Thank you all for your wonderful response to the post about Christina Diaz Gonzalez's book, The Red Umbrella. I received lots of emails and Facebook and Twitter comments. I was struck by a couple of things, which I had already suspected:Most Cubans knew about the Pedro Pans, but unless they had read Yvonne Conde's excellent book, ...
Giveaways
The Red Umbrella – a giveaway.
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 ...
V.Reader Techno-book Winner
Thank you all for your wonderful responses. As a serious bibliophile, I was thrilled to see so many of you share my same love for all things print. (Even the techno variety.) As I read through your responses, I remembered so many books that I loved, too. Some of you who are younger reminded me of books I loved to read to my kids when they were ...
Reading in the 21st Century – A Very Cool Giveaway
We are voracious readers in our family. Seriously voracious. As I write this, four out of five of the people living in this house right now have a book in hand. I am personally in love with the Kindle for iPhone app, but that's not important right now. So I was delighted when the makers of the new V.Reader for kids by VTech asked if I would ...
Cuban Miami – A Winner
First of all, I want to thank all of you who took the time to tell me your answers and some of you who wrote your stories. As I read through each comment, I realized that this was a perfect snapshot of our Cuban community. With the naming of each city and date, I read pain and sadness and nostalgia. Thank you so much for sharing this part of your ...
Cuban Miami – A Story Book
My family left Cuba in early 1961. My brother was on the first Pedro Pan flight in December of 1960. Happily, my family was only separated for a few very tense months. But we were part of the lucky few who managed to leave the country rather quickly. Once reunited, my father vowed we'd never be separated again and so when my older sisters ...
Que Rica Vida Goodies Winner
Thanks to all of you lovely commentors commentators folks who left a comment for the Que Rica Vida goodies. I truly like knowing what General Mills products you use. (I'm genuinely curious about these kinds of things...or maybe stalkery? But that's not important right now. =D) As usual, I entered the names into a list on Random.org and ...
MY Que Rica Vida – or Orange is the New Black
So, Marta, what were you doing in Miami, anyway? I was visiting family and meeting blog-friends and working the Babalú booth at Cuba Nostalgia and of course, celebrating my birthday. (If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you would know exactly what I was up to moment by moment.) But the real reason I was able to go, was because of the ...
Domo Arigato
Hi Everyone! Happy Kikko de Mayo! I have been practically losing sleep thinking of all the stuff I can make with my Japanese goodies. (Sadly, I'm completely serious here.) And I'm delighted to have been able to participate in this fabulous giveaway. Thanks, Kikkoman! I want to thank you all for your comments and tell you how impressed I ...
Lime & Ponzu Carne Asada Recipe (I think I’m turning Japanese. I really think so.)
So there I was, cooking Cuban food and minding my own business, when I received an email from the lovely folks at Kikkoman. Yes, you know them best as the Japanese soy sauce people. They were inviting me to try some of their products. Really? You know I'm a Cuban cook, right? (I was intrigued, but not convinced.) Ponzu, which they explained ...
