"Ya, KIA, Ya!"

I drive around my suburban neighborhood in a minivan.
It's actually a KIA Sedona. And I like it. A lot.

We just call it The KIA. And that has become its given name.

Adam, who is 22 and who has, shall we say, a different driving style than I do, mocks me whenever I am driving and I accelerate to pass someone.

"Ya, Kia, Ya!" He shouts as if he were driving (no pun intended) a team of horses.

Mom accelerates.
Adam shouts: "Ya, KIA, Ya!"

It's even better when he does it with a Cuban accent, which makes it sound like he's yelling at the KIA to STOP.

"Ya, KIA, Ya! Por favor, basta ya!"

(Sorry, you have to actually speak Spanish to get that one and it's kind of impossible to translate. Just trust me on this. He's asking it to please stop.)

We laugh every time. (But then, you know, we're easily entertained...)

So, I had been thinking of getting a personalized license plate. (Okay, a VANITY plate. =D)

My original one, Smrtqbn (that also happens to be my Twitter name in case you want to follow me, but that's not important right now) has expired and I was trying to come up with a new plate.

SIDE NOTE: We applied for Cuba2Go, which is the name of my online business Cuba To Go!, and I got very excited about that, but the Braniacs Who Work At the California DMV wouldn't approve it (I am so not kidding about this!) because it sounded (wait for it....) racist to them. (Racist?? Seriously? Look at the stuff that has slipped by them!!!)

We even showed them extensive documentation that Cuba to Go! was indeed our business name and was REGISTERED WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA as such, but no go.

Which now left us pondering other clever combinations of letters to make some kind of a mobile statement as we drove around town in The KIA.

How about "Ya, KIA, Ya!" ?

Yay! How cool is that?
We got kind of excited about it, until we put the letters together as they would appear on the license plate....

It was my 95 year old Cuban mom who was the first to say it: "Parese algo Japones."

Yep. YAKIAYA sure sounds like a Japanese surname.

Shut up. I know. So, who needs a vanity plate?

I have other ways to recognize my KIA.  ;-)

Have you called your Mami today?

The following is a public service announcement from Marta and MBFCF:

You have got to get yourself over to Tiki Tiki and see Carrie's hilarious video, "I have a Latin mother."

And when you've finished laughing so hard that your sides are hurting....

Go! Call your Mami!!

She can't help it. It's in her blood.

The high school kids performed the musical, Bye Bye Birdie last weekend.

And okay, I know I’m totally partial, but they were wonderful!

Rosie was delightful in her irritation at Albert for his inability to commit, and so grudgingly she makes an inspired decision to have Conrad (Albert’s client) kiss a girl from the small town of Sweet Apple, Ohio:

Rosie and Albert successfully argued that Conrad was a fine upstanding, average, modest, patriotic, healthy, normal American boy!

In Sweet Apple, lucky Kim (who will get to kiss Conrad goodbye as he leaves for the Army) and the members of the Conrad Birdie fan club pledged their never ending devotion to Conrad Birdie with tremendous zeal.

The MacAfee family makes their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Rosie (who is mad at Albert for the non-commitment thing) goes off to flirt with a roomful of Shriners with hilarious results:

But it was Mrs. Mae Peterson, Albert’s overbearing, interfering mother who steals the show. (Yes, of course, that was Lucy. =D)

I was impressed and proud of all the young actors, but seriously (and I heard it from other people, so it wasn’t just me being a stage mom, okay, so maybe I was, but that’s not important right now) Lucy. Stole. The. Show.

She got applause just for walking on and off the stage. (I was loving it.)

Although, every single time she was on stage, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the character of Adela (the overbearing, interfering Cuban grandmother) from the old TV show, “Que Pasa, USA?” who ironically always happens to steal the show just by her presence.

Here's the incredibly talented Velia Martinez as Abuela Adela:

Here's the incredibly talented Miss Lucy Darby as Mrs. Mae Peterson:

Coincidence? I think not. ;-)

Ya viene llegando...

My mom gave me a piece of Cuban history recently.

It's a list of names from 1960. The list was of a group of unaccompanied minors who were sent here to the U.S. by their desperate parents to protect them from Castro's plans for the youth of Cuba.

