Having a Foreign Father in Cuba

Rosa Martinez

HAVANA TIMES — I have a little girl for a neighbor who has the great fortune of having a foreign father. Don’t jump to any conclusions: I don’t believe Cubans are worth less or generally worse than foreigners. On the contrary, I have the same opinion about my compatriots as Jose Marti did about our wine: some may be male chauvinists, but they are the best, because they’re our own.

My neighbor is lucky, because, even though having a dad who lives abroad has its cons, it has many advantages, not only for the little girl, but for the mother as well.

The first is being able to visit places that other children couldn’t even dream of visiting, in Cuba and abroad – our own hotels, historic sites and tourist destinations in other provinces, for instance.

Secondly, Nicky, my neighbor, learned to speak both Spanish and French as a child. She was born in France and was raised there till the age of five. Since arriving in Cuba, they found a person for her to practice her French. Now, at the age of seven, she is learning the most widely spoken language in the world.

Thirdly, this little Cuban-French girl has toys I could not have imagined existed had I not seen them at her home: a toy computer, a toy castle that’s larger than my living room, a raft that’s almost the size of the Guantanamo Hotel and dolls and action figures the likes no one has even dreamed of yet.

Lastly, my young friend is much taller than other children her age. She is also very strong and healthy. My mother says it’s a question of genetics, that all of her paternal and maternal family is tall.

I look at how strong and tall she is again and again and I am not convinced that has nothing to do with the cereals and who knows how many other quality food products her father brings her every time he comes to visit.