so where do we go from here?
1. i am trying to arrange a conference or clinic with several of my alums doctor friends
my hope we will be able to connect the sports doctors of the US with those of the US...and improve the lives of the Cuban athletes
2. i am trying to arrange a conference or clinic with several basketball coaches friends of mine..to try to break down the barriers that separate us
the Olympics has always been a good forum for that
3. I will eventually go down myself for a graphing calculator workshops...we did this in the DR and were very successful...donating 100's of old calculators
i planted the seed by giving the little boy a calculator that i hope he will share with his math teacher...
4. my sons want to spend some time at the sugar mill...Brandon is already exchanging emails with the university basketball player
5. my friend Steve Kitchens plans to go back and visit the missionary of his church which is active
6. my chaplain at my school wants to visit
7. EC Smith whose parents ran a big sugar mill for Dole...wants to visit back
8. my doctor here in Tampa wants to visit back....i will offer my services
9. a board member who is Cuban wants to go back and visit
by the way i ran into the dishwasher in our cafeteria who was on the same plane to Cuba that i was....and the lady you made my dinner tonight arrived a few months ago from Santa Clare...my neighbor arrived 2 years ago
the invasion continues
check out my interviews on You Tube...search for Cuba Manny Suarez
goodnight
Patrick Hidalgo (el hijo de Eloise Suarez Hidalgo) sent me an email saying that his friend Patrick at CNN was doing a story on Cubans going to Cuba to visit relatives for the holidays...and was on OUR FLIGHT!!
We met up with Patrick at the airport and immediately he started to film and tape answers to our questions (he is sending me a DVD and Brandon or Austin will post it on YouTube someday)
Patrick is Irish like the Mooneys and Hamms (Lala Mooney and Maria Hamm both living in DC...both already visited Cuba)
He even offers to help with many bags and also gives us much good advice and that we can follow him through customs in Cuba
I said you must have VIP treatment...and he said yes!! They pat me down TWICE.....lol
Patrick is in love with Cuba...he has been there 10 times...and one time for months...he has a passion for Cuba and he will be there when the newly elected president is sworn in
http://twitter.com/cnn_oppmann
Patrick films us waiting in line with hundreds of other Cubans with 100's of other stories
Patrick catches me off guard as we are loading the plane with my nerves and emotions at high pitch
He "makes me" and interviews me and we are the only ones left in the terminal...I break down crying
Patrick films my boys watching out the window....and I meet Rita Suarez's brother who is also going back to visit
i show him the Cuban map that Fred gave me 10 years ago (I have been planning this trip for real for 10 years...In the back of my mind for 50 years)...It is a Russian map with Cuba spelled KUPA
I break down crying again as Rita's cousin tells me his family's story
Part 2
(Monday-La Finca, El Central, Varadero)
la manana cafe con leche
basketball with Cuban national Olympic players (retired) and Dr. dentist friend of Manela Suarez (Manny con su hijos grande, gano!!) mucho photos vamos a la Finca!!
