From Marta. With Love. (MBFCF Giveaway #6)

First, I want to thank you all for your extraordinary participation and engagement this past week as I celebrate my 6th year in the land of Blogging.

Today, I want to share some of my own memories of “Cuando Sali de Cuba.”

The times that I remember the most from my childhood, come to me in the form of grainy super-8 film and fading snapshots. They are mostly family and beloved objects; things that any five-year-old might keep in an old and slightly torn shoe box. They are old and oh-so-faded. Not much value outside of my own little life.

left to right: Miriam, Marta (me!), Alina. Varadero, 1957.

My most vivid memories of “aquel entonces,” which I've often written about in this space, are of our summers spent at the beach in Varadero, Cuba.

The summers in Havana, you see, were brutally hot. So we summered (<--is that a word?) in Varadero. The most beautiful beach in the world. According to my mom, Luza, it's where I took my very first steps in the summer of 1956.

We have home movies of those precious times. And photographs. I am guessing that because it was such a carefree era in our lives, there was plenty of time to stop and capture the everyday. My dad and uncle with their cameras following us little girls in our Catalina swimsuits as we splashed around in the azure surf eating mamoncillos.

The cousins would spend the summers with us. We all got to choose our “salvavidas,” (translation: “lifesavers”) which in retrospect is some sort of cruel joke. People, I had an inflatable duck that was supposed to be a life-saving device. What delicious innocence.

left to right: Alina, Ferdy, Maria-Elvira, Ileana, Miriam, Marta (me!). Varadero 1960.

I can still taste the warm salt water. I remember chasing the bright red crabs along the beach. I remember the agony of having to follow The 3-Hour Rule, which stated that you could not go swimming after eating until you had waited 3 hours for your digestion to be completed. (Cuban child abuse.)

The nostalgia of these sweet moments is vivid. My sisters and I disagree on the memories at times. We will argue, as only Cuban sisters can. They insist I was too young to remember anything. I describe something from that time that I can recall with great detail. They act surprised. It's a complicated and familiar dance we do, tripping through the recollections of what was once an idylic childhood.

I write down what I can remember here on this blog. I write about yesterday and today and my hopes for tomorrow. I share my stories. I share your stories. And I've been doing it in this space, with your encouragement, for 6 years now. (And today just happens to be the 6th. Coincidence? I think not.)

Speaking of 6 years...I celebrated my 6th birthday here in the U.S. - No more Varadero summers for us. The remembrances of holidays spent at the most beautiful beach in the world have all but faded, but they have never completely diminished.

Life was good. Then we lost everything. Then we found the good again. It's the circle of life.

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MBFCF Blogiversary Giveaway #6:  

A Varadero Sign (handpainted by yours truly)

That's right. A hand-painted-by-me (shut up. I know!) Varadero Sign. (It's wooden. About 18 inches long and suitable for hanging. I have a plan to open an Etsy shop very soon. Today is not that day, but that's not important right now.)

Painted in aqua with the name of The Most Beautiful Beach in the World: Varadero.

Please leave a comment on this post for a chance to win this beautiful hand-painted Varadero sign (by me, people!). Answer one or all of the following questions:  

• Is there a particular place that dominates your childhood memories?
• Do any of you have memories of Varadero?
• Were you forced to follow The 3 Hour Rule?
  

I'll choose a winner at the end of MBFCF Blogiversary Giveaway Week on Monday, October 8th, 2012 at 11 am.

Comments

[Esther]

Sitting on Abuelo's recliner watching the saturday morning cartoons, in Pastorita (Miami)every summer. Abuela would make me a huevo pasado por agua and I would stir the near raw egg in one of those scalloped edged glass bowls that everybody had...the ones for gelatina. It would always be too salty, because I insisted on salting it myself, but I ate it anyways, so Abuela wouldn't notice...lol

I was born in the US, and have never been to Cuba, so no, no Varadero memories.

Being raised between Panama and Miami, the beach was a regular destination for us. I don't remember if it was a two or three hour rule, but I do remember the "todavía no"

[Mercy]

No Varadero memories for me either :(
But every weekend of every summer it seems we spent our days at Darlington lake in NJ. And of course the obligatory nap after lunch because we could not go back in the water for 3 hrs.
When we were about 9 and finances were better we started our yearly trek to Miami Beach for 2 weeks every summer. That was as close as we could get to Cuba. Always the waiting after lunch...but every night we were rewarded with mamey ice cream (could not get that in NJ).
btw....we have a good home for that sign..it would look great in my tiki hut by the pool :)

[Laura M.]

I was only 4 months old when we left Cuba and came to Miami. A couple of years later, my family moved to Managua, Nicaragua seeking better employment. My mother made sure we were raised knowing about our Cuban culture. There were pictures framed of Jose Marti and the map of Cuba. She would bake cupcakes and stick Cuban flags with various patriotic dates, so that my brother and I learned the important dates in Cuba's history. I remember one was 20 de Mayo, Cuban independence day. Our meals and traditions were Cuban, we celebrated noche buena and el dia de los reyes magos.

