My Big Fat Cuban Family: A Cuban-American Blog

The Dodgers and The Cubanity

Disclaimer: This post contains an inordinate amount of selfie-type photos of me. Forgive me. I was so over-the-top excited about this night and being where I was and meeting who I met. It's a Cuban thing.

Imagine a stadium full of Cubans, all noisy and celebrating and munching on Dodger dogs. 

Picture them stopping to do the mandatory Cuban kiss thing.  "Oye! Hace tiempo!" Picture them talking loudly and laughing and sharing pastelitos de guayaba right there in the stands. 

Picture them dancing wildly when the Dodgers score.

Well, technically, they were already dancing, because Cubans, but that's not important right now.

Those were the sights and sounds of Cuba Night at Dodger Stadium on Monday, May 11th. 

As part of the Cuban Heritage Committee it was my great honor to help organize this fun event and work hand in hand with the Dodgers.

We were asked to "Please arrive at least an hour before the 7:10 game time."

Cuban Heritage Committee members -Frank Navarro, Rose Marin, Alina Bacallao, Betty Porto, Maylen Calienes, Marta Darby, Marislay Cedeño, Lucy Vega, Roland Vega

 These instructions seem simple enough, but I live over an hour south of LA, two if there's traffic, which means we had to leave a few hours before. Which meant that if I hoped to arrive at 6pm, we had to leave at 4pm.

Miraculously we did not encounter much traffic at all and flew up to Dodger Stadium in record time. and arrived before they were even letting people in. (Win!)

Amy and Jonathan drove with me while Lucy and boyfriend, Marc took the train. My sister, Alina would just meet us all there.

Things that are cool about entering Dodger Stadium via the Club Entrance:

1) That's where all the retired jerseys live. Of course, you recognize #42, the incomparable Jackie Robinson. How cool is that?

2) That's where real-life-Dodger-legends enter the stadium. Like legendary Dodger manager, Tommy Lasorda. I went full Fangirl on poor unsuspecting Tommy. Because...hello! Tommy Lasorda!

3) The First Pitch Thrower Outers also come in the Club Entrance. And because it was Cuban night, the first pitch for the event was thrown out by our own local Cuban legend, Mr. Andy Garcia. You will obviously understand the crazed Look-How-Close-I-Am-to-Andy-Garcia look on my face. 

The game hadn't even started and I was already crazy-happy. But then, the Dodgers were going to introduce some of us on the Cuban Heritage Committee, which meant we got to ACTUALLY BE DOWN ON THE FIELD. Somebody pinch me.

So, I'm all nutty and excited while our "handler" and Dodger PR liaison, Sammy is trying to get us all in formation for a very public introduction. And we're all "Guys! Oye! We're on the field! How accidentally cool is this?" and we're all taking selfies and being all distracted and being Cuban and waving at everyone. 

And poor Sammy was mildly frustrated with us in a "this is like herding cats" way. But, no. It was like very much "herding Cubans" which comes with its own set of frustrations, but that's not important right now, either.

We finally get introduced while standing on the field in complete awe of the moment. Here's the video to prove that it happened.

My kids took a photo of me on the Jumbotron. And I thought, "It just doesn't get any better than this!"

But it did!

The game itself was a little slow in the beginning, but trust me, it sooo got better.

By the 7th inning stretch the Dodgers were losing, but of course we were in full This-is-just-a-big-Cuban-party mode. Our friends at Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium captured all the awesome Cubanity as we stretched and sang along with Roly and Lucy Vega from Habana Brand Clothing. 

And then it was time for the Dance Cam Salsa. Of course we all got up and danced. Hello! Cubans!

Suddenly Lucy and Marc and Jon were up there dancing on the Jumbotron. 

 

 

Happiest. Night. Ever.

 

I know this has been all about us, but what about the Dodgers? Well, in the bottom of the 9th, Dodger Scott Van Slyke hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-3 victory over the Miami Marlins. 

 

Pandemonium ensued. 

 

 

Crazy-happy-super-noisy-Cuban-WE-WON-in-the-last-play-of-the-game pandemonium. On Cuba Night. 

 

Oh, the Cubanity! 