Javier (everyone knows where the farm is...and no one knows where the farm is) Finca San Anna y Raul (next to HUGE military school...can NOT miss it, even from Google Earth) Lunch close to Finca (familia con muchacita with pretty nails....and Span-English) vamos a la Sugar Mill....170 kilo per hr...cono...la policia El Central Grande per no eras El Dolores Jaime Lopez Sugar Mill (nombre viejo, El Dolores) the Gaston Chapel El Reina and the Gaston family still there and the suitcase of hope Brandon and Austin speak the international language of basketball with 40 kids the tasting of the sugar cane and Flan vamos at Varadero Cuba Libra, Mojitoes, Javier, musica, Chickas, Salsa, Proud Papa playing cards dogs at night and rooster in the morning
Part 3
(Tuesday- Beach, Havana)
early morning walk with my son Brandon
Varadero beach...the most beautiful beach in the world Javier "Mario Andretti" Tunnell story and the distortion of history and Che story Gustavo assistant to the Bishop...make that the Cardinal of Cuba historical tour of Old Havana (where is Toni Diez) dinner in State restaurant motorcycle ride 1952 English Mattress with Manuel (hermano de Celia) Cuba libras, mojitos and chickas....Le Duque Hernandez vs. Roger Clemons dogs at night and roosters in the morning
Part 4
(Wednesday - Goodbye My Cuba)
"not the last time, but until the next time"
early morning walk...Las casa de la Tia's breakfast with Celia and Frank and hijo Luis Brandon the teacher Austin the banker Steve the friend Javier the driver with Berkeley t-shirt airport "Son Tourist" and 1958 Chevy's Cuban sandwiches and trash talk good to see the smile of the American airplane stewardess Steve reading the Bible, Austin and Manny playing cards, and Brandon writing his memories you can see the Florida Keys and Cuba from the air at the same time Miami International we made it ride back to Ft Lauderdale ride back to Tampa Berkeley basketball team arrive at Home and Kathy everything back to what it was...trash talking with the neighbors...watching sports on TV...computers Kathy feeding los hijos mas grande que como mucho
now a school
we watched the children salute the flag while singing the national anthem in the court yard
the teacher trying to get the kids to sing...the kids only thinking about Christmas and going home
we also saw the school from the room we were staying at...and the OLD crusty PE teacher trying to get the kids to stretch...when all they want to do is run and play...stretching is for VIEJOS....like the uncles at the famous Suarez-Gaston basketball games
PS: I hope to teach Math here someday...when I retire
i forgot to mention....the one person our relatives of Cuba spoke the most about was
no Lala (although she is definitely the Queen Bee), not Manela (although she is definitely the one with the Havana connections), but FRED!!!!
from the very oldest (80 year old man at Dolores with a beautiful smile...he asked me three times about Fred) to the youngest
Celia asked me about Fred every hour on the hour, Frank asked about Fred, the brother Manuel asked about Fred
Raul at the Finca asked me about Fred
the Reina de Dolores asked me about Fred and her daughter too and the husband who is bald asked about Fred
the only person who did not ask about Fred was the Cardinal of Havana
and Fred's buying of the Tutu for the boy was the highlight of the Celia household!!!
Way to Go Big Fred...
4.
ok, I put my book on hold...and will try to answer people's direct questions (that is easiest for me)
(short answer...Celia Rosa is Tia Lala's rooms (3 rooms like a hotel) in Havana....very nice to stay if you want to see how the middle class is living in Havana...her advantage is that she is very well educated and knows how to run a hotel...Including meals (she has plenty of black market food)...they have computers (3) and phones (2) and the best part an outside Bar across the street!!!! (LA Presidente Hotel is 2 blocks away...LA Malecon is 4 blocks away...bank around the corner...las tias house around the corner...culture center..everything...many tourists walking the streets...clear air in the streets
her son 11 yr old boy goes to dance school.... (he is too soft for sports)...very smart boy who is also on the math team...he will help run this country someday...very much like the Bernardo's (Teri's boys in DC)
he did not have dancing clothes only shorts and shirt...the other rich kids from the government parents or military parents or friends of Fidel and Raul have dancing clothes called Tutu
"The famous story of the Tutu"
how Lala got Fred to buy a Tutu behind my back and gets everyone I know involved in the conspiracy...Including my wife and best friend Steve Kitchens in Ft Lauderdale
5.
that is the beauty of the Suarez family....we do whatever we want....lol
sorry only kidding..."i am going on NO sleep, NO sleep" (from the TV show Seinfeld)
i refuse to use the word "leotards"
to begin with I like Leo to much...Lion the King of the Jungle
tarts are bitter
wait until you hear the long version of the T-T- and then you will understand
plus when screaming on the phone about this situation....T-T- is the only word that works
like Cono...It is bad word...but sometimes the only word that works
love to all, Manny s. (my brain is fried after talking to hours and hours on the phone to Lala, Xavier and Mel.....maybe it is the beers and the golf and the sun....yes, we sun in Florida...In the Winter!!!!)
