Vicente 1

My mother always told me to love with who I am, but I never knew it would be so hard.
When she told me that I felt like she just wanted me to love and respect her more, something I
didnt do often, but now I know she wanted me to love and respect myself. My mother calls me
book which is something I never really got conferrable with hearing in public but I never really
cared if she called me book at home. Sometimes she would tell me how she believed that people
of her culture would someday make a difference and one day be understood instead of
discriminated against. She never really liked people calling her an Afro Cuban and instead
believed she should be called just a Cuban.
I dont really remember my father as an infant but my mother had shown me pictures of
him that she keeps in a hidden box. He was also Cuban, but just not Afro Cuban. As a kid I
would always ask questions about him and she would always have something to talk about even
after my question was answered, she would start to talk about things they have done and how
they met. They knew that people would disapprove of their relationship so they kept it a secret.
My father hired my mother as a maid and provided a room for her to stay in, which was a very
good cover. I remember she would always talk about how brave my father was for fighting for
Cuban independence. She told me how my father left for a couple of days to help with a planned
attack with the leader of the rebellion group against Spanish loyalist in Cuba. My mother would
always mention how wise and amazing the leader was, Juan martini or something like that. A
couple days before the planned attack, my father visited my mother to give her and I everything
he owned, including the house. She would visit his tomb when she could but she never did visit
the place where he died, she didnt really like to say the name either, Dos Rios.
I never really got to see the house that my father gave my mother until I was much older. Instead,
I was raised in Florida. Me and my mother lived with one of her cousin until we were able to
find a place of our own. As a kid would sometimes be confused about who I was, either white, or
black and now I was introduced to a new country which made me question more about myself
like Cuban, or American? I never really bothered to question why we moved to Florida until I
was older, she said that she felt unsafe in Cuba after an American ship was sunk by the Spanish
army. I know now that the name of that ship was the USS Maineii, which was the cause for that
Spanish American war.
Getting conferrable in a new country was difficult for me. I once asked why she decided to come
to Yboriii city and she told me that this was the place where my father had met and planned the
attack with the leader of the Cuban rebellion against Spain. We were able to stay with my
mothers cousin but only if we paid rent, I never really liked her, but we were able to pay her fees
with the money my mother was able to get from my father, but she knew it wouldnt last forever.
My mother was always treated differently because of her color which made it harder for her to
find any money to use to get our place of our own. She couldnt really find a way to make money
until her cousin introduced her to a cigar making company. The cigars that the company made
were handmade which made it harder for them to find people that were able to make cigars,
however my mother knew how to make cigars after being taught as a kid from my grandmother
back in Cuba, I found it shocking that she was taught as a kid but she said it was one of the ways
her parents were able to make money.

Vicente 2

We were able to live with my mother working in the cigar company but I never really noticed
how unfair the company was until I got older. I found out that my mother was getting paid less
than the white workers and asked her to leave to find a better place and she denied, I resented her
for it. After a while I then decided to try to earn more money to help with any money issues. I
tried working with my mother at the cigar company but I could never really have learned how to
make them as good as the other workers, so I left.
After a couple of attempts, I was finally able to find a job, but I was also payed less
because of my color. Wanted to leave and hopefully find a better place to work but I knew it
would be hard and that I shouldnt leave. I hated the fact that I looked more like my mother and
hated the fact that I probably could have looked more like my father and would have had an
easier life. A couple days later I found out that there was an uprising in Cuba. The uprising was
about Afro Cubans where many black Cubans were killediv. After finding out about this I felt
horrible at the fact that I probably would have preferred changing my own race and for despising
my mother.
After my mother passed away I knew she should have a tomb next to my father. This was hard to
do since some the people at the cemetery where hesitant to bury her in their cemetery, they
would give excuses and reasons that did not involve her color but I was able to pay them extra,
which helped convince them. I was able to start a tailoring business back in Florida which helped
pay for everything my mother needed before and after she passes away. Now I stand in front of
my fathers house, the place I left to start a new and better life in Ybor city. I am tempted to buy
the house but I know my new home is Ybor, besides the house looks smaller than I imagined.

i this journal talks about the Juan Marti and how he led a rebellion against the Spanish rule in
Cuba"Jose Marti Was a Champion of Cuban Independence." Stamps 252, no. 1 (July 1, 1995): 3.
Accessed October 7, 2016. http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/docview/220955406?
accountid=14925.

ii this newspaper talks about how the USS Maine was considered to be attacked by the Spanish
which lead to a war."HAS MAINE'S UNION JACK." The Washington Post, February 10, 1909.
Accessed October 7, 2016. http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/docview/144914651?
accountid=14925.

iii this journal talks about how Ybor city had a growing industry of cigar makingYbor City: Cigar
Capital of the World. Teaching with Historic Places, 1990. Accessed October 07, 2016. http:// /
/www.cr.nps.gov /nr /twhp /wwwlps /lessons /5lybor /5lybor.htm.

iv this magazine talks about the riot massacre that happened in Cuba between black, and white
Cubans.Benedict, S. W. "The Uprising in Cuba." Independent ... Devoted to the Consideration of
Politics, Social and Economic Tendencies, History, Literature, and the Arts, June 3, 1912, 1197.
Accessed October 7, 2016. http://up7af9tu5s.search.serialssolutions.com/?
&genre=article&sid=ProQ:&atitle=The Uprising in Cuba&title=The Independent ... Devoted to the
Consideration of Politics, Social and Economic Tendencies, History, Literature, and the Arts (18481921)&issn=&date=1912-06-06&volume=72&issue=3314&spage=1197&author=.