1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:12,720 Speaker 1: Ooh, hi there. I'm Tasha Sanload, a producer for this series. 2 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: You might remember me from those long days of reporting 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: and eating fasilitos with Penny in Miami. 4 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 2: So I'm going to try to carlas Facilito writer. 5 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: It's giving toaster Strudel vibes like it has those holes. 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 3: This want is really good, but I really liked more 7 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 3: than one yesterday, and. 8 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: They're just warm and delicious. I'm going to take the 9 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,319 Speaker 1: mic for this episode to tell you about a very 10 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: critical moment in this story and how it relates to 11 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: my family. Let's start in June two thousand, when Elean 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: went back to Cuba. It was just four months before 13 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: the two thousand presidential election. Vice President Al Gore led 14 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: the Democratic ticket. 15 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 4: I think his point now is to ensure the prosperity 16 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 4: and riches Allmark families, not just a cute. 17 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: While Texas Governor George W. Bush, the son of a 18 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: former president, led the Republican ticket. 19 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,399 Speaker 5: We should help people live their lives, but not run them. 20 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 5: I'm asking for your vote. 21 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: The two candidates had different approaches to the usual issues 22 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: foreign policy, social security, energy, and the environment, but there 23 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: was a central question how to restore integrity and honor 24 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: to the White House after Bill Clinton's affair. Every election 25 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,960 Speaker 1: is defining, but this one was seemingly higher stakes. If 26 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,119 Speaker 1: Bush won, the election, results could usher in a new 27 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: era of conservative politics, a foreshadowing even on the overturning 28 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: of Roe v. Wade. 29 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 4: This is a very important issue because a lot of 30 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 4: young women in this country take this right for granted, 31 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 4: and it could be lost. It is on the ballot 32 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 4: in this election, making no mistake of it. 33 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 5: I'll tell you what kind of judges he'll put on there. 34 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 5: He'll put liberal activist judges who will use their bench 35 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 5: to subvert the legislature. That's what he'll do. 36 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: Kept mounting. For Miami Cubans, the memory of the raid 37 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: and Eleon's return to Cuba was still fresh, and it 38 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:12,399 Speaker 1: affected the way the community approached the election. They expressed 39 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: outrage they felt betrayed by President Clinton and the Democrats 40 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: who had allowed Eleon to go back to Cuba to 41 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: become a trophy for Fidel Castro's revolution. Influential channels, including 42 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: popular radio station Rajomanbi, called on the Cuban American community 43 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: to turn their anger into action at the voting booth. 44 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: It was called Eloto castigo, the punishment vote. Here's Cuban 45 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: American historian Ada Ferrier. 46 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 3: They blamed Clinton, they blamed Janet Reno, and Gore was 47 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 3: Clinton's vice president. 48 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: Gore was reluctant to break with his party's stance on 49 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,239 Speaker 1: the Eleion case, but on the campaign trail he did 50 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: express his for leaving the decision to the family courts. 51 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 1: Here's Gore in an April campaign speech, reiterating what he 52 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:08,799 Speaker 1: said during a January Iowa debate. 53 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 4: This whole thing ought to be decided on the basis 54 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 4: of that standard, what is in the best entrance of 55 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 4: the child. 56 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: The media characterized gore stands as inconsistent, and Bush called 57 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: Gore out for foot flopping on the issue. 58 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 5: I am concerned that Al Gore's sudden change of position 59 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 5: yesterday may have had more to do with the vice 60 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,639 Speaker 5: president's political interests than with the best interests of Alian Gonzales. 61 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: And the thing is, by election day, people believed that 62 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: the results would come down to the electoral votes in 63 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: the swing state of Florida, where Cuban American voters were 64 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: still fresh off the Elian case. Recently, I was talking 65 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: about that election with my Cuban grandma who lives in Miami. 66 00:03:51,880 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 2: Yo, my awlitadab Yes, Mediocon. 67 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: It was like being stabbed in the back, she says. 68 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: He like giving Cuba a precious treasure. Elyen, My grandma 69 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 1: is part of the first wave of Cuban exiles, the 70 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: Golden Exiles. These are Cubans who left the island between 71 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty nine and nineteen sixty two, right after the revolution. 