6.
this one needs a story (hopefully the "size" goes through Google groups
this old man is Jose....and his granddaughter Anna (medical student...perfect English and beautiful)
Jose was selling trinkets in front of his house...I knew I had to talk to him...he has lived there all his life (before Fidel, before the BIG resort hotels)....he knew about the El Dolores...and the Gaston Family
one of the few times I started to cry on the entire trip....It was the old people who were there "BC" (BEFORE Castro)
this man is everything that was good about Cuba BC...he knew what it was and what it had become...his sons were all in Miami.... (I tried to drop the Javier Suarez name with no luck...but he did say I looked familiar...he had to sell me stuff)
i asked why he did NOT leave the island...and he showed my his granddaughter....(I cried again as I thought about the possibility of being left behind by my parents to send us money from the USA....like we did to Lala)
we came back an hour later and bought ALL of our souvenir would could afford...$5 fans, $10 wooden statues...the old man would put stuff in our bag when the granddaughter was NOT looking....little crosses made from sharks black tooth...key chains with palm trees...whatever...the old man and I hugged many times...we will meet again (if not in this lifetime, in the next)
if I go back in the next 5 years, it will be to find this old man who I love and shared tears and hugs and stories of the Gaston family...
that Brandon saw the OLD man crying as we left
i love movies...so
the old man crying reminded me of the King in the movie Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brandon (or the later version with Mel Gibson)
when his daughter leaves with Marlon Brandon...and the King knows he will never see his daughter again... (since they have to go into hiding from the British)
well maybe not that dramatic...but you get the idea
the feeling of losing something very valuable....but knowing it is the best thing for everyone involved
or Casa Blanca with Humphrey Bogart..."here is looking at you kid"...."we will always have Paris"
7
8
Brandon just reminded me
that the old man had a cross on his necklace
i asked him if it was dangerous to show the Cross in public
he said "the hell with Fidel...he is NOT God...he can put me in jail, but he cannot take away my God"
loosely translated from Spanish by a none Spanish speaking person (me)
9.
ok let me see if I can get through this story with getting tears on the keyboard (X and Mel and Lala asked me today on the phone and I said I was not ready to share that already...maybe at the next wedding over some beers)
let me first say that Charlie's Google earth was a big help...If you have not Google earthed Cuba...you have not lived...get your kids to show you how to do it...I can see our house in Biltmore...and the farm and the sugar mill and Varadero and Havana (someone in Miami please show Xavier how to do it)
next let me thank by 3 brothers X, Charlie and Mel for the 3 week long discussion before I went to Cuba about our days at the farm
Lala for her inspiration and finally my bother George 72 or 73 years old that scan handwritten directions that should be in every Suarez scrapbook (priceless)
and someone for giving Celia and then the driver an EXACT address
Javier our fantastic driver (and mi "hermano") took as after the basketball game against the retired Cuban Olympic game (won by Brandon and Austin) at the Panama Games enclosed arena...the biggest and most famous basketball court in Cuba
Javier is a professional driver (10 years) but an accountant in his former life (Cubans talk about their former life when Russia was dumping Billions of dollars on Cuba the way we dump Billions on Israel or Egypt and many countries around the world...also known as Pre-1989)
we called him "The Transporter” (he has seen movies 1, 2, 3 and we laughed every minute of our drive)
we were supposed to have a VAN, but we got a subcompact (this is the way of Cuba)...something about the Cardinal and Christmas fiesta a the Havana Cathedral and some big wigs from Miami and other big cities flying in for the 5 pm show)...It was 4 big guys over 6'6" and the driver...Steve Kitchens knees were in his chest all the way...Brandon sacrificed himself in the middle of the back seat...and I had half my body out the window...what a sight...and we had DIPLOMATIC license plate...no one messed with us...not even the road side check points
