El Balserito - The Little Rafter

Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped once.  C. Connolly  Grasping this hand-eyed view to heart, 'el Balserito -the little Rafter,' is making a return in 2012; because I say so.  After a very long and creative dry spell, I have reopened that rickety drawer called ambition and am ready to rebirth some old and forgotten Gallicisms.

Martha and I met at a a Phil Gramm for President fundraiser in 1995 in a posh waterfront home on the Inter-coastal nestled up to good neighbor Wayne Huizenga's Florida home. The house smelled of a sweet tropical balm with a cooling bouquet of all things green. A small stream trailed through the common areas beginning at the front door and flowed peacefully to the rear terrace where you could touch and breathe a saline ocean.  Colossal wooden beams and logs hugged every corner of the house while generous welcoming couches seduced any passerby-er to sit down and talk some smack.  The terrace that surrounded the house overlooked the ever constant ocean waters that could swiftly propel you far out into the deep blue sea. As big as the estate was, it was as blanketed with invitees as it was covered with flora and fauna; all were there to support their guy in the next election. I was a non-committal attendee hopelssly lost in the beauty of paradise while the campaign surreptitiously exploded around me.

Martha was a guest to the event and, at the time, I was the ghost writer to the owner of  the estate; one of the best jobs I have ever had.  After many be-verbs while sitting on an airy terrace, we enthusiastically decided to give birth to a book that could represent 'the' story of many an immigrant child.    After all, we knew a little about the topic --we too were political refugees once.

The gestational months that shaped the 'little Rafter' translated into a flurry of interviews with survivors of Guantanamo, Mariel Boatlift ( UofM archives) and other exodus' less known. Meticulous unveilings of personal stories came to light over those months that helped us retell the universal immigrant story.  It is important to note that, our 'Balserito', came alive in 1996 several years before the media blitz caused by the arrival of Elian Gonzalez in 2011.

The Elian Story was the headline brick buster of 2011! Elian Gonzalez, as a young boy was picked up at sea near the Miami shore only to be returned to his native Cuba after a scandalous political intervention between Cuba and the United States.  His story is still in progress as he is now an adult and serves as part of the Fildelista youth movement in Cuba today.

 The book finally came alive and we held our book presentation, reading and signing at the "Cuban Museum of the America," 1300 Sw 12 Avenue, Miami, Florida.    

Howbeit, this time, our rafter tale will be part of a new cast of projects slated for this year. All kidding aside, this personal journey is two fold: one part purely for the love of  art; the same art that could possibly make you cut off an ear.  Part two: is a supplication of sorts: 'Please God, let me have the chance to prove that money can't make me happy'!  

...Buen Camino!