Cuba, Adiós by Lorenzo Pablo Martínez is available in paperback and as a Kindle book. Between 1960 and 1962 more than 14,000 Cuban children escaped Fidel Castro’s communist regime as part of an airlift known as Operación Pedro Pan. Lorenzo Pablo Martínez was one of those children. In CUBA, ADIÓS: A Young Man’s Journey to Freedom, Martínez recounts his participation in a program that bridged two different cultures and achieved great political significance over the years. At eighteen, he forfeits a musical scholarship to Prague to accept an unknown future in America without knowing the language, money to pursue an education, or family to help. Plagued by guilt over his sexual identity and having to care for a younger brother, Martínez forges ahead to become the composer of his future. CUBA, ADIÓS is a poignant, thoughtful account of one boy’s survival and self-acceptance written with unflinching honesty and a wry humor. Readers have called it: “a tour de force.” the use of music as metaphor is very effective. ” “It reads like a symphony.”
About the Author: Lorenzo Pablo Martínez
Hailing from Cuba, Lorenzo Pablo Martínez holds a master's in piano performance from Manhattan School of Music and a doctorate in music education from Columbia University/Teachers College. Martínez has appeared in recitals on radio and television, and his musical compositions have been performed nationally and at international festivals. The television show "Captain Kangaroo" featured some of his works, and for "Group Soup," a children's book published by Viking, he contributed the title song. In addition, a book of his children's songs, "The Circus," was published by Clarus Music, Ltd. Martínez translated into Spanish all twelve episodes of "The Second Voyage of the Mimi," produced by Bank Street College of Education for PBS. Beside his recent memoir, Cuba, Adiós, Martínez wrote a children's picture book, " The Ballerina and the Peanut Butter Sandwich, " which was published by X-Libris. Martínez is working on a second Memoir, a master novel for young adults, and a series of bilingual stories for children. Recently, he was named Executive Director of the Houston Chamber Choir, a group of that has achieved critical acclaim nationally and abroad; he also joined the board of directors of WriteSpace, a Houston-based non-profit created by writers for writers.
Reviews/Quotes
"A tour de force. The most compelling of all Pedro Pan testimonies I have read. It is so well written that even painful moments sound like music. The latter was possible because Lorenzo has combined his sensibilities as a musician with his abilities as a writer. And he excels in both...the result is a masterful achievement." -- José (Pepin) Álvarez, Ph.D., University of Florida's Emeritus Professor and Award winning author. "Martínez' writing is mesmerizing. With uncensored and lyrical prose, he pulled me into his experience and kept me turning the pages until the end...Cuba, Adiós is a beautifully written personal tears-to-triumph story..." -- Kathleen Pooler, author of "Following His Lead." "Told from a historical perspective as well as from personal experiences, Martínez vivid memoir grabbed me and drew me in right from the start...engaging and lyrical..." Susan Bernhardt, author of the Kay Driscoll series. "...impressive writing, Martínez knows how to tell a story in an appealing way." --Ray Mosely, author of two biographies, "Mussolini's Shadow" and "The Last Days of Mussolini." What other readers are saying: "Very seldom do I find a book that is hard to put down." "...flows like a symphony." "...a beautiful 3D tapestry of the Pedro Pan experience." "...while filled with loss and pain, Cuba, Adiós is a brave account of resilience by a remarkable man who--against tremendous odds--discovers his true self and his rightful place in the world." ||| REVIEWS: Editorial review by John E. Roper for The U. S. Review of Books. Just as a storm at sea can sometimes suck unsuspecting fish from the water miles from shore and then dump then inland, so, too, can people get caught up in events that rip them from the lives they have always known and plant them in new places. Wars and natural disasters are the usual culprits, creating thousands of refugees and displaced people who often struggle to survive in their new surroundings. But occasionally the reasons are more politically and ideological in nature. As a young man with a future goal clearly in sight, the author suddenly found himself part of what would one day come to be known as Operación Pedro Pan, one of the largest relocation movements of unaccompanied children in the history of the Western Hemisphere. In 1962, Lorenzo is eighteen and proud to be living in Cuba. Blinded by the revolutionary rethoric that his parents have long seen through, he basks in Castro's support of the arts and dreams of the day he will win a music scholarship to study in Prague. That all changes one day with the news that he and his brother Beni have been given permission to go to the United States... Life in what many see as the Land of Promise doesn't start out well. What began as a program in late 1960 to bring over a couple of hundred Cuban children as a means to eventually see their families be allowed to escape Castro's regime, as well, has swollen to a point that by October of 1962 over 14,000 minors have been funneled into the United States. The logistical nightmare of housing and dispersing these children throughout the country is incredible. Lorenzo and his brother, like many of the youngsters, do not always end up in places where they are very welcome. However, Lorenzo manages not only to survive but also thrive, eventually obtaining a doctorate from Columbia University and having his musical compositions performed on radio and television. This is not just a story about his and his family participation in Operación Pedro Pan. Lorenzo also shares the often painful account of his early struggles and confusion with his sexuality. After some brief heterosexual relationships in a Washington State, he moves to New York and immerses himself fully into the gay lifestyle, which culminates in his current life partnership with a man for over thirty years. Unlike in so many weaker memoirs, the author recounts this aspect of his life fairly tastefully without resorting to the amateurish use of titillation and graphic sexual depictions which tend to degrade otherwise excel kent autobiographical narratives. Despite the fact the author was no longer a child when the majority of the events take place, his tale is very much a coming-of-age story. Martínez has expertly captured the emotions of a young man determined to become independent yet trapped in many ways by the needs and expectations of his family. He also generally shows a good sense of balance when reflecting on how hard it must have been for some of the people he and his brother encountered along the way, such as their host family, rather than depicting them stereotypically. Possibly the strongest point of the book, though, occurs when the narrative comes full circle on Lorenzo's return to Cuba as an adult to both face his memories and one of the key individuals who helped shape his life--a literary technique that gives this well-written memoir a sense of bittersweet completion.
Additional information
Book Author
Lorenzo Pablo Martínez
Publisher
Language
English
ISBN
978-1500952181
Pages
270
Format
Paperback
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.
Be the first to review “Cuba, Adiós: A Young Man’s Journey to Freedom” Cancel reply
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.