anyways...I had studied the cities leading up to the La Finca...so I knew we were on the right track (again Charlie and X and I argued about spellings of city names...I told my sons today...that everything we found in Cuba did NOT happen by accident...It was well planned and the Tias and Tios had laid down the ground work for us to enjoy ourselves)
we finally found the little town...and Javier asked for directions...sure enough EVERY one knew where it was and NO one really knew where it was
it was zig and zag....Javier would NOT ask the military on the side of the streets, nor the police....that he said was a No NO in Cuba
we finally found "Tia Lala" waiting for the bus...she knew everyone and everything...and told us exact where to turn
we then asked a bunch of black workers taking a siesta next to a Russian built tractor...they asked for American cigarettes
then we went further down the road and stopped again to ask a guy on a bike that was older than me with crooked tires...meanwhile Austin at 6'6" said I cannot take it anymore and got out of the car...he walked down this dirt road to look at the pigs
then I had one of those DEJA Vu moments...I know this place...I told the transporter (Mr. T or Mario Andretti like he like to call himself) to go down the dirt road...and THERE IT WAS
i probably recognize it from the many pictures Charlie and Mel have posted on My Cuba
the manager of the farm Raul came out...he was a European looking man with blue eyes...he said he was an engineer but the government told him they needed him to run the "State farm"...he had hundreds of milking cows for state purposes (maybe government and military and tourist)...he had the biggest pigs I have ever seen....FAT chickens running all over the place....and horses well fed and strong...
he was proud to point out the "factory" that Grandpa Manuel Suarez-Carreno had built for his many experiments....and the house that grandpa had built with bricks made there at the farm....he also mentioned Machito (our family farm manager) and of course asked about BIG Fred....he has met George, Lala, Margy, Charlie, Mel, Maria, me and Big Fred...many Hidalgos and several other nephews
he invited us for dinner (really lunch it was 2 pm) but his wife had a 10 day old child
i tried to give him $20 for his baby...he would NOT take it...he said the gift I could give him would be to come back again for a roasted pig dinner when his wife was feeling better (even though he is NOT allowed to use his own pigs)
we piled back in the little car...and off we went for 4 hour ride to the Sugar Mill
BTW the name of the fame is Santa Anna...and it is right next to a large Military school seen from Google earth...Raul said that his father was forced to donate the land to the military
like a good Gaston...all the dirty details
Casa Blanca..."round up the usual suspects!!"
Lala, Fred and Mel
dam shame
10.
do the GAston really want to hear this little story?? lol
actually the moral of the story is that please please please do NOT ask people to take stuff to Cuba the week when that person is leaving
by that time it is too late!!! the poor person is alreay frazzled by so many requests...most that can be done through normal mail or through the priest connections in Havana and at the Sugar Mill...If we can not trust our own priest to deliver the goods, then it is time to either find new priest or find a new church
and the only thing that should be sent is medicine or money....NO material items like shower hoses and tutu's...those are luxurries that I do NOT have in this country...and 50% of our own population in our own cities do not have either
11.
nope...
it is now part of the department of culture....Toni Diez would have loved it!!...the person there knew your father Batista the architect
From: mycuba@googlegroups.com on behalf of Matilde Batista
Sent: Thu 12/23/2010 10:24 PM
To: mycuba@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [mycuba] insdie the mansion (not Tias)
Do you know whose house it used to be or the address by any chance?
mbg
12
my more sensitive cousins have convinced me to call it by its real name LT...
