In 1959, Fidel Castro assumed power in Cuba after overthrowing the government of Fulgencio Batista. In response, thousands of Cubans fled the island, mostly to the United States. This book tells the stories of these Cubans in exile, all of whom overcame great obstacles to escape the brutal Castro regime. Neither a history of Cuba nor of Castro, this book illuminates the underrepresented legacy of the Cuban Exile Community and celebrates their continued thriving in a new country.

Eloy L. Nuñez is an associate professor in the Department of Public Safety Administration at Florida’s Saint Leo University. He teaches graduate-level leadership in criminal justice, and critical incident management, as well as Command Schools for various police and sheriffs’ agencies.

Ernest G. Vendrell is a professor and associate director for the Department of Public Safety Administration at Saint Leo University in FLorida. He teaches in the areas of emergency and disaster management, public administration, and criminal justice.

Edited by Eloy L. Nuñez and Ernest G. Vendrell

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 238
Bibliographic Info: 94 photos, glossary, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7604-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3656-6
Imprint: McFarland

Preface (Eloy L. Nuñez) 1
Dream of a Free Cuba (Luis O. Rodriguez) 5
Facing the Possibility of Never Returning (Ramón Luis Núñez) 22
The Land of My Father (Eloy L. Nuñez) 36
Two Lives and Two Countries (Diego Luis Mella) 73
The Journey: Faith and Trust in a Time of Uncertainty (Ernest G. Vendrell and David Ernesto Vendrell) 90
My Pedro Pan Story (Oscar Vigoa) 114
A New City, a New Country, a New Life (Mirta Solis Nuñez) 138
Return to Playa Larga: The Story of Jesus Delgado (Luis O. Rodriguez) 153
Of Cuban Concentration Camps and the Struggle for Freedom: The Stories of Noel S. Varela, Henry Choren and Jorge Luis Brito (Luis O. Rodriguez) 164
Memories (Corina Fernández-Máscaró) 180
A Long Road to Freedom (Francisco Pérez Sabatier) 190
Epilogue (Ernest G. Vendrell) 210
About the Contributors 213
Glossary 216
Index 227