My parents had tons of pictures of Varadero. My grandmother had built several homes in different beaches for her three grand children. My mother's was the one in Varadero. Unfortunately we had to leave Cuba before it was finished. She used to tell me it was a beautiful two story house. I always dreamed of one day being able to go there and see it. How wonderful I always thought for my kids to have been raised in a free Cuba and enjoyed that beautiful house.
I've always been a beach person, like most Cubans, and try to every summer vacation in one of the Caribbean's islands wondering if the beaches are similar to those in our beautiful island.

[Jackie]

Cute! I can't wait to see what you have in your Etsy shop!

[Ernesto Suárez]

I never went to Varadero. It was "forbidden territory" when I was in Cuba...

[Bibi eissler]

I remember playing in the beach with my brother, sister and cousins. I loved los cangrejitos (the little crabs) with their popped out eyes and walking backwards to hide in these wholes.
In the late afternoon these jeeps would come by spraying a mist for mosquitoes and our game was to get in the mist for fun. We're still here and the deet didn't kill us, Lol.

[Clara D Cuadrado]

All my fondest memories are from Cuba, I had a most wonderful and happy time there in my 14 years before I left it, one of the happiest my ballet classes at the Vedado Auditorium, our three months summer vacations in Tarara, our Varadero visits most Sunday's where I learned to ride horses, one of the times with Rubeola, ha ha ha, burning with fever and yes we did follow the three hour rule, no bathing till the last second of the third hour...if only we knew how many precious hours we lost with that silly rule, but all in all don't regret it, those are the fondest memories I keep in my heart. love and blessings, looking forward to your grand-opening of the Estsy shop!!!!

[Alicia Fernandez Gomez]

I have a 1941 picture of my mother on her honeymoon at varadero beach, beautiful picture. I went with my parents and brother I remember how beautiful varadero is. I left Cuba when I was 15 years (today I'm 67) but still remember a lot.

[Lupita]

I have pictures of me and my family at the beach, but don't remember the experience. It has become almost a mythical experience. A little girl playing on this beautiful magical beach.

[Jacqueline Jimenez]

My memory is from my childhood stories from my parents.I remember my parents speaking very fondly about Varadero. This is where they spent their honeymoon in August 1965. They've always remembered the wonderful time they had and wish they could go back when Cuba becomes a free country...I love the beach and I hope one day to be able to go with my family to see this Varadero I've heard about all my life.

[keyla]

que rico! you have that memory!! el mio es tomar cafe con mis abuelitos <3 <3 hint hint : )

[[email protected]]

We departed Cuba from Varadero. We lived in Manzanillo and waited in Varadero a week before we came to the states. We stayed at a friend's vacation home filled with toys and bunk beds. We would go to that sugar spun beach and enjoy the clear turquoise water for the last time in our lives. I can still remember eating una galletica con mantequilla in the car as we passed under that famous Varadero sign that January 1960. I' haven't seen Cuba since we left but I'm left with a longing for all things Cuban and for tropical breezes. It's in my DNA. A child of the tropics. If I could only turn back the clock for a little while and see my abuelos, brother and dear childhood friends!

[Leaveit2maggy]

Hi, Marta! Today, I received my Martha Stewart Living magazine and thought of you. You are our Cuban Marta!! Good luck with Etsy, I'm so excited for you!! I have loved this Varadero sign since you created it earlier this year and I asked you where did you get it and I was pleasantely surprised who the creator was!! My father was sent to concentration camp during the 60's sugar cane cutting frenzy Castro thought of. My father had to be sent away and my Mother cried everyday and she died of broken heart syndrome. She always wanted to take me to Varadero but that never became possible due to my father not being around and money was tight. She did make it to the US but she suffered with her heart until she passed at a younger age. Well, One day I hope to make her dreams come true in a Free Cuba and get to swim in those pristine waters of Varadero. For now, I look at your beautiful sign and dream of it. xoxo

[Zoila Caballero]

Awesome sign. To me Varadero was beautiful, mostly imagined from what little I saw. Only time I was there was my last day/night in Cuba. A lot of fear at this time, but I imagine a beautiful place.

[Maria Valdes]

I was 10 years old when we left Cuba and I have never been to Varadero.
I always wanted to go because of the stories my family told......"La playa mas linda del mundo".....So I figured it was just a matter of time before I got to go too. Life had other plans for me because then we left our country. We came to the U.S. and I have never been back. At the beginning we kept thinking "one day soon we will go back". Years later we knew we would never be back. I could see the sadness and that realization in my parents eyes. My father is 90 now and not doing well. My mom is 85 and very frail. Me? I was raised here, married, widowed, had kids, grandkids. Now this is my country. Varadero is now just a dream. A childhood dream. Your sign brings lots of childhood memories to mind. Thank You!

