Coming to America: A Cuban Story--Julianne

 

The journey to America has never been an easy task, regardless of where one is coming from. For my grandpa, Jorge Varona, this was entirely the case. He went through hell and back to not only get out of Cuba, but to get to America. My grandma is one of the bravest people I know for setting out to have the best life he could, despite his conditions being less than favorable circumstances.

Jorge Varona was born on February 15, 1949 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was the youngest of three including two sisters and a brother. His dad owned a bike shop where he sold bikes to locals while his mom was a stay at home mother. From first grade to third grade, he went to private school until Castro took over and made all schools public. Overall, he “had a good education.” During the summers, students were forced to work in the fields and lived in barracks. He picked cotton and cut sugar cane. Everyday, they were up at 6 in the morning and were out in the field at seven. They worked till twelve and had a break for two hours until they worked for four more hours. The students stayed there for two months and slept on hammocks until summer ended. In Cuba, Castro oppressed his citizens. Speech was limited and religion was repressed. Anyone could easily be “blacklisted” for having contrary revolutionary beliefs or even for following a certain religion. One could be denied a higher education or could be “guilty by association” for just knowing someone deemed criminal. For Varona, living conditions were actually good compared to some Cubans. Him and his family received food rations by the week (about a quarter pound). Clothes and food were limited as well. Cubans received about once a year, according to Varona. Varona was lucky to have had an aunt that worked at a naval station who brought their family clothes when she could. Conditions were so poor in Cuba that many resorted to buying from the black market, including his father. He bought necessities for the family. Most of the conditions in his life were unfavorable, but the final straw was when Varona and his friend were harassed by the local police. While him and his friend were using the little English they knew, the police were taunting them, calling them “queers” and other insults. Varona decided he could no longer stay in Cuba.

Varona started to plan his first escape from Cuba. He, his friend, Paredes, and another guy made their way to a river. They rode 35 kilometers to the water. They were supposed to swim towards one of two lights to go in the right direction, but Paredes was very doubtful on which light to follow. The three of them decided to walk all night, back home.

Varona’s second attempt was also unsuccessful. He and three other friends tried a different route this time around. They planned to walk all the way from their hometown to a naval station fence. The groups walked, jumped fences, and waded through fields of grass for hours on hours. One of the younger boys, Carlos, stopped and started crying, claimed he wanted to go back home and that he missed his family. Again, their attempt to leave failed and they walked back all night.

Varona’s will was strong and he tried to leave for a third time. This time, it was only him and a good friend, Orlando Pila. They hopped on a train and took to a certain place. They walked for four hours until they reached a river where they waited until it got dark. In the middle of the night, Varona came down with a terrible fever and decided that he couldn’t make the trip. Luckily, Varona and Pila found a farmer who was willing to give them a ride. The farmer took some produce off of his horse drawn carriage and hid the boys so they weren’t caught escaping. They went home from there.

At one point, Varona was invited to escape with some boys from his hometown. A close friend of his had told him that his mom wanted to speak with him, so one day Varona went over to his friend’s house. His mom was an “espiritista” (kind of like a gypsy/psychic). While talking to the boy’s mom, she blew cigar smoke all over Varona and declared that “it wasn’t a good time for [him] to leave.” Varona opted not to escape this time, which was very lucky, considering his friends ended up going to prison.

Varona’s last and final attempt was successful. With the help of three girls that had connections outside of Cuba, He, his sister, and two other friends were able to finally escape Cuba. They all gathered on the train with their swimming equipment. The girls had to go on separate trains, but they weren’t searched like the men were, so they took the bags. While the boys got off at the correct station, the girls got off at the next station and walked back; it was unusual for women to be seen at their stop. They all walked for three or four hours to the river and waited till it got dark. The boys and Varona’s sister changed into their swimwear, inflated their equipment, and began to swim. They swam for six hours so as to not get caught. Eventually, they reached a 20 foot wall with an American flag posted on it (Guantanamo US Naval Station). The group yelled as loud as they possibly could until American soldiers threw down a rope and pulled them up. They then proceed to put them in a van, yelling “lay down on the floor” and “don’t look out the window.” The group was dropped off at a barrack where they were interviewed by a military officer who asked where they were coming from and what their name was. After staying in the barracks for three days, they were flown to Opa Locka Airport in Florida. The Navy took them to the Freedom house, where all Cubans were housed until their papers were cleared. Varona and his friends spent days there. Within these days, they were interrogated by the FBI for eight hours at a time with no food or water. The FBI played tricks and would tell them that their friend admitted to working for the Cuban government, but they all passed this test. After being released from the Freedom House, Varona tried to locate his uncle in Chicago, but was unsuccessful. He went on to life with a few friends from his hometown.

Varona has gone on to live a happy life. In the beginning, he struggled to make it in America. He didn’t speak English and he was in a new country, but he found joy in living in a free country, unlike Cuba. He currently resides in Rancho Cucamonga with his beautiful wife of 47 years. His word of advice is to never let them take away your freedom.