When my 10 year old son confided that he identified more as a Mexican-American because no one in his school was Cuban—or even knew where Cuba was—I gasped. My mind traveled back to the future. 

Growing up as a Cuban-American, I felt culturally confused. My family was from this country that I did not know much about.

As a young girl, I loved books and never saw a Cuban-American character portrayed in literature. I longed to see a protagonist that symbolized my culture’s representation—especially since I had never been to Cuba and almost all my family lived there. I desperately longed for something to connect through my love language—reading. How I wish I would have had All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle as a child to get a glimpse of the sights, people and life on the island. Read More