When we first moved into our present home eleven years ago, I had a vision of what I wanted along the wall of the stairwell. I wanted a sepia toned collection of family photos, old and new. The black and white photos and the brown sepia tones would be the unifying factor between the Now and Then look.It all started with a photo of my dad. A ...
Cuban-American Life
I hope you enjoy my posts about my crazy and wonderful Cuban-American life.
Turron? Or not Turron? THAT is the question.
Sometimes when I'm describing to friends or acquaintances how my big, fat Cuban family celebrates Christmas, I feel a little odd. You know we Cubans just do our Nochebuena thing without giving it much thought. But to someone who is not versed in our "Cubanisms" (<-- is that a word?), all this pig-eating and rum-in-the-eggnog-drinking may come ...
El Wiwichu
There's so much that I love about the holidays. My earliest Christmas memories are all filled with abundance and magic. I think one of my favorites happened as we were learning the language and the customs of our new adopted country. Our default greeting was always "Feliz Navidad." But here in the U.S. things were a little ...
Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving is obviously a very uniquely American holiday. Which is the perfect time for us to celebrate because we're a uniquely American family. Cuban-American, that is. I have the privilege of hosting my big, fat, Cuban family here in my home this year. It's going to be a smaller group than usual. Only about 20 of us, because not ...
IMUSA Espresso Maker and Cups – A Winner!
Thanks, everyone for your comments and entries and for “liking” IMUSA USA on Facebook. I always read through each and every one of your comments and I love that we all have one thing in common: We love the smell, taste, and warmth of brewing coffee.The winner of the IMUSA Bistro 4 Cup Espresso and Cappuccino Machine and an 4 Cup Espresso Set ...
Keeping the Faith – A Giveaway
There have been a lot of twists and turns in my personal life (and in the country at large) this past week. It's times like these that send me looking (running!) for comfort. Because I'm Cuban, I can usually find my comfort in the kitchen. (Don't judge me.) A fabulous sofrito, a perfect arroz con pollo a la chorrera, or a sweet flan ...
Why the Right to Vote is A Very Big Deal to Me
I was born in Havana, Cuba. My family came to America in early the 60's to escape the communist takeover of our beloved island home. We were called “refugees.” For our first five years in this country, we were Cuban Refugees. Sometimes we were called “Exiles.” There was never any shame attached to this. We would have stayed in Cuba if the Castros ...
Cuando Sali de Cuba – Ada’s Story
Marta here: I have more stories than I could fit into just one month. I am going to share them once a week. Thank you all for having the courage to share the details of the most difficult time in your life. Today's story comes from Ada. Being able to leave Cuba after just having had surgery was worth the risk.by Ada Owens My mom, my dad, my ...
Is Anybody Listening?
It's barely 5:30 AM. I'm in the uber-hip offices of NPR in Los Angeles waiting to be called into the studio. I'm cooling my heels in the lobby as I wait to be summoned into a recording studio to tape a segment about my recollections of the Cuban Missile Crisis. October 22, 1962. I was only 7 years old and my family was living in ...
Remembering Papi. Resolviendo – Cuban style
My dad was an Electrical Engineer. A Cuban Engineer. Which made him brilliant and innovative with just a touch of Mad Scientist to him. When we first arrived in this country, someone had given us a very old, very used, five foot tall refrigerator. We were grateful to have it, since we arrived here with nothing. A gift of a large appliance, no ...
