I am so impressed with this book. Mr. Vidal, who was part of Operation Pedro Pan, is a breathtakingly honest writer and I am in awe of his bravery. I highly recommend this memoir which is described on the book jacket as "an immigrant's story of despair, endurance, and redemption." Vidal has shared a haunting story told in a lyrical voice.
I wanted to acknowledge everyone who has taken the time to read and comment on my midgrade historical novel manuscript, EXILE. Their insights have been crucial to the development of this story. A special thank you goes to Oscar A. del Junco for his thorough review and Spanish language corrections. I've been blessed with several readers in the Pedro Pan, Cuban and middle grade communities and within my circle of family and friends. I appreciate all the new friends I've made through this experience and look forward to many more interactions in the future! I'm embarking on a new writing adventure and hope to bring you along with me on this one. I'll chronicle the progress I make on a historical fiction middle grade chapter book I'm writing about Operation Pedro Pan. In case you haven't heard about this part of American and Cuban history (I hadn't until 3 months ago), here is a brief synopsis: when Castro took over Cuba in 1959, he quickly began to change the Cuban way of life to mirror Communist ideals. For instance, he banned religion in a predominately Catholic culture, the government took over the schools (private and public), and he encouraged sending children to work camps in Russia to learn about Communism. A headmaster of an American academy in Cuba worked with an American priest to obtain exit visas and fly Cuban children to the US where they would be housed by foster families and orphanages until their parents could join them or the situation improved in Cuba. Between 1960 and 1963, 14,008 unaccompanied Cuban children came to the US. They were dubbed "Pedro Pan" (Peter Pan) children by a news reporter. Only 50% of the children were met by families at the airport in Miami. 10% never reunited with their families again. Some of the Cuban children came to an orphanage in Marquette where I live. I found out about this because I was researching our orphanage for a potential story. I've made contact with the last American orphan to live in the orphanage (which was transitioned to an administrative support building in the mid-60's) who is still friends with some of the Cuban boys with which he made friends. I'm excited to meet with him tomorrow. I hope to complete the primary and secondary research and begin writing soon. You might have heard references to Operation Pedro Pan in relation to the Haitian orphans. Catholic social services in Miami offered to relocate Haitian orphans using the OPP model. However, the Haitian government decided they did not want to pursue this fearing it would be too traumatic for orphans to leave their country. If you have information about Operation Pedro Pan, Holy Family Orphanage in Marquette, MI, or any other related topics of interest to this project, please contact me. Thank you! |  Truth is... my office walls aren't "peach froth" anymore. New photo to come! To sign up for blog posts delivered fresh to your inbox, click here:
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