Fatherlands: Identities of a Cuban American

My debut book, Fatherlands: Identities of a Cuban American, is now available in print and digital formats! This memoir -- the most challenging writing project I've undertaken since first learning the English language -- is the book I was meant to write. It includes a few excerpts from my 1400 Characters blog and Facebook posts over the years. Comprised of 21 photos and 57,470 words spread over 200 pages, many English-language readers around the world will find this "memoir with a twist" interesting and informative, and perhaps more.

For more information about my book, including how to obtain a paperback copy or digital download, go to www.charleslopezbruns.com.

Love the Sea, See the Love

The boy looked out at the sea

and saw a lighthouse.

Beyond its beacon he could imagine

his home, his brother, his mother.

He loved that sea dearly.

It was a direct path to everything

he longed for, for all he missed,

and love that awaited him.

The sea was also his best friend, 

always there day and night,

bringing him all kinds of joy.

It refreshed him, it played with him,

at times it even fed him.

But the sea was also tempestuous,

dancing wickedly with stormy rains,

knocking against his door with anger,

once even climbing inside his room

and sweeping away some toys.

It was like the father he remembered,

all playful and attentive one day,

then angry and furious the next.

But the sea did not leave him. 

It returned, calmed down 

and ready to play, refresh and feed, 

like the good women in his life.

And there were many good women.

His aunt, grandmother and mother 

and others, all took turns

to bring him back to the sea.

They waded in its waters with him,

playing and laughing with joy

as he jumped the waves 

or dove under its currents,

the silky sand under his soft feet.

But none was lovelier than the one

he married and raised their family with.

Many years she would jump right in

to share in his joy of the sea,

and see the boy who was also her man.

His eyes still sparkle by the sea, 

his wife often beside him.

He likes to watch her face 

as she relaxes under the sun, 

the sound of the surf and children

playing around them.

When he closes his eyes, 

he sees the lighthouse, feels the joy.

When he opens his eyes,

he smiles and remembers how much

he still loves the sea. 

He turns to look at his wife,

and sees a love as warm as the sun.

--Charles Bruns, copyright 2017

On May 17, 1947...

It was 70 years ago this week that the first of my family arrived in the U.S. The woman who would become my grandmother, Abuela Belen, was a widow and talented seamstress who came to the U.S. in search for a better life, like millions before and after her.

She tried, but could never master the English language like my mother did. She got most of her information from Spanish-language newspapers, magazines, radio and TV and her Spanish-speaking neighbors, friends and co-workers in New York. She cared about her new country, and regularly voted in elections.

She was one of the most inspirational people in my life, and a very loving sweet woman. And, she was a good American.

Normalizing Cuba-US relations

The following was written in response to inquiries from family and friends immediately after it was announced that the US and Cuban governments were taking steps to normalize relations. 

Thanks for thinking of me and caring about Cuba and Cuban-Americans. I have positive, albeit mixed, feelings about today's announcement.

The Castros have a lot of blood and theft on their hands. Their oppression of countrymen during the past 55 years is unforgivable. Ultimately, however, it is the Cuban people who will benefit from normalization of relations with the U.S. -- as will the American people.

As long as today's announcement will not exonerate the Castros -- history should place them along Stalin, Hitler and other tyrants -- I agree the time has come for a change. While I sympathize with Cuban-Americans who lost loved ones to firing squads, or knew of people who rotted in jails for daring to speak out for values that Americans take for granted, or had what was rightfully theirs confiscated by a one-party government, I laud President Obama for making the courageous decision to put the welfare of everyday Cubans above politics.

It is these everyday Cubans, most of whom have never lived under a leader not named Castro, that we should think of and hope for today.

Again, thanks for caring.

A Cuban evolution?

The bearded one's time left on earth gets shorter. His brother talks of retirement. There are major changes in the leadership of Cuba that appear inevitable. Of course, the people on the island and the rest of the world have heard this before. Time will tell if the passing of the Castros will bring evolutionary or revolutionary change in one of the last bastions of communism on the planet.

One thing, however, is certain: Cuba's status as an international baseball power is history. This month's World Baseball Classic provided overwhelming evidence that Cuba is no longer an elite presence on a baseball diamond. Cuba's failures against Japan and South Korea during the 2009 WBC tournament were not an aberration. This year's elimination at the hands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a.k.a. Holland, was proof that Cuba is no longer an automatic finalist in international baseball tournaments.

Gold medalists in the 2004, 1996 and 1992 Olympic Games, and 12-time winners of the Pan American Games -- including 10 consecutive championships between 1971 and 2007 -- Cuba's elimination during the second round of this year's World Baseball Classic came on the heels of a third-place finish at the 2011 Pan American Games and runner-up spot in the 2008 Olympics (baseball was not played during the 2012 games) that sandwiched its 2009 WBC failure.

Different people will cite various reasons for Cuba's demise as an international baseball power. It's true that some of the country's stars have defected from the country, but this year's World Baseball Classic champion the Dominican Republic and other countries, including the United States, can also claim they were missing some of their best players during the WBC. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, with less than half its players affiliated with major league teams, can rightfully claim it had a bunch of second-rate pitchers and only a couple of budding stars on the field when beating the Cubans twice this month.

Cuba has clearly been surpassed by its neighbors the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico as Caribbean baseball powers and, as demonstrated in other recent international baseball tournaments, by Japan, South Korea, the US, Canada -- and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with its mix of players from Holland, Curaçao and Aruba -- elsewhere in the world. Time will tell if Cuba's downfall in baseball is part of a cycle that often happens in sports, or an evolutionary or revolutionary change that reflects broader developments in the country.