[Mayi Lopez]

Thank you so much for your blog. I left in 1965 on the Freedom Flights. Love going to Varadero as a child.
Those memories are treasured in my heart as long as I live.

I have some nice pictures that I can share with you on Abuelo Sanz if you would like to see them. He was in the military in the Batista days and mima brought the album with her when she went back to Cuba to see her family after so many years.

Keep up the good work, and once again thank you for keepin tradition alive.

Mayi Lopez

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I was five years old when my family left Cuba. My grandparents lived in Varadero and when we said goodbye to them it was the last time we would ever see them. Varadero holds a very special place in my heart. I frequently read your blog but have not posted. Today I had to bc I would love to have that beautiful sign.

[Elizabeth Doren]

I must say that "Cuban child abuse" for the three hour rule sounds about right in my book :). I remember the rule, well, and it seemed a strange one to have to follow amidst the Northeastern USA beaches and lakes... No memories of Varadero. Great story, today. Thx!

[Olga Lydia Landrian]

Mi padre, mis tios y hasta mis abuelos trabajaban para Central Fructuoso Rodriguez en Limones, Matanzas. Todos los anyos el central alquilaba una semana en Varadero para todos los trabajadores. Como era casi toda la familia por parte de madre y padre, la pasabamos de maravilla. Nuestra ultima pachanga fue en 1963. Esas semanas en Varadero son de los pocos recuerdos que tengo de Cuba!!!!

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I BEG TO NOT AGREE WITH YOU, MARTA..THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACH IN THE WORLD IS NOT VARADERO BUT SANTA MARIA DEL MAR! MY BEACH FOREVER! EVEN IF IT COSTS ME THE RUNNING FOR THIS PRIZE!
#1-SANTA MARIA DEL MAR
#2 PLAYA-VARADERO
#3-SIESTA KEY IN SARASOTA, FL.

[Esther Avila-Young]

I went to Varadero as a child and vaguely remember it, but I used to go to Siboney near Santiago where we lived, all the time with my parents, brother and sister. It was a great time to remember. And of course we also visited other beaches in Cuba, the one I remember as one of the most beautiful beaches in Cuba is Guardalavaca near Holguin. I still remember the white sand, blue water and the colorful fish swimming around me. Sooo beautiful!

And yes, we were forced to keep that couple of hours after lunch or dinner from the beach or shower. It was 2 hours rule as I remember. Pure "castigo" if you ask me...;))

[Maria Arza]

My last memory of Varadero is the last time I was on Cuban soil as the plane carrying us out left from the airport there. I remember watching the beautiful azure blue of the water getting further and further away as the plane climbed. It still brings tears to my eyes and breaks my heart.

[Grace O]

I remember going to Varadero with my family when I was a child. It was a beautiful beach with such fine sand! Yes, I also remember having to wait a loooong time after eating before I could even go in the water (I also had to wait before taking a bath- I guess my mother associated it with water?)

[Esther Harper]

Varadero what a gorgeous beach, we used to go there on weekends, my mother use to tell me this is where the rich people live! We took the bus there-- and yes the 3 hour wait to go in the water rule was also something I had to do! Thank you for sharing the beautiful video, of course I cried, such wonderful memories and the song made me cry too.

[Amanda]

Since I was born here, I have no memories of Varadero, but my most cherished childhood memories are of The Hilyard in North Miami Beach with my whole family. My first time on these family vacations I was in my mom's belly, and every year therafter until The Hilyard was torn down in 2003. We headed North to Hallandale Beach after that, but it wasn't the same. I learned to swim in the Hilyard pool, had my first crush on another Hilyard guest who's family also stayed every year, and made memories that I treasure forever. As for the 3 hour rule? I recall it being 2 hours in my world, but that's still an eternity for a kid anxious to get back to the fun in the sun.

[Amarilys Gacio Rassler]

I remember Varadero Beach. The sand seemed to glitter like little diamonds. Alwyays very clean. My parents sat and watched my sister and I play in the sand. It was always a special vacation. My parents went there for their honeymoon. I remember also those long waits for three hours to go in the water ... or else my mother said I would get an embolia? We suffered the wait looking for shells and playing in the sand. I saw Cuba again from a distance on a cruise ship. I went to see her by myself. My husband is American background. I didn't know if he would understand my emotions. It was an experience I'll never forget. I wanted to extend my arms out to her and ask her to pick me up and hold me. I felt like the child that left there. I took that child home, I call her the Stowaway and wrote a book and dedicated it to my mom, Cuban-American, Dancing On The Hyphen. It has brought great healing to me ... and to her. Thank you for your blog. Amarily Gacio Rassler

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My beautiful Varadero,I remember going there with my grandparents we would then have lunch at a restaurant there, don't have anything from my childhood cause wwe had to leave it all behind but they couldn't take away the memory that are in my heart for that beautiful paradise and my loving grandparents.