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Cuban Girlhood by Flor Fernandez Barrios
Born just four years before the cataclysm that changed the course of history for her homeland ninety miles from the Florida coast, Flor Fernandez provides a new perspective on Castro's Cuba, recreating life on the island before and during the Cuban Revolution by contrasting her family's tranquil existence before this momentous event with the traumatic changes afterwards. In unforgettable images, she evokes pleasant memories of childhood visits to her grandparent's farm where she experiences the joys and sorrows of life in the countryside. She recalls hearing her grandmother's stories and helping her grandfather perform simple tasks in the fields but also relives her sadness when her favorite horse must be shot when it breaks a leg. Fernandez casts a nostalgic glance at her family in descriptions of weddings, baptisms, and funerals and recalls the tasty and traditional Cuban foods her grandmother lovingly prepares for them -- rice, black beans, plantains and roast pork.
Fernandez's idyllic childhood comes to an abrupt...