The exodus of 14,000 minors was dubbed Operacíon Pedro Pan. (Operation Peter Pan.)

1960. Young Irish Catholic priest, Father Bryan O. Walsh spearheads Operation Peter Pan.

Those Cuban children were separated from their parents. Many were never reunited. Some came to the U.S. to live with relatives. Some went to orphanages. This is a sad fact of the oppressive Cuban communist government - they are in the business of separating families and destroying lives.

The Cuban people now living on the island are calling for change. They are locked in what is now an island prison where their basic human rights are violated daily.

They have no right of free speech.
They're not allowed to travel.
They have no rights or the ability to access information.
They are denied basic economic freedom in ways inconsistent with universal values and fundamental human rights.
Hundreds are still rotting in Cuban prisons for offenses that consist of disagreeing with the communist government. Please visit my friend, Marc Masferrer's amazing blog, called Uncommon Sense where he chronicles the struggles of present day Cuban prisoners.

How is it possible that in our modern world these abuses are allowed to continue?

Today is Cuban Solidarity Day.

May 20th marks the 108th anniversary of Cuban independence from Spain. Cuban Independence Day - it sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?

Many of those Pedro Pan kids grew up here in the U.S. You will not find a group of greater American patriots. They have a love for this country, but like many of us who left so young, they also continue to keep a love for "all things Cuban."

One of the names of that list of Pedro Pan's grew up to be an accomplished musician and entertainer. Last year he played at The White House. The White House, people! This sort of story is common here in America. Land of the Free. Home of the Brave.

For one day, this May 20, the world will stand in solidarity with the legitimate aspirations and hopes of the Cuban people for freedom and democracy.

And to all the Cuban people who have been waiting these last 50 years...

"Nuestro dia ya viene llegando." ~ Willy Chirino

Tiki Tiki - stories with cultura, color and sabor

I'm involved in a lot of projects.
But I'm particularly proud of this one:

It's a new magazine-style site called the Tiki Tiki. (I'm soooo excited about this!)

The best part of this project is that I have had the privilege and pleasure to collaborate with three amazingly talented and passionate Latinas:  Carrie, Carla and Violeta.

Why Tiki Tiki? We Cubans call the loud and animated exchange of opinions and ideas "El Tiki Tiki." Think lots of hand gestures and talking over one another and jumping from subject to subject in that really loud, wow-you're-sooo-Latino way. 

With that definition in mind you can understand why we chose Tiki Tiki. We plan to do a lot of talking. (A lot!) And covering lots of subjects and doing it all at once.

There are featured articles, recipes (ahem...), inspiration, news, giveaways, videos, lots of great links and stories. Lots of stories. Our stories. But most importantly, we want your stories, too. (I love this part...)

We totally want to connect with you, and so we have created groups on Flickr , YouTube and a Facebook fan page. We also have a Twitter page to tweet the daily happenings. You can learn more about this easy and fabulous approach to connecting with us here. You also can sign-up to receive the Tiki Tiki in your mailbox. (Can this be any easier or more fun??)

I can ask politely that you visit Tiki Tiki. Or I can entice you by offering a giveaway. (Ah! What a great idea!! =D)

We have some fabulous Latino books to give away. Just leave a comment at this link to enter.

Please go check it out. I feel very proud and excited and a little exhausted; Working on this project has been just like giving birth (well, except for the mess and the screaming, but that's not important right now. =D)

Here I am!

Kikita here! I am testing this whole "mobile blogging" thing. I spent all day yesterday at the Babalu Blog booth in Cuba Nostalgia. It feels like a family reunion and everybody misses Mami (myselfincluded). If you are in town, feel free to stop by and say hi to me tonight. I will be back at the Babalu booth representing MBFCF as best I can!

No 'Flux capacitor' needed

Memory is a funny thing. It can be triggered by a smell, a sound, or (for us visual people) something we see.So here we are in Washinton DC navigating around the Smthsonian museum complex and dodging all the other school groups that are here at this time of year. The Air and Space Museum was fascinating. (Actually, ALL of the Smithsonian museums are, but that's not important right now.) So when I had had enough of airplanes and rockets to last me a lifetime, I wandered into the gift shop where I was stopped dead in my tracks by a blue vinyl bag with the old Pan Am logo... exactly like the one I carried as a brand new Cuban refugee, freshly arrived in America. My blue Pan Am bag was full of my dolls and whatever treasures my 6-year old self thought important to bring to this, our new adopted country. The tears surprised me. Who knew Pan Am was in the business of TIME travel? ;-)

Who should be thanking whom?