the week before leaving...after I have already told Tia Lala that I was NOT interested in carrying suitcases of stuff to Cuba (my fault for not communicating this wish good enough...I was in the middle of WORKING and coaching and living)
i already knew from the beginning that:
1. my wonderful wife the ARNP would have a suitcase of medicine for me to carry...and who can say no to a German wife 2. that Mel's wonderful wife the accountant gringa would have a suitcase for her adopted son Brandon to take to the poor people of the Sugar Mill 3. that Steve Kitchens wonderful wife the human resource officer would have a suitcase for her grande Estban Cuisinos to carry 4. that someone in Miami who would remain nameless would drop off a suitcase of medicine for priests all over Cuba...and food for the dogs too
so I knew we would have 4 of our own suitcases with clothes that we really needed for a vacation (that was my first mistake...to call it a vacation)...ok for our mission to the homeland and the poor starving people of Cuba (by the way I did NOT see ONE skinny Cuban the entire trip...In fact many looked overwieght like many of our own poor people on welfare...but that is for another email and another day)
so by now I am a MULE carrying about 10 or 12 things for different people...on top of grading midterms exams...planning my son's engagement party, coaching and driving back and forth to Orlando to bring my other son and his stuff back to tampa....not too mention the many other things we do including watching sports on TV
and then I got an email from someone in Miami that he had a list from Lala and a medicine bag to take to Cuba...so far so good, please drop it off at my friends house in Ft Lauderdale...and goodbye
3 or 4 emails later with 10 or 12 people added on the email list...I am told that the "red bag" will contain a HOSE for the shower...what the hell??
i do not even have a hose for our shower!!! and I live in America
a poor person needs food and medicine...and maybe some little money to make ends meet...but a frinking hose?? ok ok I can convince the Cuban inspector that it is for medical purpose...already using that line for my little old used graphing calculator with a broken screen that I hope to teach the poor people of my country a little math...
the poor starving lady of Cuba then ask me for a LT for her son who the government says can not play sports, so he must dance...I get pictures with girls wearing this LT...as one can see smoke coming from my ears...and I say NO...oh and it comes complete with websites where one can purchase this LT in the US and around the world (free shipping)
i say no to the poor starving lady in Cuba, to Tia Lala, to someone in Miami, to my wife, to anyone willing to listen...NO that is with a "N" and an "O"
medicine yes...shower hose ok with reservation...but LT no...I donot care if it is for Tiny Tim and it is Christmas time
(BTW my son told me today that my best friend of 30 years and his godfather is NOT invited to his wedding because it is a family only affair...ouch)
does no really mean no.... or just maybe...lol
now the plot thickens...and I can no longer see the screen because I am too tired....more to follow
(those not interested, I apologize...please delete and sleep well...and sweet dreams)
16
Ruperto Herrera Tabio (born December 6, 1949 in Havana, Ciudad de la Habana)
1972 Olympic Games: finished 3rd among 16 teams
Ruperto Herrera, Pedro Chappe, Juan Carlos Domecq, Franklin Standard, Alejandro Urgelles, Rafael Canizares, Oscar Varona, Tomas Herrera, Jose Miguel Alvarez Pozo, Miguel Angel Calderon, Juan Roca, Conrado Perez (Coach: Juan Carmelo Ortega Diaz)
(this was the famous year when Russia with professional players first beat the USA with college players in the Olympics
the USA refused to accept the 2nd place medals....but that is another email and another story)
the more important thing about these Olympics was this was the Olympics where the Israel team was murdered by Arabs
and we did not 9/11 not coming?? go figure...It was a no brainer...again another email someday)
"After a couple of decades of irrelevant performances, a turning point took place in 1970 when Cuban basketball started to achieve results that would place our teams among the best of the world for the next five years. The male team had impressive results. Its greatest expression was the bronze medal won in the Olympic Games of Munich'72. The ascension of the Cuban team had taken place exactly in the University Games of Turin'70, where they conquered the third place after a dramatic final match against the Italian selection. The denouement was as tense as it could possibly be. Tied at 65 points and almost at the end of the match, the referee marked a foul over Ruperto Herrera who failed once and marked the second free throw to seal the victory of the Caribbean team. Other relevant moments took place at the beginning of the 1970's. For example, when the male team defeated the American team in Pan-American games of Cali'71 and for the first and only time they leave them out of the continental final. It was also important having won the second place during the world festival of Peru'73 and the deserved fourth place in the basketball world championship held in Puerto Rico in 1974. The necessary renovation of the following two decades impeded a repositioning of our quintets on the top of the ranking. They started a slow recession and it has turn very difficult for them being able to fight for a medal in the competitions of the area where there are teams that have traditionally played good basket." 01790-19a
17
thanks to Mane and her amazing connections in Havana, we were able to play a little hoops with some retired Cuban Olympic basketball players....
