Every year we make a large batch of Cremé de Vie or Cuban Egg Nog, if you will.Photo: Jae C. Hong, AP And every year we toast, "El año que viene estamos en Cuba." "Next year in Cuba." This started in December of 1961. We had been in this country for a little less than a year and it was obvious that the whole silly revolution ...
Current Affairs
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 ...
9/11 – Remembering
Eleven years ago today, the 11th of September, I remember awakening to the news that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center Towers. So odd and random. It was before 6 am here in Southern California and had to take my son, Adam to school. By the time I returned home, a second plane had crashed into the second tower and the real horror of what ...
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 ...
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. ...
The Circle of Life
Some (very simplified, don't judge me) Cuban History for today: In 1902, a bloody war had been fought between Cuba and Spain for Cuba's independence. The Cuban's won. It was quite a crushing defeat for the Spanish. They never quite recovered from it. The president of the United States at that time was Theodore Roosevelt who had ...
Dear Desi… (A birthday love letter.)
A few years ago, thanks to the magic of the internets and because of a series of happy accidents, I got to meet one of my Cuban childhood crushes. In fact, you can read about My Adventures with Desi in the Blog Category that has his name, Desi Arnaz Jr. (I know I could change the category name to "My Adventures with Desi." I don't, ...
Teaching Generosity?
As you know if you've been reading this blog for a while, we have homeschooled our kids. I often say that one of the reasons we have chosen to homeschool is that we're not as concerned about their academics as we are concerned about their character. We have attempted to teach them kindness, thoughtfulness, hospitality, and generosity - ...
Operation Pedro Pan. It’s been 50 years and the pain is still present.
When I mention to someone that I've just met that I'm Cuban, the first thing they do is recall the only other Cuban person they've ever met. Then next thing that happens is that they ask me if I know them. Most of the time I don't, but being Cuban, we do manage to find connections in the oddest places. See this story. Just ...