72 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 2: Europian Republicanoctoria Republican Cubans are a Republican, she tells me, 73 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,799 Speaker 2: matter of factly, in an attempt to support staunch opposition 74 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 2: to communism in Cuba. 75 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: Many exiles que to the American right politically, and in 76 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: my experience, in some liberal and progressive spaces, Cuban Americans 77 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: are sometimes painted as the boogeyman, the exception to a 78 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: perceived democratic Latinian monolith. But Latino Republicanism can be found elsewhere, 79 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: far beyond Cuban Miami. They're actually more Latina Republicans in 80 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: Arizona than there are in Florida. It's specifically Cuban Americans, though, 81 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,840 Speaker 1: who seem to have a reputation as the political odd 82 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: man out. I bet you've seen the memes Selena Kinanida 83 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:24,479 Speaker 1: as Latins in the US, her murderer sad as Cuban Americans. 84 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: Cuban Americans are vilified internationally too. My dad's side is Colombian, 85 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: so I grew up visiting family in Boada. While visiting 86 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,479 Speaker 1: the Ni Naal in my twenties, I was shocked to 87 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: find a giant mural of Cheguada dominating the central plaza. 88 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: I realized that for most of the Latin American left, 89 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: Cuba is long seen as a kind of utopia. It's 90 00:05:55,120 --> 00:06:01,919 Speaker 1: the revolution that succeeded that seemed to triumph over us imperially. Then, 91 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: when traveling in Europe after college, some French backpackers told 92 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 1: me my grandparents were the problem. They were the self 93 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: serving land owning elites who had abandoned the revolution. Though 94 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: I defended my grandparents at that moment, these comments done 95 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: because I love my Grandma Morena, and I love Cuban Miami. 96 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: Oh this is when it sends here. I know it's 97 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,719 Speaker 1: not as simple as those who left and those who 98 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: stayed in Cuba as good and bad, right and wrong. 99 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: I also care about the Alian story. I remember staying 100 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: with my grandma one weekend during that time, seeing Cuban 101 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: flags all over the place, wondering what was going on. 102 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 1: Even though I was only eight years old, I understood 103 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: that something big was happening. So to continue to tell 104 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: you about Elian and about the election that followed, I'm 105 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: going to tell you about my grandma, the story of 106 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: a woman in her eighties from a group I feel 107 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: is often misunderstood. I'm also going to tell you about 108 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: one of the most highly contested presidential elections in US history, 109 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: to clarify and complicate how it's all connected and how 110 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: it's possible that one little boy's bait changed US politics forever. 111 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: I'm Tasha Sanlol and this is Chess Piece. The Ilian 112 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: Gonsale Story a production of Fututo Studios in partnership with 113 00:07:44,920 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: Iheart's Mike and Guda podcast Network. As we explained in 114 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: episode five, Alan was taken from the Little Havanah home 115 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: through the federal government raid. This was late April two thousand. 116 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: Cuban Americans had until November seventh, election day to coalesce 117 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: against the Democrats. Through El Voto Castigo. Voters expressed their concerns, I. 118 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 5: Used to be a Democrat up to the time of 119 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 5: the Lean Gonzalez incident. And I believe that our government, 120 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 5: the United acting the best interest of all Americans. 121 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: I know. Mayawa Liita Ais said Cuban Americans are typically Republican, 122 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: but that hasn't always been a foregone conclusion. In nineteen 123 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: ninety six, when he was re elected, Bill Clinton won Florida, but. 124 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 6: He got more Cuban American votes than any other Democrat before. 125 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 6: He was a Democrat that Cubans supporting. 126 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,959 Speaker 1: Gillermo Grenier Cuban American sociologists who we heard from earlier 127 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: in the series. His area of expertise is Cuban American 128 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: identity and ideology. It's difficult to verify if Clinton got 129 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: more Cuban American votes than any other Democrat ever, but 130 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: he was certainly more popular than Democrats had been among 131 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,680 Speaker 1: Cuban Americans during the Reagan and Bush years. You see, 132 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: Cubans weren't Republicans by default. In a twenty twenty one article, 133 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,840 Speaker 1: Giedmo highlighted a Miami Herald analysis of the nineteen sixty 134 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: eight presidential election. According to Guilledmo, it shows that Cubans 135 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 1: who had already become citizens were splitting the vote pretty 136 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: evenly between the two parties. Then, in the nineteen seventy 137 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: six presidential election, Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, won about seventy 138 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 1: five percent of the Cuban vote. But in the eighties, 139 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,679 Speaker 1: the Republican Party started to strategically court Cuban Americans. 