the court is the most famous in all of Cuba...It is where the Panama Games were played....It is said that even Fidel himself came to see the games there....
of course now it is a shell with no lighting except the natural light....like everything else in Cuba, it is decaying...waiting for a new life
the proud court of Castro's Cuba and the floor is worned and in serious need of repairs....the glass backboard was rattling and about to fall when Austin dunked the ball
i of course played with my two boys Brandon and Austin....3 on 3...my "hermano" fuerte Steve Kitchens 6'7" and godfather of Austin, played with the Cuban Olympic players...now in their 40's and 50's like us...
youth won like always....and I got beat up by a 6'5" ROCK of a man....who kissed my hand when I gave him a bottle of Advil for his aching knees....
the second game I sat out and told Austin to beat this beast back....and Austin did!!
i cried a couple of times when I saw Brandon or Austin covering our good friend of 30 years....Steve Kitchens (sorry Steve that you could not play with the SUAREZ-GASTON team)
"somos la familia Suarez-Gaton, somos la familia Suarez-Gaston....and everywhere we go people want to know...."
we kicked some butt and took no prisoners...and made many good new friends...Brandon and the university player on the other team exchanged email address....there is HOPE for the future
(thanks again Mane for forcing ME to do this...I do have a hard head like most of the Gaston clan)
18
the view from our apartment...the back of the Tias house which is now a school
the children do their exercises...like it must of been 100's of years ago...or 1,000's if you go back to the GREEKS
notice the maids quarters seperate from the house...
you can imagine a beautiful garden with a fountain and many tropical plants...and a cool breeze
now the fertile ground of the next generation...our HOPE for the future
19
First Impression
the older man were trying to fic the hoops so we could play full court
Brandon and Austin played 3 on 3 half court with about 40 kids watching...they came from out of the trees
we did the traditional thing of "eating" raw suger cane
i brought a stalk back with me...will try to plant in back yard or give to my Cuban friend who has an organic farm and he can baby it...It does have a sprout and should work (except the cold weather.....they will have to baby it)...lets see
sorry this is the story of the old man at the sugar mill.....(played 2 hrs with boys and alumni today...my mind is going)
this old man is supposely related to us some how...too many people for me too many faces...but he reminded me very much of Melchor Gaston who lived across the street from my parents in Ft LAuderdale
he had a smile that melted my heart
i could tell he has a long story to tell, but no one gave him a chance to tell it....he might have been the Queens husband
about 80 years old and very proud of it...
