ProudToBeCuban

From U.S. Census Bureau: Facts about Cuban Americans.

Cuban Americans have acquired an enormous amount of wealth and prosperity in an extremely short period of time - No other immigrant group has achieved this as quickly as the Cubans. Many immigrants have never achieved it at all, despite being in this country far longer than Cubans.

Second-generation Cuban-Americans were more educated than even Anglo-Americans.

More than 26.1 % of second-generation Cuban-Americans had a bachelor's degree or better versus 20.6% of Anglos. Thus Cuban-Americans in 1997 were approximately 25% more likely to have a college degree than Anglos. Other Hispanic groups lag far behind. Only 18.1% of South Americans had a bachelor's or better. Puerto Ricans, despite being U.S. citizens by birth, recorded a disappointing 11%; Mexicans only 7%. In 1997, 55.1% of second-generation Cuban-Americans had an income greater than $30,000 versus 44.1% of Anglo- Americans.

Thus Cuban-Americans are approximately 20% more likely to earn more than $30,000 than their Anglo-American counterparts. All other Hispanic groups lag far behind in average income.

In 1997, 36.9% of second-generation Cuban-Americans had an income greater than $50,000 versus 18.1% of Anglo- Americans. Cuban-Americans were twice as likely to earn more than $50,000. Also, approximately 11% of Cuban-Americans had incomes greater than $100,000 versus 9% of Anglo-Americans, and less than 2% of other Hispanics.

Cubans comprise less than 4% of the U.S. Hispanic population, Mexicans 65%, Puerto Ricans 10%, Central and South Americans 11%, and "others" 10%. Yet of the top 100 richest Hispanics in the U.S., more than 50% are of Cuban descent (ten times what it should be on a population basis), and 38% of Mexican descent. The rest is scattered among all other Hispanic groups.

Cuban-American and proud!!!

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FAMOUS CUBANOS

Business

Alex Aguila, co-founder of Alienware

Raul Alarcon, president and CEO of the Spanish Broadcasting System

Ralph Alvarez, president and COO of McDonald's

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com

Armando Codina, CEO of the Codina Group

George Feldenkreis, CEO of Perry Ellis International

Reynaldo Gil, Internet entrepreneur and founder/CEO of Commendo; co-founder of Hispanic-Net

Robert C. Goizueta, former CEO of the Coca-Cola Company

Nelson Gonzalez, co-founder of Alienware

Carlos Gutierrez, former CEO of Kellogg Company

Enrique Lopez, CEO of IntelliType Corporation

Alberto Vilar, philanthropist, former CEO of Amerindo Investment Advisers

Drew Ryan (Salcines)- owner of Reel-Feel adult film company

Actors:

Nelson Ascencio, comedian (Madtv)

Desi Arnaz, actor (I Love Lucy)

Desi Arnaz Jr., American-born actor

Lucie Arnaz, American-born actress

Steven Bauer, actor (Scarface)

Bobby Cannavale, American-born actor (Third Watch, Will & Grace)

Matt Cedeño, American-born actor and model

Eddie Cibrian, American-born actor (Vanished, Invasion)

Valerie Cruz, actress (Nip/Tuck)

Rosario Dawson, American-born actress(Rent, Kids)

Kamar de los Reyes, soap opera actor (One Life to Live)

Cameron Diaz, American-born actress (There's Something About Mary, Charlie's Angels), host of MTV's Trippin'

Marieh Delfino, actress

Majandra Delfino, actress (Roswell)

Mel Ferrer, American-born actor

Alex Ferrer, Cuban-born television judge (Judge Alex)

Daisy Fuentes, model and television personality (MTV's House of Style, Miss Universe co-host)

David Fumero, soap opera actor (One Life to Live)

David Gallagher (1985 - ) actor, perhaps best known for his role of Simon Camden on the television series 7th Heaven[1]

Melissa Gallo (1982 - ) television actress, One Life to Live[2]

Andy Garcia, Academy Award-nominated actor (The Godfather), (Ocean's Eleven, Oceans Twelve)

Joanna García (1979 - ) film and television actress (Reba)[3]

Jorge Garcia, actor (Lost)

Odalys Garcia, singer, model and television personality

Nona Gaye, American-born singer and actress (Ali)

Carlos Gómez, actor

Vida Guerra, model

Maria Lopez, Cuban-born television judge (Judge Maria Lopez)

Eva Mendes, American-born actress (Hitch, 2 Fast 2 Furious)

Christina Milian, American-born singer and actress (Be Cool)