140 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 6: They serviced the community. The Cubans became Republicans because the 141 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 6: Republican Party nurtured them. 142 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: In the next presidential election, just four years later, eighty 143 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: six percent of Cuban American voters in Dade County voted 144 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: for Republican candidate Ronald Reagan. President Reagan's anti castro and 145 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: anti communist foreign policy initiatives were popular in Miami, but 146 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: some continued to vote for the Democrats. 147 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 6: Bill Clinton had kind of mended enough of the framework 148 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 6: so that Cubans were not automatically going to vote Republican. 149 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,199 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety six, President Clinton signed the Helms Burton Act, 150 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: a piece of legislation that enforced the economic embargo against 151 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: the Cuban government. He ended up winning Miami Dade County 152 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,960 Speaker 1: by a significant margin, so in two thousand there was 153 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: a chance that Gore could do the same. 154 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 6: Gore turned himself inside out trying to appease the Cuban 155 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:53,880 Speaker 6: American community on eliankicks. 156 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 1: But after the raid, those chances of winning the Cuban 157 00:10:56,640 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: American vote seemed to diminish. The damage was Ellion's great 158 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,360 Speaker 1: uncle in Miami, las Aro Gonzalez, even went on Spanish 159 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: language radio urging his fellow Miami Cubans to vote against Gore. 160 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 1: With Ilvoto Castigo, the exile community rallied together. 161 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 2: People blame the Democrat for sending Alien back. 162 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 6: Even Cuban Democrats that otherwise would have voted for a 163 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 6: Democratic candidate punished whether vote. They kind of said, all right, 164 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 6: this was the Democrats doing, and we're going to vote Republican. 165 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: So was Ilboto Castigo successful. It would take not hours, 166 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 1: not days, not weeks, but over a month after election 167 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 1: night to find out once and for all, because this 168 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: wasn't just any election. At seven forty nine on election night, 169 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:57,079 Speaker 1: NBC was the first network to call Florida for Gore. 170 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 7: We're going to now for check an important win for 171 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 7: Vice President Al Gore. NBC News for checks that he 172 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,000 Speaker 7: wins the twenty five electoral votes in the state of. 173 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 1: Florida, but they soon took it back all. 174 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 7: Right, we're officially saying that Florida is too close to 175 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 7: call because of a recall. 176 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:18,680 Speaker 1: In the wee hours on election night, Gore called Bush 177 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: to concede. 178 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 4: We are told the Vice President will concede the election 179 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:24,320 Speaker 4: in his brief remarks here tonight. 180 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: But then, in an unprecedented move, Gore recanted his concession 181 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:31,840 Speaker 1: because he hadn't officially lost. 182 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,240 Speaker 2: People around the country awoke. 183 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: Today to find yesterday's presidential election is still too close 184 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: to call. The world seemed to stop. There was a 185 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,880 Speaker 1: recount in Florida, a recount that would expose faulty ad 186 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:49,839 Speaker 1: hoc election systems in the United States. 187 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 8: Vote o medic machines and conflicting rules about ballots and 188 00:12:55,400 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 8: fuzzy rules about what is a vote. 189 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 1: There was no uniform ballot across the country or across 190 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: the state of Florida, and there was a particular problem, 191 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: including in Miami Dade County. Some voting machines had an 192 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: old school punch card system. If the machine didn't punch 193 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 1: a ballot all the way through, that vote wasn't counted. 194 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,440 Speaker 1: The remaining pieces of paper came to be known as chads. 195 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:32,840 Speaker 1: You might remember this hanging chads pregnant chads. So to Democrats, 196 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,840 Speaker 1: this seemed to prove that there were many uncounted votes 197 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 1: for Al Gore. 198 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 9: The so called pregnant or dimpled ballots. Do they show 199 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:45,319 Speaker 9: voters intent to select Gore, as Democrats claim, or are 200 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 9: they simply an indentation on the ballot from an indecisive 201 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 9: voter as Republicans claim. 