At the turn of the millennium, a five-year-old boy from Cuba found off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving became the most talked about child in America. Elián Go...
In the final episode this season, Peniley reflects on the throughline of the Elián story: family separation. In an extended interview with Cuban American historian Ada Ferrer, we share her family’s story of separation and reunification. Her mom left Cuba when she was pregnant with Ada in 1963, soon after the revolution. They left behind her 9-year old brother, Poly, or Hipólito, playing in the yard without telling him they wouldn’t be returning. She tells us how years later he would eventually come to the U.S. too, and be reunited, but that the wound of abandonment would prove deep. To read Ada's family story, here is her New Yorker article, My Brother's Keeper. This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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23:44
"Crazy Cubans"
After taking you through the Elián González story, we’re sharing some reporting and interview content that didn’t make it into our narrative series. This week, Peniley and producer, Tasha Sandoval, sit down to reflect on their experiences reporting on this project, particularly through their perspectives as Cubans: Peniley, a Cuban who grew up in Cuba, and Tasha, a second-generation Cuban-American. During the Elian saga, the Cuban American community in Miami gained a negative reputation as “crazy,” something that came up in several interviews. We hear from writer Vanessa Garcia and former Executive Director of the Cuban American National foundation, Joe Garcia, to reflect on how this perception of “Crazy Cubans” and that the community lost the narrative, may have reverberations to this day. This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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22:37
Being Home
Peniley tells us the story of Elián after he returned to Cuba, where he studied engineering, fell in love and had a daughter. Back in his country, Elián became a favorite of Fidel Castro, much to the chagrin of Miami Cubans. Peniley reflects on Elián's journey and her own relationship with Cuba. She speaks to her children about her and Elián's Cubanismo. This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos. Original Material Appeared In: Al Jazeera English AP Archive Belly of The Beast CNN's "Elián: The Remarkable Story of A Cuban Boy's Journey to America" CNN Fidel Castro Ruz, Soldado de las Ideas La Caja de PandoraSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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30:30
The Punishment Vote
Elián and his dad went back to Cuba in June 2000, just four months before the US Presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Miami Cubans, hurt and angered by President Bill Clinton’s handling of the Elián case, resolved to vote against the Democrats and for the Republicans in what was called el voto castigo — the punishment vote. To understand the political influence of Cuban-Americans, the stakes, and lasting impact of this moment, producer Tasha Sandoval takes the mic. We meet Tasha’s grandmother, an 87-year-old Miami Cuban, and learn how her story as a first wave Cuban exile informs her perspective. This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos. Thanks to These Archival Sources: Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives Original Material Appeared In: ABC News AP Archive CBS News CNN Evening News C-SPAN Democracy Now! HBO's "537 Votes" Museum of the Moving Image National Archives NBC Evening News NBC News PBS NewsHour Retro Report The New York Times Voice of America YouTube/PlopsmomSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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35:52
The Reunion
In the aftermath of the raid, agents brought Elián to Washington D.C. where father and son would finally reunite. But Elián and his dad were stuck in the United States while the court case played out — and while Miami burned with rage at what many Cuban Americans saw as a deep betrayal by the federal government. Peniley reflects on the power of reunions. As Elián was reunited with his father, his cousin Marisleysis was in despair. And in April 2000, Peniley had just turned 13 years old, still separated from her own father as a result of US and Cuban policies. This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos. Thanks to These Archival Sources: Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives Original Material Appeared In: ABC Evening News AP Archive Belly of The Beast CNN Evening News CNN's "Elián: The Remarkable Story of A Cuban Boy's Journey to America" Cubadebate C-SPAN MSNBC NPR's "All Things Considered"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
At the turn of the millennium, a five-year-old boy from Cuba found off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving became the most talked about child in America. Elián González had left Cuba with his mom and a dozen other migrants, trying to make it to the U.S. but on the way, the boat capsized. Elián’s mother drowned. Before she did, she tied her child to an inner tube, saving his life.
Relatives in Miami — Cuban exiles — took the boy in. His father in Cuba wanted him back. The ensuing international custody battle over Elián González became its own mini Cold War, pitting Cuban exiles in Miami against supporters of Castro’s regime on an island just 90 miles away.
The fight over Elián’s future came down to neighbor against neighbor, family against family. Now, 25 years later — we revisit his story through the voices of people who lived it firsthand.
Episodes drop every Wednesday, starting 9/25/24.
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