Marilyn Milian, American-born television judge (The People's Court)

Luis Moro, American-born actor, Independent Spirit Award nominee (Anne B. Real) Best Actor Nomination ABFF (Love and Suicide)

Enrique Murciano, American-born actor (Without a Trace)

Chris Nuñez, artist and reality television personality (Miami Ink)

Oscar Nuñez, actor (The Office)

Elizabeth Peña, American-born actress (Rush Hour)

Danny Pino, American-born actor (Cold Case)

Ana Maria Polo, television judge

Mercedes Renard, actress

Adam Rodriguez, actor (CSI: Miami)

Cesar Romero, actor (The Joker on Batman)

Mercedes Ruehl, American-born Academy Award-winning (The Fisher King) and Tony Award-winning actress

Saundra Santiago, actress (Miami Vice, The Sopranos)

Tessie Santiago, actress (Good Morning, Miami)

Cristina Saralegui, magazine editor, talk show host (Cristina) and actress

Jamie-Lynn Sigler (1981 - ), television actress (The Sopranos)[4]

Georg Stanford Brown, actor (Roots)

Oscar Torre, actor, "Movidas," "Libertad," "Hunting of Man," "Suicide Blonde"

Gina Torres, actress (The Matrix Reloaded) and (The Matrix Revolutions)

Bob Vila, television host (This Old House), author and actor (Home Improvement)

Jordi Vilasuso (1981 - ), film/television actor[5]

Directors & Producers

Desi Arnaz, producer (I Love Lucy, Star Trek, The Andy Griffith Show, Mission: Impossible, The Untouchables), creator of Desilu studios

Manny Coto, executive producer (24), writer (24, Star Trek: Enterprise)

René Echevarria, writer (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Medium) co-creator of The 4400

Silvio Horta, creator (Ugly Betty), writer (Urban Legends, Jake 2.0, Ugly Betty)

Brett Ratner, American-born director (Rush Hour, Red Dragon, X-Men 3)

Musicians:

Albita, Grammy-winning singer

B Real, member of rap group Cypress Hill

Irene Cara, Grammy-nominated singer (Flashdance), actress (Fame)

Willy Chirino, singer

Ana Cristina, singer

Celia Cruz, multiple Grammy-winning singer

Xavier Cugat, celebated bandleader

Addys D'Mercedes, singer

DJ Infamous, first Cuban-American world champion DJ and is now producing hip-hop music

Don Dinero, rapper

Emilio Estefan, five-time Grammy-winning producer

Gloria Estefan, Grammy-winning and Academy Award-nominated singer

Lola Falana, singer, actress and dancer

Nona Gaye, singer and actress (Ali)

Fat Joe, American-born rapper

Al Jourgensen, musician

La Lupe, singer and gay icon

Nil Lara, rock musician

Dave Lombardo, drummer

Raul Malo, lead singer of American country music band, The Mavericks

Martika, Grammy-nominated singer

JD Natasha (1988 - ) Latin pop musician[6]

Olivia Longott, rapper

Pitbull, American-born rapper

Carlos Ponce, singer and actor

Chano Pozo, Afro-Cuban, Latin Jazz percussionist, conga player

Rudy Sarzo, rock bassist (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Manic Eden, Dio)

Jon Secada, two-time Grammy-winning singer

Sen Dog, Cuban rapper member of (Cypress Hill)

Tico Torres, drummer for Bon Jovi

Drew Ryan- lead singer for world famous metal band Jagged Edge

Reporters/Journalists

Manny Alvarez, medical correspondent Fox News Channel

Liz Balmaseda, columnist Miami Herald

Barbara Bermudo, anchor Primer Impacto

Myrka Dellanos, fmr. anchor Primer Impacto

Max Gomez, medical correspondent WNBC, NBC in New York City

Antonio Mora, anchor WBBM (CBS) in Chicago

Belkys Nerey, anchor WSVN (Fox) in Miami

Jackie Nespral, anchor WTVJ (NBC) in Miami

Soledad O'Brien, anchor CNN's American Morning

Rick Sanchez, anchor, CNN Newsroom

Enrique Teutelo, anchor/reporter WLTV 23 Univision Miami

Writers

Nilo Cruz, playwright, the first Hispanic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Carmen Agra Deedy, children's books author

Sean Hepburn Ferrer, writer, son of actress Audrey Hepburn

Jorge Reyes, memoirist, short-story writer, poet, children's books

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, New York Times bestselling author

