US-Cuba Tug of War Over Elite Athletes, Part One

The bind, I think, is how intensely proud and invested all Cubans are in their culture. Nearly all the Cuban athletes are labeled "defectors" when they arrive or indeed wash ashore in the US. Yet many objected to this label and suggested that no Mexican or Filipino would have that label attached to their efforts to seek economic opportunity in the United States. Which isn't to say they weren't unhappy with many aspects of the political situation in Cuba, but the primary motivation to leave was money. They all suggested if they could fight and earn what they did in America back in Cuba, they would never have left. Now those are just the athletes I interviewed, it isn't to suggest a universal portrait of everyone who leaves. It's obviously a case-by-case situation for everyone who has made that harrowing decision to leave.

But the bind, as I discovered talking and interviewing many people, was the feeling of being cursed with remorse regardless of whether they left or remained on the island. This was reflected in the relationship many Cubans had with the ocean surrounding their island, which operated as both gateway and barrier. The bind is also reflected in the fact that Cuba's revolution has split nearly every family on the island. Some of the athletes who left for America had a father disown them while their mother supported their efforts to seek a more prosperous life abroad. None of these decisions are clean is what I'm driving at, the wounds remain open wounds to this day for so many people. I wrote in the memoir that Cuban eyes very often look close to tears, both for their capacity for joy and sadness.

JB: I knew that many people fled Castro but, before reading The Domino Diaries, I didn't realize that the phenomenon was so widespread. This is a good spot to pause, Brin. I encourage our readers to stay tuned for the conclusion of our interview. When we return, we'll talk about the historic opening of the Cuban Embassy in Washington this week and what it signifies.

***

Part Two of our interview

Domino Diaries link

A Cuban Boxer's Journey link

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