Exhibition chronicles Cuban exiles story

Posted on Wednesday, 09.10.14

Exhibition chronicles Cuban exiles story
BY MIAMI HERALD STAFF

More than 1,000 people crammed into the Freedom Tower Wednesday night
for a peek at an exhibition that honors one of the city's oldest
buildings – and captures the tales of hundreds of thousands of Cubans
who fled the island and made Miami their new home.

The Exile Experience: Journey to Freedom — produced by Miami Herald
Media Company newsroom staffers in partnership with curators at Miami
Dade College Museum of Art + Design (MOAD) — is a journalistic
chronology of various waves of Cubans who fled communist indoctrination
following Fidel Castro's rise to power in 1959. It is also an homage to
a historic building, which housed the city's first daily newspaper and
later became the main processing center for the new Cuban arrivals.

"I am extremely proud of this exhibition," said Alexandra Villoch,
president and publisher of the Miami Herald Media Company. "Not only
because it honors journalism by paying tribute to a building that stands
as a monument to the history of news reporting in South Florida. But
also because it tells the tale of an important segment of our community
that both overcame the hardship of exile and continues to thrive in exile."

"It is truly an honor to partner with Miami Dade College to preserve an
important piece of our community's story in a historic gem that can now
be enjoyed by the public at large," Villoch said.

The Freedom Tower, which opened its doors in 1925, was home to the Miami
Daily News, later known as The Miami News.

In 1962, five years after the newspaper found a new building by the
Miami River, the U.S. government leased the tower to process the growing
number of exiles fleeing Castro's Cuba. For them, the building —
commonly referred to as El Refugio — became the Ellis Island of the Cold
War era until it closed in 1974.

The building was donated to Miami Dade College in 2007 by 600 Biscayne
LLC and developer Pedro Martin and family, and has since been restored
to accommodate cultural activities and special events that are free and
open to the public.

"The exile experience is well known to many in our community, and the
Exile Experience exhibition at the Freedom Tower is sure to touch the
lives of people throughout our community," said Eduardo J. Padrón,
president of Miami Dade College. "It marks a new chapter in the history
of this iconic landmark, a moving homage to freedom and democracy. We're
extremely grateful for the partnership with the Miami Herald in
presenting this exhibition, which is the first in a series that
chronicles the experiences that changed so many lives."

The exhibition begins with the first mass exodus out of Cuba, the
children from Operation Pedro Pan. It was designed by Herald graphic
artist Ana Lense Larrauri and written by Herald editorial writer Luisa
Yanez, is composed largely of photos from Miami Herald archives, Barry
University, Operation Pedro Pan Group Inc. and the Cuban Heritage
Collection at the University of Miami. It is accompanied by footage from
the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives at Miami
Dade College and the following films: The Flight of Pedro Pan and My
Suitcase Full of Hope by Joe Cardona, The Lost Apple, produced by the
United States Information Agency, 1962-63 and 50 Years of Exile,
presented by Univision23, and produced and directed by Norberto Perdomo.

The Exile Experience: Journey to Freedom opens to the public Sept. 19 as
part of the reopening of (MOAD) and kickoff of the cultural season at
the college. The event will include six new exhibitions and a free
concert by popular local band, PALO! Festivities begin at 6 p.m. at the
Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd. For more information, visit
www.mdcmoad.org

Source: Exhibition chronicles Cuban exiles story - Miami-Dade -
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http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/09/10/4340693/exhibition-chronicles-cuban-exiles.html