 

**************************************************

 

Our next event will be Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, July 12th, 2015. Please follow Cuban Heritage Day on Facebook for news and updates.

 

It's not too soon to order your beautiful Dodger Blue Cuban shirts. from Habana Brand Clothing. Tickets will go one sale soon, so watch for those. Go Blue!

 

For the Love of Blue

Yesterday, as many of you know, was Baseball Opening Day. 

Can you just smell the freshly mown grass and the chatter of happy and excited fans?

Can you picture the dramatic unfurling of the US shaped flag?

And of course, the fireworks?

And are you now celebrating the Dodgers' Opening Day (1-0) win over the Padres?

And are you now so super excited for Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium coming this summer? (Of course you are.) We've also added a Cuban Night at Dodger Stadium this year. On Monday, May 11th at 7:10pm. How cool is that?

That's two games of Cuban Dodger Awesomeness. Oh the Cubanity!

I happen to live a few area codes from Chavez Ravine, but having grown up in Santa Monica, LA will always be my team. And, of course, I'm Cuban, which means baseball is part of my cultural DNA.

I'm super excited to be involved in the Cuban Heritage Day Committee to help plan all the fun for Cuban Heritage Day (July 12, 2015) and Cuban Night at Dodger Stadium (May 11th, 2015).

So, for the planning...

I get to visit with my favorite Cuban friends at Portos Bakery while we plan the festivities for both Cuban Night and Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium.

So picture us having coffee and pastelitos and talking baseball at Porto's Bakery. (I know you're jealous.)

Now picture us having coffee and pastelitos and talking baseball at Dodger Stadium. (I know. Shut up.)

I can't even believe I get to be one of the members of this group. All lovers of baseball. All leaders in the Cuban community. And I'm out-of-my-skin excited that they've let me be a part of this. I feel sooo accidentally cool.

First, let's talk about Cuban Night. Monday, May 11th, 2015. No se pierdan esta noche de Dodger Baseball mixed in with a bunch of Cubania. The Dodgers love us Cubans so much that they will be giving away the awesome Cuba t-shirt to EVERY person that buys a ticket thruwww.dodgers.com/cuba.

 

ONLY those that buy tickets for Cuba Night on 5/11 thru dodgers.com/cuba or thru Sammy Park at group sales will receive a voucher for the commemorative t-shirt. Dale see you all there!

And now, since we're on the subject, let's talk Cuban Heritage Day Tshirts. 

Picture a stadium full of Cubans all wearing the same beautifully designed tshirts. Last year it was something to see and seriously, took my breath away. Here's some pictures from last year's event. It felt like being a part of a really cool and exclusive club.

Now picture yourself as part of that sea of beautiful blue Cubanity. I want you to have this experience. 

Which is why I want all of you to stop what you're doing right now and pre-order your tshirts for this year's fabulous Cuban Heritage Day.

Habana Brand Clothing is accepting pre-orders now thru May 1st, at a special Pre-Order Price of only $20.00 - after May 1st the online price will be $25.00.

Orders will be shipped early May. They are only producing a very limited amount of these shirts, so do not be left out.  

Wear it proudly when you join your family and friends at Dodger Stadium for the cultural celebration of the 3rd annual Cuban Heritage Day on Sunday, July 12th.

The Cuban-themed Viva Los Dodgers festival will begin 2 hours prior to first pitch and fans can enjoy festive live music, player autographs and various activities. Admission to Viva Los Dodgers is free with a paid ticket to the game.

We will also be selling the t-shirts on various dates at Porto's Bakeries.

Click on this link to Habana Brand Clothing to pre-order your shirts. I can't wait to see all of you in your beautiful shirts.

Because, Go Blue!

For more info, please follow Cuban Heritage Day at Dodger Stadium on Facebook.

Viva Los Dodgers - A Giveaway

 {Disclosure: This post is not compensated by any organization, nor affiliated in any way with the Los Angeles Dodgers. I, personally, just have some extra tickets that I'd love to give away.}

Cubans and Baseball. A Love Affair.