202 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: There were also so called butterfly ballots, which led some 203 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:57,560 Speaker 1: voters to accidentally vote for a third party candidate. 204 00:13:57,800 --> 00:13:59,559 Speaker 4: Thirty five hundred people did not vote. 205 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 1: If you can it come on this heavily democratic Homage county. 206 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: All eyes were on Florida and especially on Miami Dade County. 207 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: So would Cuban Miami get its revenge? 208 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:46,120 Speaker 2: M plant? 209 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:58,680 Speaker 1: My grandma loves her plants American. They're her companions. She 210 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 1: says they talked to her and say thank you, and 211 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: so she talks to them, help them grow. 212 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 2: Yaeta. 213 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: When I stay with her, she makes me her expert Cubano. 214 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 2: It natasa roma mm hmm perfect. 215 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: My grandma's name is Yosada de los Angeles translation God 216 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: Given of the Angels. She goes by Daddy, so I 217 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:45,200 Speaker 1: call her a Wilita daddi, and she has a nickname 218 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: for me too, Masta no. 219 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 2: Sashi. Really, come Onita, thatshi. 220 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: Really, it doesn't mean anything, she says, It's just cute, 221 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 1: like a small Tasha. As she's gotten older, I've noticed 222 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: Mayita really lose her filter. 223 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 9: She says. 224 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: Whatever she's thinking, wissi ak. As she pointed to our 225 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 1: family photos in her living room. She described us as 226 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:20,800 Speaker 1: her zoo. But she still insists that she's quiet and shai. 227 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: She also says she's never been very political. She's just 228 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 1: gone with the tide. 229 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 2: Your matava concentra babys. 230 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,280 Speaker 1: When she first got to this country, she was too 231 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 1: busy raising her family to be political, she says. But 232 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: there was a time when she was more tapped into 233 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: politics in the nineteen fifties in Cuba. 234 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 2: Is sur. 235 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 1: Ailita says that by the time Batista, Cuba's dictator before Castro, 236 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: had been in power for five years, she and her 237 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 1: peers were hoping for a revolution. 238 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:05,280 Speaker 2: Han Tekhoven she. 239 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:11,760 Speaker 1: At first they cheered on castro. 240 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:17,000 Speaker 4: Resign board bloodshed and fled. His departure touched off while 241 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:18,240 Speaker 4: rejoicing in the capitol. 242 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 6: As the first element of rebel forces entered nevana. 243 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 2: Eva abbera kova democratica. 244 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 1: They hoped that Castro could deliver on the promise of 245 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: a free and democratic Cuba in also sidio, but she 246 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: says that didn't happen. I'd never heard this part of 247 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: the story. It never occurred to me that there was 248 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:47,840 Speaker 1: a time when my grandma could have had any admiration 249 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: for Castro, because I've only usually heard the second part 250 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: of the story what happened after Fidel Castro took over. 251 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: My grandparents left Cuba in nineteen six two because my 252 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: great grandfather said it was time for them. 253 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 2: To go initial surhio ye ya kia de Cuba keyota 254 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 2: a completamenttin. 255 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: So Awalita Lali did as she was told, with my 256 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 1: grandfather and their one year old baby. She got on 257 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,680 Speaker 1: a flight to Miami, back when there were still commercial 258 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:27,040 Speaker 1: flights leaving the island. But Davi was sure she'd be 259 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: back and soon in a couple of months. 260 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:34,640 Speaker 2: Even yode he documente la veta princan. 261 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 1: And said, missus, she left important documents and paperwork in 262 00:18:41,359 --> 00:18:48,119 Speaker 1: her dust drawer. But Ami Casita am of course, she 263 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: was going to return to Cuba, to her home, to 264 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: her cositas her things, but she would never return home 265 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:02,760 Speaker 1: ever again. There would be very little to go home too, 266 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:10,639 Speaker 1: because meanwhile in Cuba, one day, Dali's brother, who had 267 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: stayed behind, drove up to the family dairy farm. 268 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 2: Well I think Io the Lecheria, and there were men 269 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:31,200 Speaker 2: guarding the entrance. Gio and Schoeta e aviendoda. 