As you know, I am passionate about story telling. I believe it's important for all of us to record our personal histories. Much more so those of us whose stories are woven into a larger historical context.
I've been so honored to be able to share some of your stories recently in the series Cuando Sali de Cuba: stories of courage and hope.
I plan on continuing to highlight those stories as long as you keep sending them. The plight of Cubans – on the island as well as those of us who are exiles – has long been misunderstood by the general population. I want people to know who we are and where we came from and why.
Amy Kikita and I had the pleasure recently of meeting two Cuban filmmakers each with a different story to tell.
Dr. Jose Garcia and Carlos Montaner with me and Amy
Dr. Jose Garcia tells his "coming to America" story in the moving documentary, Voices from Mariel.
Dr. Garcia goes back to Cuba and the neighborhoods of his youth searching for the friends and loved ones he left behind when he left Cuba via the Mariel Boatlift in 1980. He interviews other Marielitos, who tell the stories of leaving their homeland and what it was like coming to the U.S. as part of that amazing historical exodus of 125,000 souls.
Voices from Mariel will be shown this coming weekend at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida and also on November 6th at the Alexandria Film Festival in Alexandria, Virginia.
Check their Facebook page for dates, locations and times.
Carlos Montaner directed the beautiful documentary, Grandchildren of the Cuban Revolution. Montaner interviews young Cubans who are still on the island and are frozen out of the political and economic process there. This moving film allows them to express their fears and frustrations about growing up under communist rule.
Watching both films, I felt like I was seeing two sides of the same story.
There are as many stories as there are Cuban people. All of them involve heartbreak loss and longing. All are worthy to be told.
Today I have 3 DVDs to give away.
One copy of Carlos Montaner's film, The Grandchildren of the Cuban Revolution.
And two copies of Dr. Garcia's Voices from Mariel.
To enter the drawing for a chance to win one of the DVDs, please leave a comment on this post and answer one or both of the following questions:
- If you're Cuban, when did you leave? And how?
- If you're not Cuban, (you're welcome to enter this giveaway, too, of course!) tell me what you know about or what fascinates you about Cuban people. Or if you have a personal connection, please tell me.
I'll do a random drawing on Wednesday, October 26th at 7 pm Pacific Time.
NOTE: If you have not yet sent me your own "Coming to America" story, please send it to me via email along with some photos. Write Cuando Sali de Cuba in the subject line. I promise to highlight it here on MBFCF. Thank you!
My parents, grandparents, etc. came from Cuba in the early 60’s in a steady stream. All came as political exiles fully believing that they would be going back but also fully committed to staying if Fidel Castro continued in power. I grew up taking classes in Cuban History and watching movies and looking at pictures so that I would recognize everything when we went “back to Cuba”.
My family, too, is full of stories of political prisoners, family separations and my mother’s oldest sister (of 8), who we never thought would be able to leave, left via Mariel with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and 2 little boys, both of whom are now engineers with families of their own. For us, Mariel was not ‘ escoria’, it was a caveat that allowed for family reunification…I too, was born (Chattanooga, Tenn) and raised (Atlanta, Ga) very CUBAN – always involved in groups that practiced singing our music and danced in several ‘comparsas’ at the Atlanta Cuban Club, where one of the domino rooms is dedicated to my grandmother (RIP) for her love of the Cuban community and excellence in the game! I was raised with 2 cousins – we’re like brothers & sister – whose family didn’t leave in the 60’s because their oldest brother entered the obligatory military service. All of these experiences can be traumatic at many levels, however, they also strengthen us & help build character, hopefully making more conscientious people.I am very proud of my heritage – which include eating our delicious food, but also, stresses faith, values, education and resilience – and cherish the ‘Cuba of the imagination’ which I hope one day, I can juxtapose with a visit to the island noted as being ” the most beautiful human eyes have ever seen”. VIVA CUBA LIBRE!
My grandparents, dad and aunt left in the early 1960s. I’m fascinated and horrified by what kind of government would cause the people to leave en masse like that. My dad and aun’t were kids, and my grandparents never talked about it much (and as a kid, I never thought to ask…)
My family left Cuba in stages…..My Uncles studied in the states…The eldest, a doctor, at UCLA. Another, a dentist, at Emory University. My grandmother, aunt and mother left later by way of Spain. I am so honored and privleaged to have grown up very “Cuban”. Everytime we had a chance to do a report for school on anything, my relatives found a way to relate it to Cuba…..Natural Resources….Sugar or tobacco, Music and Fine Arts….Rhumba, Salsa and Son or the poetry of Jose Marti…..I have always considered myself a Cubana….where I was born, in my case born in Atlanta and raised in Queens NY, was just a result of politics. My heart and soul are Cuban….I thank God always that my family made the choice to keep our culture and history alive. Not occasionally, but everyday…..