he talked about Dad like they were good friends...talked about the tennis court which is now a basketball court...claimed that Luis Suarez-Carreno and Ignancio Suarez-Carreno played basketball there but NOT dad...Dad played baseball
(listen I shot with my dad (Manuel Suare-Carreno) when he lived in Tampa....and he was awesome with the two handed shot...he kicked my butt in "h-o-r-s-e" and I am a COLLEGE player...I guarantee Dad played hoops with the workers and his brothers
the first thing out of the old man's mouth (when the ladies stopeed clacking) was how is FRED??....he asked me three different times during the 2 hours that we were there about Fred...and wanted to know when Fred was coming back
this man stole my heart...he was there BC and saw what Cuba was....he has FIRST hand knowledge...I would love to hear his story (too bad...he will probably not make it to the 2014 reunion)
so out driver Javier....took us to lunch a la finca....Raul the manager of the farm sent us there
perfect spot!! we need a nice meal and peace and quiet
a beautiful little place on the side of the road...almost impossible to spot unless you knew it was there
a wonderfull family...father (proud old man), mother, daughter and husband and son running the place
we told him just start bringing stuff out and keep it coming (our driver was doing most of the ordering)
the drive had fish...swordfish...he said it was hard to get good swordfish in Havana....most had ropa vieya and picadillo
they also had lobster but the owner said it was frozen and not very good...It was for the military and high diplomats, but not good enough for us
the old man entertained our questions while his wife and daughter cooked the meal...the son was busy getting things out of storage...and the son0in-law was serving us cervests and Cuba libras and mohitoes...etc. (by the way Steve Kitchens does not drink...that was more for us...our driver usually had only one or two lite beers)
the daughter was beautiful and she long painted nails that Austin complimented her on...after that the son-in-law watched us like a HAWK!! she put on some American videos from the 70's and 80's....Eagle and other famous bands
we were in heaven talking trash about the basketball game and how we kicked some ass...and took no prisoners..etc
then the food started coming out...hamon, cueso, and crackers....then blatonitoes hard and soft and sweet...yuka
i was full even before the meal arrived...
the old man told us that the Govt shut him down for 5 years!!!! because he built a little hot tub for his family...he did not have permission...but things are better now with the new rules
some rough looking policia came in for lunch...they did not smile...maybe the towns people told them or they saw the new car parked up front with diplomatic plates
we ate for 30 minutes and the old man gave us a tour of his little finca and he was brought of the 4 or 5 bedroom house he had built with his son and son-in-law
we barely fit back in the car with our bellies full!!!
the menu said $25 a plate...but that was Cuban pesos...not CUC...the exchange rate was 24 to 1
to the entire feast plus many drinks came out to only about $40 CUC...I left $60 on the table
Lala,
Correct me if I'm wrong but is that Pepe, Esperanza's husband?
IF that is him, Manny, then the story he wanted to tell you was probably the following [which he told me]:
He started working in the sugar mill office at age 18(?), handpicked by Melchor Gaston Jr. (i.e., your uncle), doing bookkeeping(?) One day, Melchor Sr. doubted some of his work, implying that he couldn't possibly be correct, not having had any formal education in bookkeeping and kicked him out of the office. Melchor Jr. came out and reassured Pepe that he would continue working there, not to pay any attention to the "old man".
I was very surprised because I had never heard any negative stories
about our grandfather. Perhaps those stories never reached Mom's
ears. Or maybe she was no longer working at the sugar mill lab. Or
perhaps our grandfather was really in his "dotage" by then... At any rate, Pepe was obviously very fond of - and loyal to - Melchor Jr. from then on and considered himself an integral part of the business...
Mati
now you know why we could NOT eat at the Sugar Mill
i hope all the Gaston's understand....we were not rude or disrepectful...we were full!!!
we did have some wonderful Flan...and Cuban coffee...the coffee took the hair off my chest...lol
PS: look how happy our driver JAiver was?? he has been driving for 10 years professionally and he said he had a blast!! with us...
BTW he did 170 kil per hour from the finca to the sugar mill so we had 1 hr of sunlight to play basketball
"Salute!!"
Cuban coffee (first one for Steve Kitchens...too strong so we mixed it with hot milk and now our gringo is hooked on "cafe con leche"....we bought him a coffee cup with Cuba on it
i was up till 2 am because of the cup I had...dam shame
Austin awaits for his Pops in the parking lot
the Americans Austin, Brandon and Steve Kitchens are waved right through...no problem (I gave Austin my 2 bags of medicine...)
i was held behind because I am consider a Cuban citizen....long story here, but no problem
the crowd cheers as each person is let out....I raised my hands in victory!!
