It is time to give thanks, and I want to offer my gratitude to a program that took care of more than 14,000 Cuban children between the years 1960 and 1962: Operación Pedro Pan. Without this program, we—I was among those children—would not have received the love we experienced when we arrived on American shores, […]
The Federal Shutdown When I came to this country, escaping Fidel’s communism, America was the epitome of democracy where political parties with opposite ideologies could coexist and work together toward a common goal. I didn’t know then that one day I’d see American democracy at its most dysfunctional. I’m talking about the federal government shutdown, […]
Nancy Ferragallo is an international dancer, choreographer and writer. Nancy and I have remained friends since we met in NYC many years ago. It is my pleasure to welcome and introduce her to you now. You recently had a showing of Charlotte’s Song, a theater piece I call a mini-memoir because it’s based on experiences […]
Why did I write a memoir? At 18, my life took an unexpected turn. Up to that point, I had aspired to become a pianist, a dream my family and friends had helped me shape since I was a child. “You’ll be like your Abuelo Clemente,” mamá’s father, a respected musician who died before I […]
Arturo Sandoval On August 8, 2013, President Barack Obama announced that Cuban Arturo Sandoval will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in this country. It recognizes individuals who have made “meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private […]
Today, I have the pleasure to showcase Fernando “Fernán” Hernández, author of The Cubans: Our Footprints Across America and The Cubans: Our Legacy in the United States. I met “Fernán” through a Facebook group composed of Pedro Pans, persons who participated in an exodus of Cuban children to America in the early 60s. Welcome, Fernando. […]
There are times when working on a memoir, or any kind of writing for that matter, an author feels stuck. “What should I write about next?” “How does this scene fits in with the rest of my story?” Often the writer stares at a blank screen for hours, even days, fearing “writer’s block.” I’ve had […]
On Mother’s Day, we celebrate our mothers. And on this holiday, I want to honor mine for the title she earned: “Worst Cook in the world.” After many dinners dishing up rice that sat on a low flame all day developing an almost burnt crust, and serving dried-up pork, the honor seemed well deserved. But, […]
by guest blogger Kathleen Pooler In knowing who you are and writing from it, you will help the world by giving it understanding.” Natalie Goldberg, Author, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, page 155. We all have a stories inside of us that only we can tell; and throughout our lives we have “defining moments”, pivotal experiences […]
On Sunday, Feb. 17th, the Houston Chronicle published an article with the heading “Hundreds of Cuban Immigrants Finding a Welcome in Houston.” As a Cuban immigrant myself, now residing in Houston, the article brought a smile to my face. I was part of more than 14,000 children who fled Castro’s regime between 1960 and 1962 […]
LORENZO PABLO MARTINEZ 