Mission Libertad (20 page)

Someone came to bring Luisito to the church entry way so he could walk in with the group of people receiving the sacraments that night. Luisito kissed Abuela and walked back. He waved at Sherry, who was sitting with her parents.

The pastor of Sacred Heart Church, the Reverend Ed Stack, began the ceremony by lighting the Easter fire. Led by the paschal candle, the procession moved from the entrance into the church. It looked more beautiful than ever. The lights were dimmed and everyone's candles glowed in the dark.

Back in the pew, Abuela took a handkerchief from her purse.

“I would have never imagined seeing all my family in church with me,” she whispered to Elena.

“I know, mother,” Elena said. “We were in so much fear in Cuba, we just couldn't think straight. Miguel and I are now attending Mass regularly. The sacraments and prayer have truly strengthened us. Rosie and José have also helped us in so many ways.”

“
Ay, mi hija,
I'm so glad to hear that,” Abuela said. “I have so much to be thankful for. Look at my Luisito walking in with the pastor to receive his first Communion and Confirmation. I never thought I would see this. It's a new beginning for all of us!”

Near the stained-glass window in the back of the church, someone spotted Abuela. How could this be? He focused closer with his lens. It was she, all right. Her face was right on target. The man's trembling finger pressed the button and . . . click, click, click. The sound was muffled by the music and the growing whisper of the people speaking to one another in the pews. The man's camera captured Abuela's smiling face. He took out his white handkerchief and cleaned the sweat from his forehead. Back on the island this would not come as good news, he thought. Abuela and her grandson, together in the United States, could only mean double trouble!

This story is a work of fiction, but the experiences of Luisito and his family are based on real historical events. Their story is full of true anecdotes from other Cubans interviewed who arrived in this country by sea during the 1980s, when the author was a newspaper reporter in South Florida.

The statue of our Lady of Charity was commissioned by Monsignor Armando Jiménez Rebollar in 1947 in Cuba. It is a copy of the original found floating at sea.
The statue was smuggled out of Cuba by the Archdiocese of Havana through the Italian embassy, which then passed it to Panama's embassy in Cuba. It finally arrived in the United States not in 1979, when the story takes place, but in 1961.

The man who actually brought the statue was not named Humberto Gutierrez but Luis Gutiérrez Areces.

The Mass by Bishop Coleman Carroll took place as mentioned in the book, but not in 1979. The Mass was celebrated in Miami Stadium on September 8, 1961.

In reality, there were no spies—that we know of— trying to capture the statue.

There have been several notorious cases confirmed and reported in U.S. newspapers of Cuban spies in the United States who have been arrested and tried. Some fled to Cuba. Those events are what inspired the spy story in this book.

It is true that this statue of our Blessed Mother is now displayed in
La
Ermita
de
la
Caridad,
the shrine of Our Lady of Charity, in Miami, Florida, for anyone who wishes to visit.

In the time this story takes place, Cuban children and their families arrived in Florida by homemade rafts
and were allowed to stay in this country if they feared persecution in the island. This was allowed under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, but during the administration of President Bill Clinton the act was reinterpreted to mean only the Cuban rafters who reached dry U.S. soil could stay. This new policy is still enforced and is known informally as the wet foot/dry foot policy. Cubans found at sea are now sent back to Cuba or to a third country, while those Cubans who reach U.S. soil are allowed to remain in the United States.

In some cases, if a person found at sea has a valid case for political asylum, they may be sent to Guantanamo base in Cuba for further review.

It is true that thousands of Cubans fleeing communism by rafts have perished in the ocean during the dangerous journey. There have been cases of others drowning at sea trying to swim away from the U.S. Coast Guard, which would send them back to Cuba.

Most Cubans are forbidden to leave the island, even to travel on vacation, unless the Cuban government approves. Their food is rationed, everything is owned by the government, and they do not have some basic human rights such as freedom to express their opinions.