Cuban+American+Artwork


 * //__Cuban Immigrants__//** **//__By Tymothy Moncayo__//**

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Gloria Estefans First Song By Tymothy Moncayo Dezi Arnaz performing By Tymothy Moncayo ====  Cuban immigrants came to America for freedom and were grateful to have left their communist country ruled by dictator Fidel Castro. In 1959 the Cuban revolution started and the dictatorship of Fidel Castro, this is one of the many reasons why Cubans immigrated to America. Wealthy Cubans came to America so they could protect their belongings such as assets and others to escape the rule of Fide Castro. The Cuban immigrants usually would immigrate to Miami, Florida and Key West, the Key West eventually was nicknamed Little Havana for the amount Cubans immigrated there. When coming to America many of them built boats out of cars to get to Florida, unfortunately some of them were caught by the coast guard and taken back to Cuba, but a large portion of them made it to Florida. Coming to America they usually were penniless and almost all of them went refugee camps, and later on many of them went looking for jobs. Cubans are usually known to being hard workers and won’t stop working till they succeed. They eventually all became successful in opening little restaurants in little Havana and many people who traveled to Florida would go to the little Havana to eat those tasty Cuban sandwiches, etc they had. Cuban-Americans are part of the melting pot by having left their mark on American Territory (Florida) by having nicknamed Miami, little Havana and having their culture spread out.   ====


====  The music of Cuba is very Latin and has this rhythm and beat that makes you want to get up dance salsa. For example, Gloria Estefan, the Cuban-American sensation, topped the music charts and eventually gained international stardom. Gloria Estefan made and composed bilingual music that could be enjoyed by all races. Her music influenced American Music by being the first Latin woman to be successful and have made 44 albums. Desi Arnaz was the famous actor who was married to Lucille Ball, the stars of the hit TV show // I Love Lucy //. They opened the door for many Latin people to work in show business and the music industry. ====

These two Cuban-American sensations have become part of American Culture.
====  Gloria Estefan and Desi Arnaz were one of the first Hispanics to make it in show business and came out being very successful. They have inspired other latinos to make their dreams true, Gloria Estefan's music has influenced American Music and is now part of it. Desi Arnaz the first Latino to be on national television and now there are many other fellow Latinos who are actors and actresses in America. The culture and music they brought from their country has integrated into American Culture and has become part of the “Melting Pot”.   ====


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Nuevo Mundo, Nuevas Oportunidades  (New Wold, New Opportunities ) Cuban Immigrants By Gabby Cruz

Out of all of the Hispanic groups that immigrated to America, Cuban immigrants are considered one of the most successful. From the 2001 census, about 1,241,685 Americans are believed to be of Cuban descent. Unfortunately, they found many incentives to leave their homeland. Some were a lack of political freedom due to a communist government that was run by a dictator named Fidel Castro. Also everything belonged to the government, food was rationed, you had to do what the government wanted to do, the people weren’t allowed to own property, and people couldn’t make a profit or create their own business. The only way to leave was on a lottery based system where you had to do intense labor until your name was called. Andres Cruz’s family, who were Cuban immigrants, left Cuba for religious freedom, political freedom, and so he would not be drafted into the army at age seventeen. Although each family that wanted to immigrate had their reasons for leaving, they all found something in common which was that they wanted to escape the oppression of Castro and start a new life in America. In October 1962, there was the Cuban missile crisis, and Castro closed the airports due to the commercial traffic they were getting. This angered America and they tried to isolate Cuba so that the flights would not resume. At this point, it was very difficult for Cubans to come to the United States. By 1965, the flights were resumed and a great wave emigrated. Some of the struggles that the immigrants had to deal with were the language barrier, discrimination against them, and the pain of leaving other family members behind.

There were many artistic contributions to American art from Cuban Immigrants. One example is the novel “The Agüero Sisters” written by Cristina Garcia, who immigrated to America from Havana, Cuba at the age of two with her family. “The Agüero Sisters” is a story about two sisters who were separated by one of them immigrating to America. I chose this book because I believed it showed the struggle a family went through by being separated when they immigrated. Tony Mendoza, the child of Cuban immigrants, was raised in Little Havana in Miami and is a Cuban American artist. He created a painting called “Cuban American” and in the painting are two different coffee pots. One is representing a Cuban coffee maker, with an older metal container and the other is representing American coffee maker which is a completely different shape and is electronic. This shows that the Cuban culture is more traditional and old-fashioned while the American culture is more technological and efficient but although the cultures are different they are still able to produce the same product: coffee.

There were a couple of conventional themes that appeared in these forms of art. The book “The Agüero Sisters” had the theme of immigrants having to leave behind family members and how difficult it was for them to be separated from their families. It showed the sacrifice of losing family members in order to gain opportunity in America. Tony Mendoza’s painting “Cuban American” has the theme of assimilation in to the fast paced American culture. It is shown through the different coffee pots.



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 * Cuban immigrants**
 * By Nick Sternal**

**Gloria Estefans Dance Hit** Steven Bauer as Manny Ribera in the Movie //Scarface// Cuban immigrants came to this country for the purpose of escaping the communist government lead by Fidel Castro. In 1959 many people fled from Cuba as political refugees hoping the Castro regime would fall. They left all of their possessions and headed for the southeast part of the United States. The Cuban immigrants would usually head for Key West or Miami Florida. They would come to this country and build the communities within the cities waiting for Castro to crumble. Unfortunately this hasn’t happened yet. Within these communities however Cuban immigrants have left their mark on the cities by creating Little Havana’s. A Little Havana is kind of like a Little Italy or a China Town where the culture of a group of people dominates that specific area. The Cuban immigrants had high expectations when coming here, but unfortunately they would face many challenges. They would have to learn a new language, others couldn’t work in their profession, and some immigrants who just happened to be children were either given to relatives or put in foster care. Some immigrants that came here were successful in their artistic careers. Gloria Estefan and Steven Bauer contributed to the Cuban immigrant culture. Gloria Estefan introduced Latina music to this country. She has sold millions of albums worldwide and millions of albums in the U.S. She produced Spanish and English singing music. Besides these accomplishments she has supported some charities such as the Miami Project, We Are the World Foundation, Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, and her charity the Gloria Estefan Foundation. The Bouniconti Fund to cure paralysis and the Miami Project both work hand in hand to help and cure the handicapped. Steven Bauer is a small time actor who played a significant role in //Scarface//. He played as Manolo Ribera in the film. This role awarded him a nomination for Golden Globe for best supporting actor. Both Steven Bauer and Gloria Estefan were both from the same generations of Cubans that fled Cuba after Castro took over. Both also introduced their Cuban culture through their professions. Gloria Estefan and Steven Bauer elevated the Cuban community in the artistic world with music and acting. The position that was once held by Ricky Riccardo, (Dezi Arnaz) has been expanded to include many more Cubans. Gloria Estefan and Steven Bauer have shown that immigrants from Cuba have not only made the United States their home but our culture has been so infused with the Latino culture that it appears to be almost one and the same. With many neighbors to the south being perceived as a negative influence especially with illegal immigration they have shown what successful legal immigration has to offer our country in culture, food, entertainment and art. They have been successful in integrating their culture into the American culture and attaining their own dreams of immigration.