Both documentaries sound very interesting, looking forward to seeing them with my husband and family.I was not born in Cuba, but my parents were born on la isla. Early on, they knew they did not like what was coming with the new regime. After many hurdles, including my father being interrogated by EL Che, my parents were able to leave the island. My Mother left by air with my brother who was 11 months at the time and my father left shortly thereafter on a passenger ship headed for Spain. There’s lots more to my family’s story… maybe I’ll get inspired soon to write for your “Cuando Sali de Cuba” spots 🙂
Left my beloved hometown of Baez, Las Villas , Cuba in 1962. Our telegram came July 4 and we left a couple of days later by airplane to Jamaica. Arrived in Miami August 1962 and relocated to Perth Amboy, NJ.
I am Cuban American, born in Southern California. My mother’s family left Banes in the 1960s.
We left in 1962, my father was a JAI-ALAI player with dual contracts both in Cuba and the U.S. we came to West Palm Beach and I remembered I was the only spanish speaking student in the school, it was a nightmare.
I have communism to thank for being born in the USA. But also thanks to communism I never met my paternal grandparents or my paternal aunt since my dads family never left Cuba and still live there to this day. My mother left Cuba in 1959 on the last legal ferry boat ride out of Havana (she’s from Baracoa) and my father, who was born in Cabaiguán, left Cuba in 1961 after stealing a small boat from the harbor in Varadero (where my grandparents had a casa de huéspedes) along with a cousin and two friends. My parents eventually met in Miami Beach and married in Little Havana. Last Sunday was their 47th wedding anniversary! If I am lucky enough to win, I would love a copy of the film “The Grandchildren of the Cuban Revolution.”
My father, siblings and parents left Cuba pre-Castro, but always talked about home. My Dad never had any regrets about leaving Cuba, but would have liked to go back to visit Marianao where he grew up.
My maternal family came to this country in 1952, well before Castro. Even so, it was the last time my grandmother saw her mother and some of her siblings, the last time my mom was able to play with her cousins. Pre-exilio, but still exiliados. The WAPO piece on Marco Rubio really hit home in an ugly way for this reason.So glad you’re doing this, Marta. No need to enter me in the giveaway. Abrazos!
The minute my Dad heard the news that castro had announced whoever wanted to leave could just go, he and his best friend El Coco (you know, Cubans and their penchant for nicknames)got on a plane from Michigan to Florida. In Florida, they found a man with a yacht who was renting it to go get people out and off they went. The capitan, my Dad, El Coco and 3 other Cubans (one a single lady who wanted to get her Mom out). They were docked at Mariel for a week all the while waiting for the authorities to bring the family members who were being claimed. They were told they were allowed to go to a hotel there to shower and such for a crazy fee, but they all chose to not give their money to the Cuban gov’t and thus only bathed by jumping in the water. At the end of the week, the authorities came and said that all the claimed family members would be sent on other boats as soon as possible but that they had to take a different bunch of people back with them. They all had gotten wind of what was going on by that point and realized they were going to be made to bring back criminals and “less desirables” so they agreed and as soon as backs were turned they high-tailed it out of there with only the original crew. At this point, we thought it was another wasted trip and illusion by the gov’t, but a week later we received the call that my Aunt Lidia (the one I call Mama) and my older half sister Haydee as well as El Coco’s niece had made it here and were at the army base in Fort Chaffee Arkansas. We got in the car immediately to make the trip to Arkansas to get them. While there, they were terrified by a lot of the criminal element they were surrounded by in the barracks as castro had sent out all of his criminals along with the people being claimed by relatives. Additionally, the Ku Klux Klan was there terrorizing them from the other side of the fence. I had not seen my beloved Mama since I left Cuba at 7 years old, I was now in my freshman year of college. I’m sure you can imagine the tearful reunion that was.
I’m Canadian, however, my husband is Cuban. He was born and raised in a small town (Guardalavaca)and lived there until May 21, 2006 when he came to Canada. His entire family still remains in Cuba. We met, fell in love and got married in Cuba. As Canadians we are able to travel to Cuba, however still face many struggles when doing so. It breaks my heart that others are not able to do the same. I’m fascinated about the country and all its history. I’m fascinated with the strength of the Cuban people.
I was born in Cuba and I came in May of 1980. Yes I am a Marielita! I was just a little girl. I was 4 years old at the time when my uncle went and got us out (Gracias Tio Chique). I am in the process of sending you my family story “ Cuando Sali De Cuba”. We are from Artemisa which is now called Habana Campo, however, back when we lived in Cuba it was part of Pinar del Rio….. My uncle (my mother’s brother) was trying to sponsor us through Spain. This process was going to take many years. He started the paper work in 1978. Two years later El Mariel happened and my uncle told my mother he could go and get us quicker this way. It was very dangerous and my parents were very hesitant since they were putting not only their lives at risk but also my brothers and I. So he did, by the way he was trying to reunite with my mother since 1961 when he left. It only took 19 years but “Gracias a Dios” it happened. I came across your blog when I was searching for “cake de sopita boracha” (my mother’s favorite). I have to tell you I am hooked on your blog.I have tried several of your recipes. My mother is a wonderful cook, but like most great cooks all their recipes are by eye. She doesn’t have exact measurements, which is what I love about your recipes. Like you would say “that is not important right now”, 🙂 Thank you for this great site that I accidently came across and I have it saved as my favorite at home at work and on my phone……