Ernesto is one of my neighbors. He is Cuban. What I found to be fascinating, as I am very interested in Cuba and hope to go there some day, is that Ernesto left Cuba around the same time, under similar circumstances as my Cuban friend, Julio, who lives in Missoula, Montana. It is interesting to look at the diversity in the lives of these two people who came from the same place.
When Castro took over Cuba, it put many families in an upheaval. The actor, Andy Garcia made the movie Lost City, about one family’s experiences.
Julio’s family was well off and comfortable in their world before Castro. He had a happy childhood. All that was threatened by the new regime, which was confiscating money and possessions from everyone. When they tried to leave the country, Julio’s family was broken up. Castro would not let Julio’s mother leave Cuba. His father left with the children when Julio was six years old and he did not see his mother for five years when she was finally allowed to come to the United States.
Ernesto’s father believed in the ideas promoted by Fidel and fought with Castro in the revolution. However, after Castro gained control, Ernesto’s father realized that Fidel was going too far and things were getting out of hand. When Ernesto was six, his family left Cuba and moved to Miami.
Julio’s family was also in Florida, where Cuban refugees had been taken in. Later, they were given a new start through a government program, in Great Falls, Montana. Julio spent his teenage years there and then went on to college. He now practices law in Missoula.
Ernesto’s life took a very different direction. He grew up in Miami and only remembers bad experiences of racial prejudice. After living in Massachusetts for a while he went out to California and studied Buddhism and Taoism. There he met some Nicaraguans who were involved in the fight to overthrow the country’s dictator. Ernesto went to Nicaragua, joined the Sandanistas and for two years, fought to win the fight to end the dictatorship. With the Sandanistas in power, Ernesto was put to work in Nicaragua’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he traveled to the Far East and also had dealings with the United Nations. After seven years of constant fighting with The Contras, who were trained and supplied by the United States government, the Sandanista government fell from power, signing a treaty with the Contras. They are still in power today but with with compromised and watered down ideals. Ernesto moved to Mexico for some years and now lives in Costa Rica.. Today he lives a simple life, he sharing his Taoist beliefs and practices with others and making and selling Noni juice.