Austin trying to determine what is better
1. american dollars to CUC in Havana
2. american dollars to Euros in Miami to CUC in Havana
3. american dollars to Canadian money in Miami to CUC in Havana
Javier...aka..MArio Antretti...also Mr. T (for Transporter 1, 2 and 3)
he works for the American Interest Sectoin...
he pick us up at Havana airport and drove us all over Cuba
he is was the highlight of the trip for me....muy simpatico
he had a smile that lighted up the room
he was our "protecion" (ala Louis Diamond in Stand and Deliver)
he was our hermano
he gave us a tour of OLD havana the first night...after finding the Biltmore house and Villanova chapel
he would stop and ask for directions....about 5 times to find la finca.... we would ask him "why did you ask the woman for directions and not the policeman??"...and he would say "porque aya es un MUERE!! bonita"
when at the lunch in the country...he order for us...and watched over my as the old man did that converting from Cuban pesos to CUC
he also let us cut in line at the bank...when we were exchanging bills
he drove like Mario Antretti....170 kil per hour...and then we would have a check point...he would have to slow down to 20...the cops would wave us on...we had diplomatic plates
he found the sugar mill...and came right on in...part of the family...most of the time he took pictures
at Varadaro he partied with us and las chickas...we had a blast...and the next day he gave us a bottle of Cuban RUm!!
on the last day he wore the Berkeley t-shirt we gave him...he was so proud of it
i gave him a $100 tip...he was well worth it and I look forward to toasting a few with him again some day soon
(PS: the gas is very expensive in Cuba over $5 a gallon...to fill up the car was over $80, so be prepared to pay if you drive to the sugar mill)
oh, I forgot...he drove us to a friend of a friend of a cousin to buy Cuban cigars on the Black Market...I will let Austin and Brandon tell this story at the next Gaston reunion...It is priceless and almost cost me my life
yes, I was able to bring a stack of sugar cane back.....It will sit proudly in my office with other souvenirs from other trips
this was the one thing EVERY one said customs would never let through
agriculture is more important in Florida than people
but customs treated us like Kings and we walked right through...no problema
too bad that Cuba used to be the world's largest exporter of sugar...and now imports its sugar from Brazil
What the hell happened?
Part 5 - (What's Next?)
1. Fidel and Raul die and another military dictator takes over and things remain the same for another 50 years the people of Miami continue to send money and keep the island afloat...Tourism continues to increase
2. F and R die and the new order of men and women in their 50's borned under Castro's rule decide to have elections they try to keep the revolution of Castro alive as long as possible and maybe allow a little capitalism like Vietnam
3. F and R die and all hell breaks loose as there is a civil war between those that have and those that do not...
the military steps in (with the help of the CIA) and puts down the civil war...and takes control like in Iraq and we go back to Batista days....Tourism grows very fast...US starts to give money like it does for Israel...to the tune of Billions a year
4. F and R die and there is a smooth transition to democracy with the help of the Obama administration and the help of smart and caring people like the Hidalgo's and many of our nephew and neices....Tourism grows quickly as McDolands starts opening up in every other block with Burger King closely behind....Tourism in Florida takes a hit and Disney opens up a park in Cuba...like it is doing in CHINA!! no more communist government in the world except N.Korea
In the end,
a boy in "prison" (Cuba) gets a little gift from his friends from the US...who, every time they arrive, they kick him out of his room and make him sleep in the Laundry room
a boy who is an angel
a boy I watched sleeping while I cried and thought of my two own boys....my own boys who I kissed every night and thank God for such miracles
a boy who wakes up 5 minutes earlier to see his dad, who waits for him outside the house because he is no longer welcomed inside the house
a boy with two school friends playing computer games like Billions of children around the world....the world is really Flat
a boy that wants to learn how to do puzzles and also dance
a boy who does not know why the State tells him what he must become
a boy that hugs visitors who drink his milk and eat his honey
a boy who sees his mother do everything and anything to help him succeed in the system given to her by Batista, by Fidel, by the CIA and by Russia
a boy that touched my heart and I hope to see on TV or live someday dance to the most beautiful music the world
a strong boy, a smart boy, a beautiful boy of God....an angel from heaven
a boy very much like my two boys
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