Marta here: I'm celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Cuban-Style with a series of stories about Cuban American families: Cuando Sali de Cuba, stories of courage and hope. This is a short story by Theresa Cecilia Garcia Trilla (Theresa C. Newbill) submitted by Isabelle Ann Newbill. El Gallito (The Rooster)"El Gallito" is a ...
Cuban-American Life
I hope you enjoy my posts about my crazy and wonderful Cuban-American life.
Cuando Sali de Cuba – stories of Courage and Hope
Every year around this time, I start to get requests for a story or a recipe to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. It struck me that it would be fitting during this month of heritage celebration to tell the stories of Cubans who had to flee their island home to make a new life here in the U.S. So, I put out the request to my readers and you have ...
La Virgen de La Caridad – A Personal History
September 8, 1961. My family had been in the U.S. for seven long months. There was still a longing for anything or anyone that reminded us of "home." We eagerly waited for news that the revolution had failed and that the new regime had fallen and that we would soon be heading back to all things familiar. The Catholic Archdiocese of ...
Wassup En LA? A Kickstarter Project
Do you love sitcoms? Do you miss real-old-school-laugh-out-loud-funny sitcoms? Are you as tired as I am about what passes for comedy on tv sometimes? Say hello to my little friends...There's a group of very talented Cubans who are producing a fabulous bilingual comedy called "Wassup en LA?" And I've been following their ...
90 Miles to Cuba – A (little) Giveaway
I was in Florida a few months ago for the KIA Fun and Forty Challenge from Miami to Key West. My time was pretty much booked (in the best way possible) with all the fun activities connected to the trip. KIA treated us to a fabulous dinner at A & B Lobster House in Key West, after which the rest of the group wanted to meander down to Duval ...
Kikita, the Luckiest Girl in the World, Sees Ruben Blades in Concert
I very well may be the luckiest girl in the world. I'm sure there are other girls that think that, but I bet I can make a pretty good case for being the luckiest. (This is Kikita, by the way, Marta's eldest daughter. <-- That alone makes me pretty lucky, but that's not important right now ;-D) A little over a week ago, my timbales ...
Twenty Years
Twenty years. It feels like a lifetime ago. Twenty years ago on August 8th, 1992, Eric and I entered into a pretty serious contract. Seriously. Any ceremony that specifically mentions "sickness," "poverty," and "death" as potential outcomes and non-deal-breakers cannot be entered into lightly. Before entering into this ...
“What’s for dinner?”
A few months ago when we had our kitchen painted, I had my painter-man do the top of the pantry door in chalk paint. Can I just tell you how much I love this? Sometimes we leave notes to each other, but the main function of the board is for menu planning. (And making me look über-organized when guests come over, which lately has been practically ...
It’s Not Easy Being Green – Avocados from Mexico
Growing up Cuban meant we didn't eat many salads. And by "many," I mean, "none." For the most part, the only time green things appeared on our plates were the tiny, diced pieces of bell pepper in our sofrito. (For the uninformed, sofrito is at the beginning of most Cuban dishes. Sauteed onion, garlic, and green bell pepper ...
Mrs. Darby Goes to Washington.
Today is the celebration of my 57th year on this earth. I'm in Washington DC, at the White House. I'm holding a reminder that it's only "90 Miles to Cuba." I think that IS important right now. Happy Birthday to me. ...
