I grew up in Miami and lived there until 1999. As everyone knows, there are a lot of Cuban-Americans there. And just about every Cuban-American family still has relatives in Cuba, and just about every one of those families has a story like this one. (Note: "guajira" means something like "country bumpkin" in Cuban Spanish.)
I got to hear a lot of similar stories from friends and coworkers, and have even met their relatives who were either "fresh off the boat" or "just visiting." This is why the admiration that many so-called liberals have for Castro will always remain incomprehensible to me.
(Via David Strain.)
Posted by Andrea Harris at July 4, 2003 08:54 PMSadly, you are correct. Every Cuban-American has many stories like this to tell. Most are incredibly sad. Yet, at times, you will here me or any other cuban-american tell it with a bit of humor. It's a gift the Cuban people have, after all these years of the Castro BS, we need to take things with a grain of salt.
as for the left's love of fidel, what can I say. The left are morons for the most part and Castro is The Great Manipulator.
Posted by: Val at July 8, 2003 at 01:59 PMLet's see... for the first eighteen years of life, I lived on SW 24th Street, just off 27th Avenue. That's that little old section of Miami in between Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, and Little Havana. Then my parents tried splitting up, and I moved with my father to this section of town called Allapattah. Which I see I have forgotten to spell. This was in the northwest area, close to the airport. I learned to lipread the tv. Then we moved down to the Roads -- also Old Miami, a slightly nicer area. But our duplex was infested with mice. Then we moved back to a house near our old one when my father remarried. Then I moved out on my own and lived in Hialeah with a roommate. We lived right on Le Jeune. Fun... then I moved out by myself into an efficiency in Westchester. That was my last place of residence in Miami. In other words, mostly in the sounth-central parts of the city, except for that one time I lived in Hialeah.
Posted by: Andrea Harris at July 8, 2003 at 03:37 PMDid you go to Gables High by any chance?
I know all those areas you lived in. I had a girlfriend for some time that lived on 24 and 31st ave.
The Allapattah area is near where I grew up, a place called Grapeland Heights, next to Melreese golf course, and yes, the airport. We were right on the runway line there.
I had a beautiful apartment later in the Roads. Awesome place. That area now is really up there as real estate value is concerned.
Never lived in Haileah. (La ciudad que progresa, agua, fango y factoria) But did have a few jobs there.
For what it's worth, I love Miami. Dont know if I could ever live anyplace else.
Posted by: Val at July 8, 2003 at 04:11 PM