The Cuban love of the game of baseball is legendary. From the late 1800's when the Almendares began playing baseball in earnest, we Cubans embraced baseball as part of our own national identity.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I remember going to Dodger games with my brothers-in-law. They would bring transistor radios with them to the game so they could hear the legendary Vin Scully calling the play-by-play as they watched the game live.

Personally, I don't really enjoy watching baseball on TV, but a live game....The Best. Plus when we go watch the Anaheim Angels play at Edison Field, we get to wear red. (It's the little things.)

And my 99 year old mom? She still gets totally excited about the World Series every year. I know. Shut up.

So, last month my kids, Jonathan and Amy Kikita went to a Dodger game to watch Yasiel Puig play (also, we look really great in Dodger Blue, too), but sadly he had gotten hurt and it didn't happen. But they had a fantastic time sitting with a large group of noisy Cubans (is there another kind?) out behind right field.

In case you haven't been following the story, Puig defected from Cuba last year and started his rookie season this year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He's young and brash and a little cocky and okay, maybe not too bright, but that kid can hit!

Viva Los Dodgers!

Anyway, the Dodgers are hosting Cuban Heritage Day next Sunday, September 1st at Dodger Stadium and we Darbys are all going to be there, because hey, it's Cuban. Heritage. Day. (Actually, for reasons unbeknownst to me personally, they're now calling it Viva Los Dodgers Day and I'm okay with that. The tickets still say Cuban Heritage Day, but that's not important right now.)

There will be a pre-game shindig pachanga with the salsa band, Charanga Cubana and a meet and greet with another fabulous Cuban player, Paco Rodriguez.  The party starts two hours prior to the game 11:00 am where we will celebrate our Cuban culture and love of all things baseball with music, games and entertainment.

After the game, everyone is invited to stay to enjoy a special screening of the baseball movie The Sandlot. (The kid who played Benny in The Sandlot? Also Cuban. We're everywhere!)

My big, fat, Cuban family will be there all day on Sunday and we'd love to have you join us. I have two tickets to Sunday's game (in the Cuban section, of course) to give away to some lucky (?) reader.

If you live here in Southern California, or will be here next weekend and would like to hang with me and my big, fat, Cuban family at Dodger Stadium, here's your chance.

To enter this drawing for Two Tickets to the Los Angeles Dodgers Viva Los Dodgers Day, please leave a comment on this post and answer one or both of the following questions:

• Are you a baseball fan?
• Which team is your favorite? (Note: Just saying "Dodgers" does not improve your chances of winning.)

Please leave your comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Wednesday, August 28th, 2013 at 7:00 pm PST.

IMPORTANT: You must use a legitimate email address to comment and not just a Facebook link. I need to be able to contact the winner.

So, come on. Let's talk "beisbol."

Also, please just leave a comment only if you're interested in winning the tickets, any political comments will be deleted. Thanks.

Why Kikita thinks Spain Will Win the World Cup

Kikita here.

At some point I'm sure Mami has mentioned that we don't have TV. If you didn't know that, well, now you know. We live in a valley, so we can't even get basic channels without basic cable. We watch movies and are big Netflix fans, but that is not important right now.

Not having cable has made watching the World Cup games quite an adventure.

I have had to go to great lengths to support my Top 3 picks (USA was in my Top 5, but not Top 3) and get my fill of soccer (aka "fútbol").

I took my laptop to a local cafe so that I could work and support Uruguay against the Netherlands.

I have exploited various friendships for their television and recording capabilities.
(Thanks Atkinsons! Thanks Michelle!)

I was up and at a German pub (wearing Argentina colors) at 6am only to watch in horror as Argentina was led to a slaughter.

I changed into Spanish red and relocated to a Spanish bar to scream at the top of my lungs as Carles Puyol made World Cup history.

Of course, it is 1000 times more fun to watch a game on Univisión because when any team makes a goal there is that classic "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!" sound that only the Spanish announcers know how to make so I have tried to make it a point to see the games at places showing them in Spanish.

I am ready for Spain to win on Sunday. They HAVE to win.

Since the Germans couldn't score against them, we know that Spain must have a great defense, but here are the Top 5 Reasons why I KNOW Spain is going to win:

Reason #1:Xavi Hernandez

(I like to call him Xavi Hotness)

Reason #2: Sergio Ramos

(Oh, I'm having a surge alright!)