270 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 7: Hero. 271 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 1: This isn't yours anymore. You can't come in. The men said, 272 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:45,400 Speaker 1: this belongs to the revolution, and so her brother wasn't 273 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:56,960 Speaker 1: allowed in. Remember the revolutionary government confiscated land from Cubans 274 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,879 Speaker 1: who held more than a thousand acres. This fact is 275 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 1: often brought up in the abstract as something the revolution 276 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 1: did to redistribute wealth. And I get the principle it 277 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,879 Speaker 1: was part of a plan to create greater economic equality 278 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: on an island that was deeply unequal. But I want 279 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,680 Speaker 1: you to think about what this actually looks like on 280 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 1: a personal level. A soldier shows up at your door 281 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: and doesn't let you back in ever again. It's something 282 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: that after more than six decades, Mayamita Lali still mourns. 283 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 2: Maybe that Kei is otos de may know a Santaios. 284 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 1: At eighty seven, she's been in the US since nineteen 285 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 1: sixty two. 286 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:46,160 Speaker 2: Gelo aya mimente aseal or really sal. 287 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: But she says she still hasn't fully realized or accepted 288 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:56,920 Speaker 1: that her life is here. And so it's this feeling 289 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:01,240 Speaker 1: of uprootedness, the essence of exile that informs everything in 290 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:05,360 Speaker 1: her life, from the mundane, a loyalty to a specific 291 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:12,119 Speaker 1: coffee brand, belong to the consequential, a particular sway in politics. 292 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:20,520 Speaker 1: Mayamalita seemingly ticks all the boxes expectations of what a 293 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:24,200 Speaker 1: Cuban American woman in her eighties might think and feel. 294 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,680 Speaker 1: But she would go on to tell me something about 295 00:21:29,720 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 1: Ilian that's anything but typical. By early December two thousand, 296 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 1: the presidential election still hadn't been called. The Florida election 297 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: recount went all the way up to the Supreme Court. 298 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:16,480 Speaker 10: It is ended the election, literally one of the closest 299 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:17,960 Speaker 10: elections in American history. 300 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,960 Speaker 1: On December twelfth, the highest court in the US ruled 301 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,880 Speaker 1: to reverse the Florida Supreme Court order for a manual recount, 302 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,840 Speaker 1: effectively ending the recount. It ruled that the recount violated 303 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: the equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This is 304 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 1: because there was no set standard for how to properly 305 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: count all ballots. So at last, over a month later, 306 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:43,159 Speaker 1: there was a winner. 307 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 10: Six hundred votes approximately separated the Gore and Bush in 308 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,240 Speaker 10: the state of Florida, and now by one vote on 309 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:52,360 Speaker 10: the Supreme Court, this election is over. 310 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,440 Speaker 2: Remember the vote total was so narrow. 311 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 1: Kendall Coffee one of the lawyers for Elyon's Miami relatives. 312 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 1: He also happened to litigate the Supreme Court recount case 313 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: on the Gore side. 314 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,560 Speaker 5: Even if everything else had gone right with the election 315 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 5: and there are no other problems, the impact on Cuban 316 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 5: Democratic voters cost Gore the election. 317 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: In the end, George W. Bush officially won by a 318 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:24,719 Speaker 1: tiny margin in Florida, five hundred and thirty seven votes, 319 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: and that victory in Florida gave Bush the bare majority 320 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 1: he needed in the Electoral College to win the election, 321 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,720 Speaker 1: even though he lost the national popular vote. Here's GAYD 322 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:40,480 Speaker 1: Mr Grenier again. 323 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 6: He probably will not find any smoking gun that says 324 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 6: that definitely Eleon costs the election. But yeah, Eli uncost 325 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:53,399 Speaker 6: the election. 326 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 1: Whatever happened, I Looto Castillo seemed to be a success. 327 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: The Cuban American community had gotten its revenge Gore lost 328 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:06,959 Speaker 1: and Bush became the forty third president of the United States. 329 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 5: The presidency is more than an honor, It is more 330 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:16,920 Speaker 5: than an office. It is a charge to keep, and 331 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 5: I will give it my all. 332 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,720 Speaker 1: From this election onward, Florida gained a reputation as the 333 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 1: quintessential swing state and would go on to become more 334 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: and more and more read Over half of Cuban Americans 335 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 1: in Florida voted Republican in twenty twenty. The two thousand 336 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: election results would have major lasting consequences for US politics 337 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: and for the world. 