In our Cuban culture and our family specifically, Mother's Day is like a High Holy Day.

For the most part, we revere our mothers to the point of veneration. This is an important day for the family to be together. Mothers, after all, are the backbone of the family.

And yet, as my own children came along, I never thought of Mother's Day as "my" holiday. I seriously always think that I'm so grateful to them (my kids) for giving me the chance to embrace this vocation that I so love. It is I who should be thanking them.

What greater gift can there be than bringing someone into the world and then getting to have a hand in their upbringing? That's partnering with God in the very greatest sense. What a privilege.

So, to the four people in this world who call me Mami, Mom, Mamacita, or Mo-o-o-om (depending on their need):

Thank you.

The Darbys. December 2003

Cuban Festival in So Cal

This coming Sunday, May 3rd,
the 7th annual Mi Son Cubano Festival will be held at
Frank G. Bonelli Park
120 Via Verde
San Dimas, CA 91773 (next to Raging Waters)

Look for the beautiful blond in the Cuba shirt. She'll be representing MBFCF with style. =D

 

Let the Cuban Festivals Begin!

Hola, hola, Coca-Cola!
Kikita here, reporting live from . . . ok, not live. But here comes the full report!

This may get a bit convoluted, but it will still be fun, I promise!

Last Sunday, April 19th, a new Cuban Festival was being held in downtown LA. Of course I had to be there.
Mami & Dad were excited to go, but I knew they would probably get tired before I would, so I had hired La Sheila to come with me. Pobrecita had to cancel at the last minute, so we had an extra ticket.

I called un amigo Africano y musico, Kaima. The brave soul agreed to come and listen to hours and hours of live Cuban music. (Honestly, I think he agreed to come because he was hoping for some rico Cuban food, but that's not important right now.)

 

If you live in SoCal, you know it was the hottest day of the year so far. Bueno, we had to line up outside, but my people were troupers! They took pictures of each other and made the best of it.

The festival was held in a newly refurbished nightclub in an alley in downtown LA. Personally, I felt very cool participating in the whole thing. It was very impressive when you first walk in. Sofas to sit on, the smell of Cuban food wafting through the air, linen clothes and white hats everywhere, the excitement was practically tangible.

I could barely contain myself as I'm introducing Mami to some of my Cuban musician friends, they were soooo thrilled to finally meet "La Mama de Kikita."
I made sure Kaima had his promised Cuban food (media noche, empanada, y un pastelito) and Mami had a place to sit.

Could I have picked a more perfect place? I don't think so.

Mami, tan Cubana que es, made friends with the ladies sitting next to us. One lady imparticular happened to mention that she had a beautiful son with blond hair, blue eyes, single, and a little older than me, the mamas made the betrothal official right then and there.
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet my mother-in-law-to-be, Adriana. =D

 

After what feels like an eternity, the music starts. Mami & Dad start to dance (it was cute) and Adriana jumps in. When they start to play the classic, "El Bodeguero," Mami gets all excited saying, "I was JUST thinking of this song today!!"

A few dances later, they were done. It had been a long, hot day already and they were anxious to get home (as I had anticipated).

They left me (oh! and Kaima) to enjoy myself ourselves until the very last song . . .

. . . And then some. There was an after party, but that's about the time I stopped taking pictures and danced without stopping.

I must say, there are moments at these festivals where I am practically bursting with Cuban pride.

This one was fun, and I'm sure it will only get better as the years go on. In the meantime, it served as a lovely pre-amble to the upcoming festival this weekend. I went last year and can't wait to go again! If you haven't gone, go. If you don't want to go the whole time, that's fine. Get there in the afternoon and stay til the end. The big names are always at the end. I'm telling you, it is so worth it.

I'll be by the stage starting a conga line and celebrating being Cuban. ;-)