Reason #3: Fernando Torres

(Fernando TorYES!)

Reason #4: David Villa

(According to FIFA "David Villa is currently one of the world's hottest striking properties." See? Even FIFA understands what I am talking about!)

Reason #5: Iker Casillas

(Every great time needs a gorgeous goalie.)

And while I've heard people complain about how obnoxious the sound of the vuvuzelas are, I can't help but love them. They look like so much fun! I haven't been able to get one of my own, so instead I got an app for that!

VIVA ESPAÑA!! GO SPAIN!!

With reasons like these, how could we lose?

Teenagers in the 70's. Your thoughts?

Amy and I were in L.A. last week. I took her to see Dirty Dancing at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood.

Yes. A totally chick flick umm... I mean stage show night and we had a fantastic time. ("Nobody puts Baby in a corner!")

Of course, being in L.A. a week after the Lakers' Championship win was interesting and I made a few observations about that which I mentioned to Amy.

ME: "Can you believe all the murals of Kobe (Bryant. Lakers Guard and M.V.P.) all over the city?  L.A. is All-Kobe-All-The-Time-Town now!"

Here's Kobe and his five story face covering the Staples Center:

This next mural takes up the entire side of the Upper Deck building. (Which incidentally happens to be on Hollywood Blvd. across from the Pantages so how could we miss it? I'm pretty sure it's done by the Mr. Hope-and-Change-Poster guy, but that's not important right now.)

ME again: "Look at all these cars flying the Lakers flags. They look like Diplomatic Vehicles Gone Bad."

(And excuse me? Mr. Uber-Laker-Fan, sir? We have a hands-free law. Thanks for caring.)

I grew up in L.A. and now that we were chatting about the Lakers, I mentioned to Amy that I hadn't been to see a live Laker game since they used to play at The Fabulous Forum in Inglewood.

Those were the days. (I was waxing a little nostalgic...)

I remembered the Laker players of the early 70's: Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich, Wilt Chamberlain, Happy Hairston, Pat Riley.

And how cool it was to sneak into the Forum to watch the games, and...

Oops...that was probably an over-share.

She pulled the car over and stared at me.

"Sneaking into Laker games? Who are you?? And what have you done with my mother???"  (Her question mark usage totally escalated as her questions grew more and more pointed.) "What else have you never told me????"

In my own defense, I wasn't quite the young vandal this makes me sound like.

I had a friend (okay, a boyfriend. Shut up.) who worked there who opened a door for a group of us occasionally (okay, every Tuesday night, but that's soo not important right now).

So now that I was on the spot I felt like I had to bare my soul and confess to her my other teen indescrecions, such as going up to the Griffith Observatory on concert nights at the Greek Theater. We would then hike down and sit in the trees and listen to whoever was in concert.

NOTE: My Cuban parents were fine with me going out as long as I was in a group. And because as a teenager I always traveled in a pack, I guess it was okay. In retrospect, I think they were either really evolved, or (more likely) just tired of parenting (I am the youngest of six). ;-)

I remember the Greek Theater nights fondly. In fact, sneaking into the trees at the Greek was on our list of things to do every summer. I know. Shut up.

We sat in the trees and listened to a very young Elton John (his first U.S. tour - Take Me to the Pilot and Your Song days), Neil Diamond (Hot August Night Album), and Chicago (when they were still cool and only had one self-titled album). 

No alcohol. No drugs. Just a group of innocent teenagers (and yes, such beings existed!) wanting to listen to music under the stars.

I told Amy my teenage sneak stories and really, they sounded pretty innocuous once I explained.

And I laughed and shook my head as I remembered how silly and innocent and fun-loving we were as teens. And I realized that after Amy's initial shock had worn off, that my Parental Coolness Quotient had gone up just a few notches.

Was I sneaky? Probably.
Was it fun? Totally.

And yes, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.  (Go Lakers!) =D

"I was so naive as a kid. I used to sneak behind the barn and do nothing."
                                                                                    ~Johnny Carson

Angels in the Outfield

I love baseball. Duh, I'm Cuban. Of course, I love baseball.
Correction. I love live baseball games. Eric says that's quirky. (I think he means it in a good way...)

