I became a man when I was nine. My other option was death.
I just didn’t know it then, but the truth is that I . . . we . . . had to leave.
–Tony Dora
Why would parents send their children, alone, to a foreign country with no guarantee that they would ever see each other again? From December 1960 to October 1962, over 14,000 unescorted children fled Cuba for the United States in what became known as Operation Pedro Pan. When Tony and Norma boarded the plane that would fly them to freedom, they had no idea what the future would hold. Theirs was a voyage into the unknown. A Boy, an Orphanage, a Cuban Refugee chronicles their emotional journey through Tony’s eyes as he and Norma navigate life for six weeks in a refugee camp and then a year in an orphanage, until they are finally reunited with their mother.
Author Tony Dora will offer an illustrated presentation of his book, followed by a Q&A with the audience, moderated by fellow Pedro Pan Lourdes Blanco, head of our Literature Program.
This event is part of our CreateNYC Language Access Series on Cuban History, Art, and Literature. It will be held in English.
Baruch College
55 Lexington Ave. (off 24th St.), NYC
VC3 160 (3rd Floor, Room 160)
RSVP at: info@cubanculturalcenter.org
Tony Dora is a retired ESL teacher to adults. Prior to becoming a teacher, Tony was a commissioned officer in the US Air Force, where he was a chaplain candidate ministering to the troops. Tony also worked for the Catholic Archdiocese of New York as director for Spanish language communications. In that capacity he produced and directed syndicated TV and radio programs which were broadcast nationally via Univision and the Catholic Television Network. He was a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Writers Guild of America.
To purchase the book, please click on this link:
http://tinyurl.com/8cewctzu
This event is presented in association with the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature at Baruch College
And is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New YorkState Council on the Arts and the New YorkState Legislature.
With the promotional cooperation of
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