adult at the time of the revolution, he has several, much-younger cousins who came to this country through the Pedro Pan program. They are grateful to be in this great country, but still bear the scars of their experience. I would love to win this book so that I can share it with my 14 year-old-son who is immensely proud of his Cuban heritage.
I have a friend whose two brothers came to Miami through the Pedro Pan program. It affected his mother and father tremendously, however they always said they were grateful for the opportunity to get their boys out…This is not the first time I have heard of this program, I grew up hearing about it…
To all those parents that had to make this decision, I applaud you, God Bless you for the courage it took. I am sure, even with the pain and suffering that affected all these families, it was worth it all.
Is this the first time you’ve heard about the Pedro Pan exodus?Marta, I had never heard of the Pedro Pan exodus but I would love to learn more! and I love to read!
My stepmom and by favorite Cuban boss lady were both Pedro Pan girls – a friend from Miami had already given me the heads up about this amazing book – I can’t wait to read it! Maybe a little escapadita to Los Angeles for the festivities is in order!!
yes!a few years ago i was invited to a PP act, in center city. Phila.
tears were shed.
daisy
BEAUTY. what a great post.
Are you personally related to or do you know any Pedro Pans? NoSince I am Cuban,I’ve known about the Peter Pan flights and the courage parents had at that time to let their children come to the USA without them, but I don’t know one personally.
Beso, Ody
I’ve been MIA from the blogosphere so I just came upon this post. Both my mom & dad were Pedro Pan. Thanks for the book recommendation! I will be buying it for my mom.