So tonight we went to our first Angel game this season. Sadly, the Angels really stunk and the Colorado Rockies wiped the field with them 11-1, but that's not important right now.

So, baseball game quirks...

I love watching the live games, but I can't stand watching games on TV. Seriously. I'd rather stick a fork in my head than try to follow the action on a screen. I don't care how big that screen is.

I think I prefer the live games because we always have a blast. So we (Eric, the kids & I) try to get to at least a few games each year (and not just for the free cooler and hats, either).

We like to sit at the end of the first base line where we usually get a long foul ball sent in our general direction. Which was exactly what happened tonight. The big guy in the visor caught the ball and we cheered him as One of Our Own. I loved that.

There's also the vendors hawking their ice-cream and churros and peanuts and giant red we're-number-one hands and there's always one little kid who HAS TO HAVE IT and the parents always give in. I just love that.

I love when we do the wave. 

And tonight the wave traveled around the field 8 times - EIGHT! (Eric counted) How cool is that?
This made everyone in the entire stadium absolutely delirious. I think we were getting a little bored watching our team get trounced and this made for a great and noisy diversion.

Cannot even describe how cool this was.

Of course, we had to have hot dogs. I swear, I never even think of hot dogs in my real life, but the minute I walk into the stadium all I can think is Must. Have. Hot Dog. Totally Pavlovian, I know.

I love the 7th inning stretch when the guys in the straw hats throw out peanuts and crackerjacks while we sing at the top of our lungs. It just doesn't get any better than this!

And because our team is the Angels, we totally do the flapping-angel-wing move like from the movie Angels in the Outfield when the kid sees the real angels and he starts flapping and then everyone starts flapping and then the Angels start winning and well, I'm not really a big Tony Danza fan, but I really enjoyed him in that movie and okay, yes, I concede that this might be a tad quirky....

But the coolest part of going to Angel games for me?

We all get to wear RED.

And don't we all look just fabulous in RED??

I know. Shut up. =D

Luza & the Baseball Player

One of my nephews, Raphael (aka "Rafa") was celebrating his 40th birthday this weekend. 
(Hi Rafa! Happy Birthday!!)

His beautiful wife, Lisa threw him an absolutely fabulous birthday bash.  Of course, all his friends were in attendance, as well as his big, fat, Cuban family and his big, fat, Jewish family. (I should probably clarify at this point that Rafa's wife, Lisa, is Jewish, but that's not important right now.)

I had my mom this weekend, so it fell to me to make sure she was taken care of, got fed and stayed out of trouble during the party. 

I know what you're thinking:  "She's 94, Marta.  Exactly what kind of trouble would she be getting into?"

Okay. I'll tell you. 

But first, some background....

My mom is a Big Baseball Fanatic.  She will proudly tell you that she has NEVER missed a World Series for as long as she can remember.  When there wasn't a tv, she would listen to the games on the radio.  BIG FAN. 

In her personal collection of baseball stories, she likes to tell the one about how her father always said that he liked almost all American professional teams EXCEPT the Dodgers.  (To any Dodger Blue fans out there, just get over it. She's 94, okay?)

That's her line.  "I like every team, EXCEPT the Dodgers."  She likes to pull that one out as Series time approaches.

So back to the party... and the TROUBLE....

Lisa's brother, Shawn is a recently retired professional baseball player.  If you read his bio, you'll learn that he started his career with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993,  until 2000 when he went to play for..... (you guessed it!) The LA Dodgers.  (To be fair he also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks 2005-06, and then the New York Mets 2006-07).

So I think it was Shawn's mom, Judy (who thinks that my mom is a kick even though Judy speaks no Spanish and my mom, Luza, speaks no English - go figure) who swears that Shawn speaks Spanish.  How the trouble began...

"Come here, Shawn-Honey, and talk Spanish to Rafa's grandma." (okay, if you haven't already surmised, the alcohol was flowing pretty freely at this point in the festivities.)

