Join us on Wednesday, September 20th for a conversation about the experience of Cuban exiles who came to the United States from 1959 through 1973. Authors Mario Cartaya and David Powell will interview each other about their respective books. This program is happening in conjunction with one of our current exhibitions – “We Are Here: Stories from Multilingual Speakers in North Central Florida.”
Ninety Miles and a Lifetime Away: Memories of Cuban Early Exiles, written by David Powell, is a collection of oral histories from refugees who left Cuba between 1959 and the 1962 Missile Crisis, as well as those who embarked on the Freedom Flights of the late 1960s and early 1970s. During these years more than 600,000 Cubans migrated to the US, some by way of other countries and many arriving in Miami with only a few clothes and pocket money. In their own words, exiles describe why they left the island, how they prepared for departure, what situations they faced when they arrived in the US, and how they integrated into American life.
Journey Back into the Vault: In Search of My Faded Cuban Childhood Footprints, is Mario Cartaya’s memoir about his trip back to the land of his birth for the first time in fifty-six years seeking to reclaim his forgotten Cuban childhood memories, original identity, and once-promised destiny. Enjoy the improbable story of a courageous journey aimed at breaching a subconscious vault once built to store the difficult memories of a childhood usurped, destiny denied, and loving family forever separated by geopolitical events.
Mario Cartaya
Mario Cartaya was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1951. Eight years later, the turbulent winds of political change swept over the land of his birth, leaving his family with little choice but to immigrate toward the United States in search of a new life lived in freedom. There, he realized his earliest Cuban childhood dreams of becoming an architect and started an enduring and highly acclaimed architectural firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His life’s story and award-winning architectural designs were entered into the United States Congressional Record of the House of Representatives in 2019, forever enshrined into the US Library of Congress. An American flag was flown over the US Capitol to celebrate his legacy in 2022. Mario now has turned his attention to writing books with the same dedication and love that made him an architectural success and iconic designer. His fresh voice, creative expression, and humanist values will enrich your mind and refresh your soul. His first book is Journey Back into the Vault: In Search of my Cuban Childhood Footprints. You will dream, laugh, sigh, and cry with him in a roller coaster of emotions that will make you glad to have joined him on this most incredible journey.
David Powell
David Powell is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the Columbia Journalism School, and he began his professional life as a reporter for the Associated Press in New York, Miami, and Tallahassee. After earning a law degree from Florida State University, he practiced real estate law for thirty years throughout the state. In his work and through civic organizations he met many Cuban Americans and was moved by the stories of their lives. He began recording interviews about their memories in 2016, first in Florida and then elsewhere. In 2021, the University of Miami acquired his interview recordings, transcripts, and workpapers for its Cuban Heritage Collection. David used extended passages from those interviews as the basis for his oral history book, Ninety Miles and a Lifetime Away: Memories of Early Cuban Exiles, which was published by the University of Florida Press in March 2022. Earlier this year, David’s book received the Samuel Proctor Award for oral history from the Florida Historical Society. David and his wife Vicki Weber reside in Tallahassee, Florida.
