Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

Growing up in a Cuban Home

By Betsy Lane

ealane@vwc.edu

Many college students are subject to their parents and grandparents telling stories about  the way things used to be and  the good ol days.

Not many are prone to hear stories about immigration, communism, Cuba and Fidel Castro.

 My grandma always tells me about how life was so different for everyone there, says Maria Mosteirin.

Mosteirin is a junior at Virginia Wesleyan College. Her father s parents moved to Cuba from Spain  years before Castro came to power, because Cuba was a colony. Her grandfather spent his days working for the Cuban government, while her grandmother took care of their two boys.

One January in the mid-1960s, after Castro had risen to power in Cuba, Mosteirin s grandparents, father, and uncle  fled to New York City. The changes that occurred at that time in their life had lasting effects on their family, effects that have trickled down to Maria.

 My dad is very anti-Cuba, says Mosteirin.  And my grandma doesn t want to visit until Castro dies.

Several years after coming to the United States, Mosteirin s grandfather passed. Her grandmother remains in New York City. Their family background and bad feelings towards the past remain.

 My family always talks bad about it, said Mosteirin. Learning more about Cuba or their situation  never really sparked any interest.

She learns plenty about Spanish culture, the language, and her family s history from her parents, grandmother and extended relatives.

Mosteirin s parents met in Spain, the same place her grandparents did many years ago. Her father was working for the U.S. Navy at the time and they returned together to Norfolk, Va., where Maria and her two older siblings were born.

Growing up, Spanish had always infiltrated their lives. It has always been the only language spoken in their home.

According to Mosteirin,  The only time my mom speaks English is when she yells at me . . . , I can t tell you how many times I ve heard  Maria, can you understand me now! 

She visits with her grandmother regularly and sees extended family every other year for a reunion in Spain.

 There s probably at least 25 or 30 of us, says Mosteirin. These gatherings and others have always been a popular subject in stories from her parents and grandma.

A strong characteristic of Spanish culture is an emphasis on family, both nuclear and extended. The Mosteirin traditions have been no different.  From what she s told me, it s similar to what people think of in New York City & everyone from the neighborhood would come over.

Mosteirin has encountered many other groups throughout her life that have acted as family. She enjoys Wesleyan, partly because  everyone kind of knows each other.

She is a 2006 graduate of Lake Taylor High School, played tennis at Wesleyan for a few years, has been a member of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority for the past two years, and has held a job at Virginia Beach s Planet Pizza since March.

However, when it comes to her future, her real family gave her the inspiration. Mosteirin is majoring in political science and Spanish.

 Probably  cause my dad is a big history buff, she says.  And my mom is from Spain.

She hopes to graduate and work for the United Nations and UNICEF. Her plans include working in South America  with children s rights.

 I want to better the life of children who don t have our same advantages, said Mosteirin.

Maybe all those stories  sparked some interest after all.