PdR Fundraiser Thank You…

[ElJavi76]

First and foremost, let me start this thread by saying THANK YOU ALL! Starting from @El Presidente, @WarriorPrincess, @MoeFOH, @bayala, and any other logistics folks at FOH. Rob took the initiative to reach out to me to inquire if he could help and he laid out the plan to put this fundraiser together. Behind the scenes Di and the rest of the team worked together to process many donations, all while waiving credit card fees and the like to make sure your funds were allocated in their entirety to this effort. For the above and for being a true friend, I send my sincerest thank you to Rob Ayala and the FOH team. To you all who gave of your hard earned money to share with my family, I say THANK YOU! This cigar community of ours truly brings folks together, who might not otherwise know each other, and allows for lifelong friendships and bonds to be forged. Through the years here on FOH I’ve made some really great friends. I have met many of you in Cuba during my two Partagas Festival visits in November of ’18 and ’19. I’ve even vacationed with some of the guys. My life has become enriched by this forum and its members in many ways. This latest gesture by many of you is just another example of that. 

Many of you know my background and some of you don’t. I ask that you bear with me a few moments while I give you some context. I was born in Pinar del Rio, Pinar del Rio, Cuba in the summer of ’76. My parents decided in the early months of 1980 to request for an exit on the basis of my father’s Political Prisoner status. On June 8^th of 1980 we left Mariel Harbor aboard the Miss Diane, a shrimping boat, along with nearly 300 other Cubans. I turned 4 in July of 1980, so as you might imagine my memories of Cuba were scarce and distant, if any at all. 

I grew up here in the US away from any extended family. It was the five of us, but my parents never let us forget where we came from and we would enjoy every single story that we heard from back home. I remember my parents dialing back home from time to time. My mom would have to raise her voice because the quality of the connection was so poor. I can still hear, “… habla alto que no se oye, no se oye”. (Speak up because I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you.) I remember writing letters at my mother’s suggestion to my family back home, because it would brighten their day. You might not remember them, but they all know you and miss you. I won’t lie, creating a long distance relationship with extended family without faces was tough. Slowly but surely some of my aunts and my uncle on my maternal side began making their way here. The one outlier was my aunt Isabel, who had a military aged son (boy who was not 18 yet). She was unwilling to leave Cuba without him to seek a better life for herself. For years and years my mother would remind me that I was the favorite nephew of my aunt “Tiita”, which was the nickname I gave her as a child. Folks would call her Isabelita, but as a 2 year old and my limited ability to speak I combined Tia Isabelita into Tiita. When I hugged her “again” for the first time, as someone who could actually make lasting memories, she told me that herself. She hugged me in front of my sister and told her, you know I love you all dearly I really do … “pero este es el mio”. (But he is my one) I had been absent from Cuba for some 38 years since my departure in June of 1980 but going back there was one of the best, and most eye opening, experiences of my life. I got to go back to see the house where I was raised. 

A two room home that housed the five of us for as long as we lived there. I saw the conditions my aunt lived in. She had not had running water for several weeks prior to my arrival. That was a serious shock to me. It hurt me to see someone I was related to living in those conditions. That experience gave me some perspective and reminded me to be more thankful for everything I do have in my life. Since my trips to Cuba I have become a lot closer to my extended family, especially Tiita. I keep up with sending her phone minute top ups monthly and I send her money several times a year. Even before Cyclone Ian hit the island I began pestering my mother about starting paperwork to bring my aunt to the United States. She reached out to my aunts in Florida and we began a dialogue about how to start the family reunification paperwork. 

In the name of transparency and out of respect to you all who donated and gave to this fundraiser I want to give you a glimpse on how this money will be managed. For matters of security, and many others, it’s not a good idea for me to send the lot of this money to Cuba all at once. There is nowhere to safely keep cash in a place like Cuba, and having others know that you have a large sum of money can put you at risk of even getting a visit from a government official to discuss the origin of said money. In the short term I have already sent her round one of some cash money raised by my family, which I can happily report is already being put to good use. My parents will be in Florida this weekend and are arranging for a few care packages to be sent to her as well. Care packages are a good way of sending non-perishable food items, because as you might know… having money in Cuba doesn’t mean that items will be available for purchase. Non-perishables are clutch because they still remain in total darkness and there is no refrigeration available to them at the moment. I told my aunt Tiita, who I spoke with this past Saturday, to not be shy and to let me know in advance when/if she needed anything. I will likely start a steady cadence of sending funds to her every 4 weeks or so. Back for a moment to the family reunification efforts… Some of these funds will also be used to prop up that effort. My aunt has told me that she has my cousin Juan’s blessing to come here now and leave him behind. He is a strapping 21 year old man who is a lefty pitcher for team PdR. 

He is hopeful that they might see each other in the near future and wants her to spend time with her aging mother and amongst her siblings and family. This idea of getting her a visa might be tougher than we imagine but we have to at least attempt it. If she makes it here in the next year so I will be more than happy to personally hand her the balance of the fundraiser money that should remain. I have also spoken to my mother of the alternative. What if she is turned down by either the Cuban or US government? We agree that we need to find new housing for her. If she is rejected from a potential move here, we will travel to Cuba together and help her with the purchase of a new apartment. I hope that any funds that remain at that point from this fundraiser will be used for the purchase of a new place. I will report that since the cyclone her neighbors and son, my cousin Juan, have patched the roof on her bedroom and the living room. One of the many problems with wholesale fixes to a place like that at this point is the lack of materials. I do have a friend arriving in Cuba this weekend who moves very well back home and can make certain things happen. He has committed to visiting my aunt next week and surveying the damage and helping out in any way he can. I trust this man and even though you won’t find him in a place like an online cigar forum, he has been a Godsend to me and my family over the past year or so. When others might charge for a few pounds of a care package or charge a fee to deliver some money, this man has gone above and beyond. What I send is exactly what she receives. When I thank him for his help and for being a friend… he tells me nonsense, beyond our friendship I view this as my duty. I am lucky to call him my friend! I will do my earnest to report back to the forum on any progress, whether it be small or large… a new roof, an approved reunification visa, or any progress in between. 

