The Tangible Pursuit For Freedom: Part II

“On the Cross a man died in one day; but one must learn to die on the cross every day.”

-José Martí 

It has been over 31 years since I left my homeland in Cuba. The details sprout in my mind as vivid as the dew drops in the candid mornings of my homeland. Crossing the sea across its 90 miles (around 150 km) between the waters of the Florida straits not only proved to be perilous but also challenging. The Atlantic Ocean gave us treacherous storms that side railed our man-made boat with tenacity and insistence. Had it not been for its communal baptismal name, “Mater Dei” would have been a completely different vessel, derailed by the implacable and unpredictable conditions of the ocean. Yet, as children of the sea, entrusting ourselves to the protection of Our Lady of Charity[1], we felt that assigning the name of “Mother of God” to our boat would enhance our chances of survival. At 20 miles per hour and hosting 12 determined passengers, we were estimated to arrive the coast of Key West in 4.5 hours. A voyage of a few hours turned into a fight for our lives for two whole days. When our boat conquered the bashing of a wave, another wave would come stronger against our boat. It was as if the ocean was conspiring to return us to our prior misery, yet our souls were unrelenting to lead us to freedom.

We quickly assimilated our spirit for the journey, waged war against the ocean, and fought the good fight for our lives. Libertad or freedom is inherently dipped in the trenches of surrender. And so, we did what generations of Cubans know best when the sea of life crashes against our spirits: we danced and we sang. The imagery of our actions made me ponder how King David once danced before the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament. Every soul in our boat was now joining in the words of the song.  What our lips could not convey, the contortion of our body vividly expressed. Every devout Cuban instinctively knows to evoke our Blessed Mother when asking for her intercession during the tempests of life’s hardest chapters. And when life’s chapter turns, every Cuban agrees that it must come with joy. Our voices now echoed with joy in the distance, conjoined by the might of the ocean, subduing the clashing clangs of the thunderstorm before us. Like mambises[2] at Dos Ríos[3], we stormed the unpredictability of our circumstances with the faith of our clamor to our sweet Lady. Everything on the boat became an instrument of praise as we began to dance, tap, and sing: 

Y si vas al Cobre[4]
Quiero que me traigas
Una Virgencita de la Caridad (Chorus x2)

Cuando pienso en mi morena 
Que se llama Caridad
Rezo como alma buena
Por toda la humanidad.

Virgencita tu eres buena
Hazme un milagro de amor
Mira que muero de penas
si tú no mitigas a mi to' el dolor.

“Veneración” or veneration is a timeless hymn of praise to our Blessed Mother. When every Cuban sings it, it is as if all Cuban generations coalescence their communal offering to Mary’s beauty, asking her to intercede for us during difficult trials. In the stratagems of Cuba’s civil oppression, singing to Cachita[5] in that moment conquered the wiles of Castro’s shadow government while gifting us a formidable esprit de corps. To our surprise, the winds suddenly subsided, the dark clouds dissipated, and beautiful hues of blue, orange, and gold glimmered in the horizon. We were stunned. The waves no longer rocked the boat. As I turned to the family next me, they were now kneeling and clenching their hands ina prayerful stance. Their tears emanating stronger now than the residing waves in the distance. We all stood in silence for what appeared hours until the forceful yell of Miguel (the boat’s mechanic and converted communist leader) pierced the quieted sea: “¡Que viva la Virgen de la Caridad!” to which we all instinctively responded: “¡Que viva!”. The rest of the trip to Key West was a peaceful commute. Save the beauty of the sky during the day and the splendor of the stars at night, we were all mesmerized at what we witnessed. On the early morning of September 8th, we reached the shores of Key West in Florida. We were received by worried family and friends who had anticipated our arrival. As I exited “Mater Dei”, I kissed the ground and thanked God for delivering me to safe ground. I then turned to a single glimmering star in the sky, still piercing the light of the early dawn: “Thank you Cachita for saving us on the eve of your birthday. You are truly my Star of the Sea. You are the helper of the afflicted and you ease the burden of the destitute. Happy Birthday Dear Mother. From this day, I will serve you the rest of my life. I dedicate this song to you now for your intercession.”

“Every day I am in danger of giving my life for my country.” -Jose Martí

**If you missed Part I of this story read it here: The Tangible Pursuit For Freedom: Part I

[1] Our Lady of Charity, affectionately called “Cachita” by Cubans, is the patroness of Cuba. This title of the Blessed Virgin Mary is associated with a famous Marian image venerated at the Shrine of El Cobre in Santiago de Cuba. Her Feast Day is the same day as Mary’s Nativity which is September 8th.
[2] Mambises, (Mambí:singular) were the Cuban independence fighters who fought against Spanish colonial rule during Cuba’s wars for independence in the 19th century.
[3] Dos Ríos is a historic locality in eastern Cuba, in the municipality of Jiguaní, Granma Province. It is most famous as the place where Cuban national hero José Martí was killed in battle on May 19th, 1895, during the War of Independence. The name refers to the area near the meeting of two rivers: The Cauto River and The Contramaestre River.
[4] This is an excerpt from a famous Cuban song (sung in the style of “Son”) called “Veneración” or veneration which is often attributed to Miguel Matamoros or Nohemí Matos, although the authorship history of the song is not entirely known. The song is believed to have been composed in the 1930s. The literal translation of the above verse states the following: “And if you go to El Cobre, I want you to bring me a little Virgin of Charity. When I think of my brown-colored Mother, whose name is Charity, I pray with a good and faithful soul for all humanity. Little Virgin, you are good; grant me a miracle of love. Look, I am dying from sorrow if you do not come and ease this pain within me.” Please see a version of this song here.
[5]  Cachita is an affectionate diminutive form of Caridad (Charity), a nickname attributed to the Our Lady of Charity, patroness of Cuba.

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"Thou knowest, O my God, that it is neither from ambition nor the love of glory that I make war on the enemies of Thy name, but in order to strike terror into those that blaspheme it."

-St. Ferdinand III of Castile