Our day at Cuba Nostalgia was PHENOMENAL, EXTRAORDINARY, EXCEPTIONAL!!!



From the moment you stepped onto the fairgrounds you felt the positive energy and pride permeating from within. It’s simply inexplicable to put into words the ‘goose bumpy’ feelings. We walked the exhibits, took pictures, purchased Cuban memorabilia and ate!

We found one exhibit booth that gave me the chills. The University of Miami has set up a Cuban Genealogy Center where all Cuban/Cuban-Americans can look up their genealogy. This is a first for folks like me. Daddy told the guy that his grandfather Jesus Mora Izaguirre was a Mambi soldier that fought in the Spanish-American War against the Spaniards. Well, this wonderful gentleman there at the booth, entered my great-grandfathers name in the database and two seconds later, information came up. He was a Corporal in the Mambi regime that fought in the Spanish-American War…he fought for the freedom of Cuba! It also included the name of his mother Mercedes [my great-great grandmother] and his father Manuel [my great-great grandfather] THIS BLEW ME THE FUCK AWAY!!! I am going to join this site, and do an entire Family Tree on both sides of my family and present this to Antonio and Andre.

I purchased a couple of t-shirts that depict what I am…’Cubanita, American born’ ...also got one that reads 'Corazon de Melon' translation ‘heart of a melon’ simply meaning that I’m a sweet one! Ooooh la la

As we were leisurely sipping our café cubano, daddy’s eye immediately saw a picture of Che Guevara at one of the exhibits. The old man became quite irate and started cursing as he walked towards the booth. I realized what was happening and immediately intervened. “Daddy I yelled, hold up, it’s NOT what you’re thinking”. The booth was showcasing an author that had written a book titled “Exposing the Real Che Guevara” The book denounces El Che and his popularity in American culture today, and exposes him for what he really was…a violent Communist that thought nothing about firing a gun into the belly of a 6-month pregnant woman, whose ONLY crime in life was opposing his and Castro’s communist ideologies; a monster that murdered hundreds of Cubans in firing squads with no remorse or conscious; a hypocrite that lusted after material luxuries while portraying and cultivating an image of love for ‘the people’.

After we calmed daddy down and a few of the other older Cuban gentleman, I told the guy at the booth, that he should write a disclaimer in Spanish, explaining to the public what this book was about. The guy thought that was a great idea. We walked around to a couple of other exhibits, and saw that the disclaimer was up….I guess they didn’t realize the impact it would have on the folks of my daddy’s generation.

They had the expo center set up with beautiful reproductions of places in La Habana. They had El Malecon, which is the bay entrance to La Habana; El Encanto, which was one of the priciest stores of the B.C. [before Castro] days; a map of La Habana showing ALL the streets. Daddy showed me where he mami and my two older sisters lived. He was walking the map, saying that he was walking the streets of La Habana like he used to. Ohhh, the man got all teary-eyed. It was a heartbreaking moment for me.

Daddy finally brought up the subject of food. Now, remember he’s on a diet and can’t eat certain things…SIGH…the man found this kiosk serving EVERYTHING that he shouldn’t eat and got him a plate full of it! Antonio tried to stop him but to no avail. I wasn’t going to fuss or fight; I let the man have his plate of EVERYTHING and prayed that all would be well! While eating our meal, we were serenaded by the sounds of Cuban music. Sweet, mellow sounds of the piano, accompanied by the smooth flute, rhythmic clave and toe-tapping percussion...SIGH just sitting there and listening to it all made you want to stand up and dance instead of eating.

Antonio was able to find the t-shirt he longed for. There was an exhibit dedicated to solely Cuban baseball teams. There were four major teams in Cuba. He asked his abuelo which one was his favorite and he bought himself the Team Almendares t-shirt, honoring his grandfather! He was also in search of a Havana Straw Hat. He tried on two different colors of one particular style that he liked. He went with the white one…it definitely brought out his dashing good looks!

Our day, my day with my daddy and my son proved to me that our Cuban-ness, my Cuban-ness, my son’s Cuban-ness will always be part of our genetic make-up. I am a proud American, I LOVE my country

...but I am also orgullosa of my Cuban-ness, I am orgullosa of my café con leche, my pan cubano, my picadillo con arroz y frijoles negros. I am orgullosa of el ron, la rumba, el mambo, el guarapo…I am orgullosa of my heritage, my language, my cultura, my musica, my literature.

I am orgullosa…

I am proud to say que soy una Cubanita, American born. This experience was like no other. So hard to describe but ohhh what a wonderful feeling it gave.

Hope you enjoy my slideshow!

Besos mi gente…