338 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:46,760 Speaker 5: The United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda 339 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:50,919 Speaker 5: terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime 340 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 5: in Afghanistan. These carefully target coalition forces have begun striking 341 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:59,919 Speaker 5: selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability 342 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 5: to wage war. These rogans to abandon the Patriot Act 343 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:07,399 Speaker 5: would deprive law enforcement and intelligence officers of needed tools 344 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,639 Speaker 5: in the war on Terror and demonstrate willful blindness to 345 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:11,800 Speaker 5: a continuing threat. 346 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: So Alion's fate may have influenced years of American foreign 347 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:47,199 Speaker 1: policy and political history, but as us back in Miami 348 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:50,879 Speaker 1: this past spring, after Mayaulita watered her plants. 349 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:56,840 Speaker 2: Flora Flora. 350 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,480 Speaker 1: I asked her about Alien, how does she think about 351 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: him now, so many years later. She would have liked 352 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: to see him grow up in the US, she said. 353 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:15,200 Speaker 1: But then when I asked her about the issue about 354 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: Elian's return to Cuba, she really surprised me. She said 355 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:22,159 Speaker 1: she thinks it was the right thing for him to 356 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:30,440 Speaker 1: go with his father Ke, even if it meant going 357 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: back to Cuba. I was shocked. It has two sides. 358 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:44,680 Speaker 2: Alian's mom died. 359 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:46,439 Speaker 1: She couldn't make choices about the. 360 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 2: Boy kiprox Superbarlo. 361 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 1: So the dad was next in line, and he didn't 362 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 1: do anything wrong. He had every right as a father. 363 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 2: She told me better. 364 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:09,119 Speaker 1: I wasn't expecting my grandma to say all of this 365 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 1: as a first wave of Miami Cuban. I didn't think 366 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:14,960 Speaker 1: she would move past the emotion of it all, that 367 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 1: she would be so clear eyed. It felt antithetical to 368 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:23,200 Speaker 1: the hard lined exile way of thinking. Afterwards, I shared 369 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 1: this with my mom. She thought that him going back 370 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,200 Speaker 1: to his dad was like the correct thing. I was 371 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 1: really surprised. 372 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,440 Speaker 3: I think that's interesting because that's not what she expressed 373 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 3: in the moment in the crisis, it was always, oh, 374 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,160 Speaker 3: they should let him stay because his mom died trying 375 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:45,560 Speaker 3: to bring him to freedom. But you know, as you 376 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:50,119 Speaker 3: get older, you see things differently. Your perceptions kind of 377 00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 3: change and soften and begin to see like the bigger 378 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:55,680 Speaker 3: picture beyond. 379 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: When I finally visited Cuba for the first time, I 380 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:10,520 Speaker 1: began to understand the bigger picture too. At fifty six. 381 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: My mom had never been to Cuba either. She was 382 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 1: born in Miami less than a year after my grandma arrived, 383 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,920 Speaker 1: and travel to Cuba used to be much more difficult 384 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:25,080 Speaker 1: until twenty sixteen when President Obama loosened some travel restrictions 385 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: and I wanted to go, but the idea of going 386 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 1: to Cuba is so fraught for many Cuban Americans. For us, 387 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,960 Speaker 1: it was weighed down by all this family history, and 388 00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 1: so we waited. We waited so long we thought we 389 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,560 Speaker 1: had missed our chance because under President Trump, many of 390 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:49,920 Speaker 1: Obama's Cuba policies were reversed. But luckily we realized we 391 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: could still go on a quote family visit. So finally 392 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen, I found myself in Havana with my 393 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 1: mom and Sisterawita Lavi could have joined us on the 394 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:04,160 Speaker 1: trip too, she decided. 395 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 2: Not to Joash. 396 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 1: She wasn't ready and she still doesn't feel ready to 397 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: go back to have her memories be replaced by the 398 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 1: current reality. But she's glad we went. 399 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:24,040 Speaker 2: Eropian Saparte the me Historia. 400 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 1: It was a good experience for us because it helped 401 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: us understand that part of her story. She says. On 402 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:33,720 Speaker 1: our trip to Cuba, we were able to meet the 403 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:37,680 Speaker 1: family we have on the island, Maya Alita's cousins. We 404 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: spent Christmas with them on Baradedo Beach. This is the 405 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 1: resort town about fifteen miles from Gardanas, where both Alien 406 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 1: and Maya Alita Lai are from. One of the many 407 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: coincidences we've come across in reporting this story. The trip 408 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:57,880 Speaker 1: was beautiful and magical and surreal. When we were saying 409 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 1: our goodbyes, I hugged and thanked one of our cousins 410 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,600 Speaker 1: who I had grown close to. I told her how 411 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:07,480 Speaker 1: much I envied her stunning ocean front view. I shared 412 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:09,440 Speaker 1: this story with my grandma. 