Featured on The Daily Share / HLN

/

Early this week I was featured on The Daily Share, a new project from Headline News (HLN). I was asked to describe my perception of life in Cuba since I was recently there. As many of you know, I reunited with my father last April after more than four decades of separation. We now speak on the phone regularly. I called dad after the Daily Share interview to ask him and his wife what they thought about the proposed changes to US / Cuba policy. They were so elated about it that I could see their smiles through my iPhone. (Like me) they couldn't believe this is happening within their lifetime. The lack of freedom in Cuba has made them feel imprisoned in their own country they said. The news brings hope and promise to their lives. I plan to travel back to Cuba next year to visit with my father again. Merry Christmas Dad!

fashionado

Classic Cars & Photos of My Trip to Cuba

/

I was a little boy when I left Cuba to come to the USA. Even at the young age of five, I already new that my family and I would never return. (So I thought.) Like so many Cubans, I grew up with that mindset. After months of planning,  permission from OFAC in D.C. and a temporary Cuban visa, I traveled back to Cuba after more than four decades last April. My mission: to reunite with my 80 year old father who I hadn't seen since 1970. The outcome: a beautiful, life-changing experience. With the proposed changes to US / Cuba Policy this means that I will continue to enjoy visiting with dad. For me and for many many others, this change is the beginning of hopes, dreams and familial unification. Something that my generation and that of my parents' have longed for... for over 50 years.

In October, I premiered the film I made with Gil Guillama called Finding Dad: Mira... tu Papa. This is a documentary about my first trip back to Cuba and the reunion with my father. Dad is 81 now and every time we speak on the phone he asks when am I going to come see him again. Now I can say, "soon, very soon!"

fashionado