Thursday, April 09, 1970

"The Cubans" by Fernando Hernandez



Cubans are such great story tellers.  I guess that's because we have so many good stories to tell!
 
Why is that?  What makes Cubans such good storytellers?

Maybe it's our Spanish heritage or something about the island that just brings out the "storyteller" in all of us.
 
 
It is a wonderful collection of stories about Cubans, like you & me, who settled in the US and made something out of ourselves: 
"In this new book the reader will discover how in 1930 a Havana bandleader traveled to New York City, recorded a million-copy hit that kicked-started a Cuban music craze throughout the United States.
Science fiction lovers will learn that a Cuban-American was the writer, producer, and story editor of many Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes. An author born in 1865 in Brooklyn, New York of Cuban origin began his career at age 12, becoming a prolific boys’ fiction writer earning the nickname the American Jules Verne.
History buffs will enjoy reading about three sisters who became Confederate spies during the Civil War, and thanks to their bravery, a Union warship was captured.
New Yorkers and those who visit the Big Apple will read of the work of a structural engineer, born in Havana of immigrant Lithuanian Jews, who was known as “Mr. New York” for his engineering of the city’s skyscrapers, including the 70-story Trump World Tower.
Read about a surgeon who in 2012 led a team of 150 doctors, nurses, and others in Maryland in the most extensive face transplant surgery ever performed in the world.
The book also profiles those who serve the less fortunate, including the co-founder of Florida’s largest free clinic serving migrant workers, the working poor, the sick, and families who fall between the cracks of America’s social system.
This is a book that transcends ethnic, national, racial, gender and religious barriers and bears witness to what Cubans, both political refugees and immigrants, have accomplished in a country where liberty and freedom abound.
This is the story of the Cuban-Americans, and the footprints they have left on their path across the United States."
What's the best part of the book?  They are all real CUBANS!    Everyone of these stories is about a CUBANO who beat the odds in the US.
 
This is a fun book.  It is inspirational.  Some stories will make you laugh, like "las cubanitas" in the US Civil War, and others will touch your heart.
 
Here is an idea:  Give this book to your kids or grandchildren if you have any.  Tell them that this is what Cuban heritage is all about.  Last, but not least, Fernando has quite a story too.  He was one of the 14,000 Pedro Pan children who came to the US in the early 1960's.
 
P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
 
Get the book!

Check my interview with Fernando!




December 2015: Political humor with Antonio.F Branco & Leslie Eastman


 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.




World War II right after the attack on Pearl Harbor with Barry Jacobsen

Guest: Barry Jacobsen, blogger and military historian.........we will look at World War II right after the attack on Pearl Harbor.........the US declared war and now must organize a military response...........and other stories.......

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.




The Cubans: The music of Ernesto Lecuona & others with Fernando Hernandez, author

Image result for ernesto lecuona images

Guest:  Fernando Hernandez, author of "The Cubans".  We will review the career of Ernesto Lecuona, one of the greatest composers of the Spanish speaking world, plus Moises Simons, Rene Touzet among others.....

Click to listen.......

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.




The Cubans in the US: Show business celebrities with Fernando Hernandez

Related image

 P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Ernesto Lecuona, Moises Simons and other great Cuban composers


We spoke Sunday with Fernando Hernandez (author of The Cubans) about Ernesto Lecuona and Moises Simons, two great Cuban composers. 

Lecuona was a legendary composer.

Simons composed "El Manicero", or the most famous Cuban song. 

Click here for the show............

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.



April 1970: Paul McCartney quit The Beatles

Wonder how many old & new Beatles' fans recall that Paul quit the group in April 1970?

It was not exactly a shock.  

The Beatles had not toured since 1966.  Their personal relations had soured.  The four guys had developed too many interests outside of the group.  I guess that the break up was inevitable.   

Again, it was not really a shock when Paul McCartney made it official:
"The legendary rock band the Beatles spent the better part of three years breaking up in the late 1960s, and even longer than that hashing out who did what and why. And by the spring of 1970, there was little more than a tangled set of business relationships keeping the group together. Each of the Beatles was pursuing his musical interests outside of the band, and there were no plans in place to record together as a group. But as far as the public knew, this was just a temporary state of affairs. That all changed on April 10, 1970, when an ambiguous Paul McCartney "self-interview" was seized upon by the international media as an official announcement of a Beatles breakup.
The occasion for the statements Paul released to the press that day was the upcoming release of his debut solo album, McCartney."
The new album was most unusual.  It was literally a "solo" album because McCartney played every instrument.

Looking back, it was not that good of an album.  Frankly, McCartney should have hired a producer and a band, specially a drummer.  It was too much McCartney.  It sounded like a demo tape desperately looking for a producer to dress it up.

Nevertheless, it was a best seller and a couple of songs about his love for Linda were really good.  (They were married 29 years until Linda died of cancer in 1998).

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

1865: General Lee surrendered


The costly and bloody US Civil War ended on this day in 1865.    The war ended but reconciliation and reconstruction proved to be very difficult.    A week later, President Lincoln was assassinated to make matters even worse.

Nevertheless, April 9, 1865 was one of the most important dates in US history.

We remember today all of the honorable men who served on both sides.
 
This is a good book about April 1865.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
 



Search This Blog