Obediently, Shawn starts speaking his broken high school Spanish to my mom asking where the library is. She in turn, who's pretty deaf anyway, thinks they're talking about baseball, because it's logical, he's a baseball player.

Se we take a huge detour from the "where is the library" discussion as she remembers her hatred of the Dodgers and feels compelled to share this with the former Dodger Right Fielder who is now practically family.

"Oye, Shawn, los Dodgers no sirven pa' nada!" she tells him and he understands that her opinion of the Dodgers is not a good one.  (we should have discussed the directions to the library, but that's not important right now. SIGH)
 
Two things are happening in this picture:
1) Shawn is sending me Vulcan mind messages that involve removing my mother forcibly from his body.
2) My mom is proudly telling Tony what she said to Shawn about the Dodgers sucking.
3) I collect my purse and my last remaining shred of dignity and announce that sadly it's time for us to go.

Kiss, Kiss, Everyone!
Yes, sorry. We have to leave. 
"Vamos, Mami!!"

Go, Dodgers!!   ;-)

Ay, Dios Mio.

(it will take me days to recover from this one.  Thanks Shawn, for being such a good sport!) =D

"If everybody had an ocean..." or How I spent my summer vacation.

"If everybody had an ocean...across the U.S.A...."

Crystal Cove, Laguna Beach.

"...then everybody'd be surfin'....."   The Montage Hotel, Laguna Beach.

"...like Ca-li-for-ni-aaa..."  San Clemente Pier, North Side.

"You'll see them wearing their baggies. Huarache sandals too..."

San Clemente Pier, South Side. 

"...Bushy, bushy blond hairdos. Surfin' U.S.A..."  Crescent Bay, Laguna Beach.

"... You'll catch them surfin' at Del Mar...."  Del Mar, San Diego.

"...Ventura County Line..."  "...Santa Cruz and Trestles...." 

Trestles. San Clemente.  (Way to go, Josh!)

"...Australia's Narabine..."  "All over Manhattan... and down Doheny Way..."

Doheny Beach, Dana Point.

 

"...Everybody's gone surfin'.... Surfin' U.S.A..."

As I was starting to write this post, and I was looking through my pictures, I just now decided I'd make a film. It will take me a while to compose, of course, but the idea is there.  I'll be sure to post it when I'm through.

These pictures and captions are just the beginning of my really rocking storyboard for this project. 

So, besides taking pictures, and having this Beach Boys song playing in my head every single day....
I managed to leave my own mark.....

 

"Everybody's gone surfin'..... surfin' U.S.A...."

(Thanks especially to my beach buddy, Jana, for sitting and just enjoying those deliciously long summer beach days with me.)

Our motto? Laugh. Eat. Play.

The kids are out of school and in this part of the country it's like a feeding frenzy trying to get kids signed up for "camps."

Yes. That's the hip thing to do.  (of course, I am anything but hip -  sigh)

If you don't know how to just be with and enjoy your child or help them entertain themselves for the summer, you sign them up for "camp."  (Not a criticism, just a fact in my South Orange County white-bread world)

They can choose soccer camp, sailing camp, movie making camp, swimming camp, acting camp, art camps, theater camps, etc. Not only that, but a parent could easily spend thousands for that happy and memorable experience for their child. And you usually get a cool camp shirt, too. Good stuff.
I'm thinking that with those extra thousands I could be saving here, I can buy that little Mac Mini beauty and maybe just come up with some clever ideas for "camp" myself.  ;-)

I'm thinking theses could be really fun:

• Surf camp (for sure, Dudes.)
• Painting
• Cooking
• Swimming
• Stargazing
• Science
• Scrapbooking
• Movie Making
• Teen Fitness
• Sewing
• Improv - definitely
• Then of course, there are movie nights. I'm thinking a Danny Kaye film festival. (or maybe the Marx Brothers?)

I have tons of ideas for these and more.
Let me let you in on my secret:  I'm just pretty darn childish myself. 
Seriously. I come up with ideas for stuff I'd like to do and suggest it to my kids.

I've pretty much got all the resources I need including the willing victims students campers.

The truth is that we do something like this every year.  We like to call it. . . "summer."  ;-)

Now all we need is a cool camp song. . . hmmm. . . =D