413 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:18,640 Speaker 2: Si per Oh. 414 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 1: My cousin's response, I would give it all up for 415 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: what you have. She went on to say that I 416 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,959 Speaker 1: was lucky. I could visit Cuba, live in the US, Colombia, 417 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:39,640 Speaker 1: anywhere I was free to choose, free to ask difficult questions, 418 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:41,959 Speaker 1: even about my own family. 419 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 2: Ai Yo. 420 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: Sometimes wonders what would have happened if she had stayed 421 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 1: in Cuba. What would have become of her. 422 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:06,080 Speaker 2: Daughters sevan revolution. 423 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 1: Would they have worked for the government or been counter revolutionaries, 424 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,480 Speaker 1: or would they have drowned in the Florida streets trying 425 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 1: to get to Miamimilianilian, like Alian's mom who died with 426 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: her convictions. My grandma says. 427 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 2: You suba. 428 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: Alita that he tells me she travels to Cuba too, 429 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: in her own way, in her sleep. 430 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:55,720 Speaker 2: Concenando. 431 00:31:56,360 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 1: She's in her old kitchen in Cuba, cooking. No time 432 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:05,440 Speaker 1: has passed since she told me that. I've been wondering 433 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:09,320 Speaker 1: about her dreams for me. I wonder if she's surprised 434 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:14,960 Speaker 1: by how I turned out non traditional, a bit nomadic queer, 435 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:19,959 Speaker 1: and tattooed someone with a pretty different worldview. But if 436 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:25,120 Speaker 1: these things have surprised her, She's never expressed it. Instead, 437 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:27,040 Speaker 1: she tells me how proud she is. 438 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 2: Tu tere jum futuro Briti. 439 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,800 Speaker 1: She may belong to a group that stereotyped, blamed, and vilified, 440 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,800 Speaker 1: in particular for potentially swaying the two thousand election results. 441 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:46,560 Speaker 1: But Mayamalita Lali and others like her are so much 442 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:50,640 Speaker 1: more complex than that. She's someone who was uprooted and 443 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:54,560 Speaker 1: had to start over from nothing, someone who loves her community, 444 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 1: but who, as she's gotten older, has formed her own opinions. 445 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:02,560 Speaker 1: Someone who will always talk to her plants and call 446 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 1: me Dashi Duli. 447 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, but get to hear the characle ahorn me beating 448 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:11,680 Speaker 2: your shuyne. 449 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:17,880 Speaker 1: Someone who would rather keep returning to Cuba in her dreams. 450 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:36,640 Speaker 1: Next week, Honey takes back the mic Elean receives a 451 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:39,880 Speaker 1: heroes welcome in Cuba and he meets Fidel Castro for 452 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 1: the first time and through the years they become quite close. 453 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:47,760 Speaker 3: The only god he believed in it was Fidel. 454 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,800 Speaker 1: Chess Piece. The Inian Gonzale Story is a production of 455 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 1: Futuro Studios in partnership with Iheart's Make Ultura podcast network. 456 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:21,239 Speaker 1: This show is written and reported by me Tasha san 457 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:26,359 Speaker 1: Looa with Benide Remidez, Maria Garcia, and Nicole Rothwell. Our 458 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:31,200 Speaker 1: editor is Maria Garcia. Additional editing by Marlon Visha. Our 459 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:35,520 Speaker 1: senior producer is Nicole Rothwell. Our associate producers are Me 460 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:41,000 Speaker 1: Tasha Sanloan and Elizabeth Lowenthal Thorers. Sound designed by Jacob 461 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,960 Speaker 1: Rizzatti with help from JJ Carubin. Our intern is Evelyn 462 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:49,400 Speaker 1: Fajardo Albrees. Our senior production manager is Jessica Ellis, with 463 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:53,840 Speaker 1: production support from Nancy Trujuijo and Francis Poun. Mixing by 464 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:58,640 Speaker 1: Stephanie LeBeau, Julia Carriso and JJ Carubin. Back checking by 465 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: Media about Gista, scoring, a musical curation by Jacob Rizzotti 466 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:07,480 Speaker 1: and Stephanie Lebau, and credits music from Rosa Chios. Our 467 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:12,360 Speaker 1: executive producers are Marlon Bishop and Maria Garcia. Legal review 468 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:17,000 Speaker 1: by Neil Rossini. Futuro Media was founded by Maria Ininojosa. 469 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:21,759 Speaker 1: This episode was recorded at White Lemon Studios in Bogota, Colombia. 470 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:26,279 Speaker 1: For more podcasts, listen to the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 471 00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:30,600 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. I'm Pasha Sandled. 472 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:31,920 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.