Available once again, this is considered the first published book on the Cuban-American refugee experience. When Marcia Del Mar was thirteen years old she and her mother fled the horror of Fidel Castro. Her father stayed behind, hoping to preserve some of the dignity of their past life, waiting for Castro to fall. Only when he discovered that he was in imminent danger of being imprisoned for his revolutionary activities did he flee Cuba and join his family in "Little Havana," the Cuban ghetto in Miami, Florida. The book is a moving and personal recollection of life as it began to spoil in Cuba. The author describes the euphoria which swept the country when Castro, "the Savior," first came to power and how that euphoria became putrid as the people saw even the most basic of freedoms denied. In a simple and surprisingly straightforward style, the atrocities and the inhuman treatment suffered by many Cubans are graphically described. Del Mar rarely yields to mere sentimentality, and her forceful accounts make the reader feel and know how atrocities, if they are common enough, can desensitize the victim as well as the observer. Perhaps even more frightening than the brutalities and loss of civil liberties was the political "education" of the children. The school curriculum stressed moral obligation to the state, above commitment to family or religion. Children were rewarded for informing on their parents. Military exercises and the proficient handling of firearms became an integral step toward "the development of total citizens." The subtle difference between education and indoctrination is brilliantly illuminated in the book. Refugees soon learn that being in America does not necessarily imply an end to their troubles. They find freedom, but they have to deal with an entirely different set of problems. The strange language, culture, and country and the indifference or open hostility of many Americans provide almost insurmountable obstacles to many refugees. Like plants torn up by their roots, many refugees simply wither away. People who were respected citizens in Cuba are only aliens in this country, destined to wash dishes or clean motels, whereas in their own country they practiced law, managed a plantation, or taught school. Marcia Del Mar is one of the lucky ones who managed to make the transition from one culture to another without abandoning her heritage. A Cuban Story is not primarily political. Nor is it simply a story about Cuban refugees. It is the story of all people who feel compelled to opt for freedom rather than tyranny regardless of the consequences.

A Cuban story

History

Marcia Del Mar

Americas

J.F. Blair

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Books by Marcia Del Mar

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Marcia Del Mar. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Cuban story