Description
"I was born in La Yuma. First-Generation Americans know all too well, that we are 'The Lucky Ones.' Branded in our skin, is the blood, sweat, and tears of our ancestors. Our blessings are shrouded by the weight of guilt and expectations from those before us. This was hard to understand as a child, but even at a young age, I just knew I had to ask for less, and do more. As well as, be better, just to outweigh the pedestal of my parents' sacrifices. And by digging deep in memories, there was a time when I visited family in Cuba, and I realized what I had and others who simply didn’t. My cousin cried when we brought her a large green tin of Keebler Export Sodas Crackers. To be honest, I don’t think she had ever seen that many soda crackers in her life. And meanwhile, I walked by tins piled up in the grocery store, just ignoring what I had in reach of my fingertips. But sadly, these two different worlds exist because food rationing is overseen by the Cuban government. And my family members have to face a certain amount of food, or not a single grain of food, for months at a time. Like my mom, who weighed 80 pounds after giving birth to my big brother. Which left my dad to desperately buy beef from a farmer, just to save her from malnutrition. Not long after, he was caught. They put him into a jail cell overnight and took away his license to practice medicine for a year. And I can't help but think of that, after giving birth to my daughter and weighing 125 pounds, I was brought Dunkin’ food to enjoy, while comforted in a hospital. Or, the fact I could have a beef burger at any nearby fast-food joint, if I simply had a craving for one, without ever having to worry if there might be a possibility I might not be able to have one. And overseeing there are clearly two different worlds we live on this planet, it bridges the multi-dimensional reality for those living in a wasteful and overindulgent first world country. So while my family members live in Cuba, they struggle to find the food they need, face daily blackouts, and restricted by unreliable access to water. Cuba is a country imprisoned by control, censorship, manipulation, and a lack of basic human rights. And the stories of those who were fortunate enough to escape the grip of communist chains, they stand alone as a stark difference of what’s written in the history books. So, I hope in my lifetime, I will see the day Cuba is free and flourish once again as the Pearl of the Antilles."