Joe García

"It's not going to fall. It's not going to fall the way we think it will. It will change, adapt, or correct itself. But part of the problem is thinking that you can win a war from the outside, without shedding blood, sweat, or suffering. It's a fantasy. A fantasy that keeps the struggle alive and coherent. The Cuban government will change, but at this moment I don't see anything to replace it. What I see is that it will need to evolve more toward our position, which is pragmatic and operational, rather than the opposite position held by the community here. Democracy is like a religion. If you have it, it works. There was democracy in Haiti. And I want democracy for Cuba. But that doesn't mean that magically, when you have democracy, it will work."

"When you're younger, you think you're unique. And the meaning lies in contact with that community and participation in that reality. Obviously, Cubans have a number of characteristics that are unique to them, but they are not original to them. In many ways, they are very nationalistic and at the same time very Americanistic. Cuba, as a consequence of its politics and its relationship with the United States. It's very typical of Mexico, with Carlos Fuentes' phrase: ‘So close to the United States, so far from God.’ In many ways, Cubans have the same problem. They are close to a highly successful democratic, cultural, and national project. And that project consumes or victimizes those around it. In many ways, that has marked Cubans. As a politician friend of mine said: the most Americanized people are the Lebanese and the Cubans, which is almost absurd. It's an attraction that has a toxic effect. Cuba's political rhetoric has historically been anti-American. It's necessary to be anti-American. Fidel Castro emerged as an anti-American student, while at the same time Cubans are wildly pro-American, even pro-statehood. They want to be part of the American nation, even if Americans aren't interested. It's very similar to Puerto Ricans, in the sense that Cubans may have developed a slightly stronger nationalism due to circumstances of time and conflict. But obviously, it's something that shapes the political character of Cubans."

"That's what happens in Miami. It's why you see Miami as an enclave; it develops political leanings that are, in many ways, very accurate. It's like saying you want to meet someone more British than an Irish person living in Northern Ireland, because they feel more English than the English. Cubans, because they are an enclave, feel more American. There's a line in the movie Scarface, whose subtitle says: ‘He wanted the American dream with a vengeance.’ The concept of the American dream is poured into this reality. It is defined as a minority, defined as the winner of its minority position. So much so that they come to power, as they have now, and continue to see themselves as victims in many ways of what happened in Cuba. In many ways, they have gained much of what was taken from them, with the exception that they have not been able to control the country where my parents were born, in my case, because I was not born in Cuba."

"My grandfather thought it was inconceivable that the Americans would not take Cuba at some point. The idea was, how could they allow communism 90 miles away? In many ways, it was similar to how Cubans saw Berlin and East Germany. A free city, with the sea as a wall that kills those who try to escape, and only a few can escape, but that was undoubtedly the perception. In that perception, it is a fantasy, not a reality. But in my grandfather's case, he literally had a suitcase with a suit in it, and they buried him in that suit. And that suitcase moved with me and my family on our various adventures, with the clothes they used to bury him in. But believe it or not, that suitcase gives me great power. The foreigner in a society has an advantage—they are seen as an outsider. They can analyze what they are participating in. You can't analyze yourself, because it's hard, but you can always look at the other to analyze them. In many ways, Cubans with that fictitious suitcase had the ability to analyze the society they were participating in, and always had the advantage that if things didn't go well, they could fall back on their culture. If you weren't successful as an American, at least you were successful as a Cuban. Identification within a culture as powerful as the American culture is important. It's such a powerful, appealing culture. And you see it in our children who don't learn to speak Spanish, and yet it sticks, because we live in such an intensely Hispanic society.