On behalf of myself, my parents, the Vázquez and Padrón families… I say thank you very much for taking interest in our family. Thank you for giving a little hope to some perfect strangers. May your kindness be returned unto you all exponentially. I leave you with some photos of my family with my dear Tiita. Friendly hug to you all. 

P.S. To my closest of friends on this forum, you all know who you are… Thank you for being my pals. I love you guys! A special thanks to @Chucko8 Kurt, @zigarrenziggy Misha, and @JohnnyO who made contributions or offered help outside of this fundraiser. Your friendship is appreciated! 

Cheers All!

Javi

At Tiita’s with forum favorite Jorge Clavijo, a dear friend. 

With my aunts Zoila and Maria Elena and cousins in PdR

My wife Vanessa, my sister Loyda, and my Aunt Isabel “Tiita”

[madandana]

Thanks for sharing Javi - Great to hear the whole story and to know that every penny of the donation is going to good hands.

It’s an honor to help a stand up guy like you! Say hi to Vanessa.

[SigmundChurchill]

Nicely said Bud!  Anything else you need, we are here for you.  Best to the family!

[BTWheezy]

@ElJavi76 - what a wonderful glimpse into you and your family’s life. Thanks for taking the time to share. I’m guessing that all of us who participated in the raffle weren’t motivated by cigars, but rather the opportunity to help the family of a brother. Thank you for being a steward of these funds and we look forward to updates as things progress with your family.

Much love bro!

[Chas.Alpha]

 No worries @ElJavi76 I have a lot of peeps down on the SW Fla coast that took a serious hit, but as well you know we're much more able to get things back together here. I kinda feel like I've got an aunt Tiita now! 

[El Presidente]

Thank you Javi for providing us the opportunity to help/step up.

One can be overwhelmed by global calamity. This small fund-raiser  allowed us a vehicle to funnel that frustration into something positive for  the family of a brother who were doing it tough. 

 

[BoliDan]

Hope your Tia well

[JohnS]

The smiles in these photos Javi make me proud! 

[Chucko8]

What a fantastic sharing Javi, thank you. So nice to see such a positive response from the community after such a hardship. So glad to be part of the community whom offered some assistance in anyway small way we can.

[Sir Diggamus]

Thanks for sharing Javi! It looks like this event will be a great help.


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[BoxPSI_ed]

You are welcome! I love your openness, thank you for sharing a part of your life with us. 

[Capn_Jackson]

Wonderful to hear! Blessings to you and your family, and thank you for sharing your story.

[Lamboinee]

Thank you sir for sharing some of your story. I was already confident that the funds were going to a good cause and I feel even better now than I've read your post. Best wishes. Reading this really brightened my day. 

 

[Islandboy]

Very thoughtful of you to share your family info and bring us all that much closer. Who knew when we lit up our first cigar that it would lead us to an amazing community like this? 

[westg]

So glad to help that beautiful family of yours . I have worked in construction my whole life, I wish i could be there for a month or two to help them rebuild. All the very best to you Javi. 

[mprach024]

Javi my best to you and your family.  Now we are all part of your family and family takes care of their own!

[Connoisseur Kim]

Thank you for sharing some stories to us @ElJavi76. Hope your family well.

[GoodStix]

Thank you for sharing.  All the best to your family.

[stogieluver]

Thanks for sharing.

It’s good to see Jorge. Looks like he’s doing well. He spent the better part of a day driving us from LCDH to LCDH, always cheerful and friendly. 

I’m so happy this all came together for you and your family. 

[ElJavi76]

I know it’s been nearly a year but things tend to move extra slow in Cuba. I said I’d provide an update of some kind when I had one. So here it is. This past March I started getting paperwork together for a visa for my aunt. I actually ended up setting up two accounts. One for her and one for my cousin. To not bore you with the details, neither of those applications have gotten much traction. My aunt’s application was at least looked at and she was asked to open an account, but it’s been many months and no movement. The good news however is that with the funds raised, not only has she been getting certain daily needs met but she finally got around to getting materials needed for real repairs to her home. She’s had some help with the labor from friends and members of her church. Two weeks ago she told me that she really could use a finished floor to match the other improvements. I asked her to price it out and just send me the grand total. The only thing outstanding is a couple of bags of sand which she’s waiting on. She did manage to buy about 12 bags of cement to do her floors, patch that cinder block wall, and finish the floor on her porch. Here are a few pictures of the improvements. 

I still hold hope that she might make it here and not have to remain in PdR. However, that’s something we have very little control over, outside of initiating the petition to bring her. Just have to let the movie play out. 

Once again, thank you all for generosity. 

My aunt Isabel and my cousin Juan Luis. 

[El Presidente]

Great stuff mate. Thank you for the update! 

[99call]

This is awesome,  best of luck with the continuing visas, and construction.   Hats off to you mate, you should be very proud of yourself

[SigmundChurchill]

Amazing news!

[Rhinoww]

Glad to hear it!  Some more time and hopefully she will be on her way out.