My father booked an initial trip to New York City based upon his relationship with a neighborhood friend – Julio. He relocated as a geographical bachelor to NYC in early 1960 to explore the possibilities of a new future for his family and pursuit of that elusive American dream. Eugenio was soon employed on his work Visa and began the bureaucratic and lengthy process of claiming his wife and two small children via the Cuban embassy. It took almost 18 months, but our family finally received permission to depart Cuba, now under the Castro regime.
As Teresa recounts our initial journey, my father asked her to pack light, travel with very few belongings to avoid harassment by the civil guard at the airport. Eugenio had mailed two twenty dollar bills – this nominal US currency was to be smuggled in the shoe lining of the children’s footwear into our new country. Once we arrived at the airport, Teresa was asked to surrender her children to the new Cuban government and continue her travels to the U.S. solo – naturally, she vehemently objected to this ridiculous proposal of solo travel!
