PLAYNOTES PERSPECTIVES

Cuban Immigration To Miami

By Rachel Ropella

Between 1961 and 1970, over 290,000 Cubans arrived in the United States. A Cuban community had been established in Florida before this wave of immigration because of the economic and political connections between the Hispanic Caribbean and the US from sugar imports during the 19th century. However, it was not until the exodus of the Cuban exiles in 1959 and Operation Peter Pan (also known as Operación Pedro Pan) that Miami became the heart of the Cuban American community.

As the new Cuban government began to ally with the Soviet Union in 1959, an exodus began, causing tens of thousands of Cubans to leave their country. In Sweet Goats & Blueberry Señoritas, Tío Eme recalls how his immigration journey began when he and his sister were put on a plane by their parents as part of the American program Operation Peter Pan, a secret exodus led by the US State Department and the Catholic Charities of Miami as they helped over 14,000 children ages four to 18 travel unaccompanied to the United States from 1960 to 1962.

Steve Velasquez, the associate curator of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, notes, “Since there was no US embassy in Cuba after the revolution, the State Department partnered with the Catholic Church to grant special visa waivers for children to come safely to the US and eventually be reunited with their parents and family members.” Though many children were reunited with their families quickly, others went into foster care and struggled as they were encouraged to assimilate and learn English while wanting to maintain their cultural identity.