United States Ambassadors

Eduardo Aguirre, United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra

Lino Gutierrez, former United States Ambassador to Argentina

United States Congress

Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 21st district

Mario Diaz-Balart, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 25th district

Joseph Marion Hernández, first Hispanic elected to the United States Congress

Mel Martinez, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, United States Senator (R-Florida), former HUD secretary

Bob Menendez, United States Senator (D-New Jersey)

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida 18th district

Albio Sires, Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New Jersey's 13th district

Political Leaders

Carlos Alvarez, mayor of Miami-Dade County

Jose O. Arango , fmr. state assemblyman of New Jersey

Joe Carollo, fmr. mayor of Miami

Manny Diaz, mayor of Miami

Nils J. Diaz, former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Luis A. Ferré, former governor of Puerto Rico

Carlos Gutierrez, United States Secretary of Commerce

Bob Martinez, first Hispanic governor (R-FL) in U.S. history

Elsa A. Murano, first Hispanic to serve as Under Secretary for Food Safety at the United States

Department of Agriculture

Alex Penelas, fmr. mayor (D-FL), Miami-Dade County, FL

Vincent Prieto, NJ state assemblyman 32nd District

Otto Reich, fmr. Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere

Orlando Sanchez, current Harris County treasurer, former Houston mayoral candidate

Xavier Suarez, former mayor of Miami

John H. Sununu, fmr. Governor of New Hampshire (R) and fmr. White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush

World leaders

Éamon de Valera, 3rd president of Ireland

Judiciary

Cecilia Altonaga, United States District Court Judge

Danny Boggs, Chief judge of United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio

Raoul G. Cantero, III, Florida Supreme Court justice

Athletes

Gilbert Arenas, American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Washington Wizards

Steve Bellán, also known as Esteban, nicknamed "The Cuban Sylph", the first Cuban and the first Latin American to play professional baseball in the USA from 1869 to 1873

José Canseco, fmr. MLB player, author (Juiced) and reality show contestant (The Surreal Life)

Eric Eichmann, fmr. US National Team and American professional soccer player (mother is Cuban)

Mary Joe Fernandez, tennis player

Henry Gutierrez, fmr. US National Team and American professional soccer player

Minnie Miñoso, fmr. MLB player,

Pablo Morales, who won a relay gold and two silver medals for the USA swimming Butterfly at the 1984 Summer Olympics

Orlando Palmeiro, Major League Baseball player

Rafael Palmeiro, Major League Baseball player

Jennifer Rodriguez, inline speed skating world champion (1993) and USA speedskater in the 1998, 2002, and 2006 Winter Olympics, winning two bronze medals in Salt Lake City in 2002

Alberto Salazar, winner of three consecutive New York City Marathons (1980 - 1982), the Boston Marathon (1982), and a member of the United States' Olympic marathon team (1984)

Danny Tartabull, MLB player

More...

Laz Alonso, American-born actor and BET personality

Cathy Areu, founder of CATALINA magazine

George J. Borjas, noted economist, Harvard University

Fernando Bujones, died 2005, regarded as one of the finest male ballet dancers of the 20th century and hailed as the greatest American male dancer of his generation

Ivette Corredero, American-born reality show contestant (Big Brother 6)

Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos, woman at the center of the Carl Tanzler case

Vanessa Del Rio, American-born porn star

Arturo Dulzaides, influential architect and structural engineer

Nils J. Diaz, fmr. Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

René Echevarria, from Tampa, Florida, screenwriter, creator, producer, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 9, She Creature, The 4400

Lily Estefan, co-host of Univision's El Gordo y la Flaca

Alex Garcia, Food Network personality

Nathan Gonzalez, Survivor: Cook Islands contestant

Lisi Linares, Survivor: Fiji contestant

Ana Mendieta, performance artist, noted feminist

Erik Menendez, convicted murderer

Lyle Menendez, convicted murderer

Raul De Molina, co-host of Univision's El Gordo y la Flaca

Alejandro Portes, prominent sociologist, Princeton University

Narciso Rodriguez, American-born fashion designer

Janu Tornell, American-born Las Vegas dancer and reality show contestant (Survivor)

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, New York Times best-selling author (Dirty Girls Social Club)

Dana Varela, American-born reality show contestant (Big Brother 4)

Bob Vila, television host (This Old House), author and actor (Home Improvement)

Pedro Zamora, AIDS activist, reality show contestant (The Real World: San Francisco)

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MUERE UN PATRIARCA DEL PERIODISMO CUBANO.

Agustín Tamargo, el periodista que con más pasión exaltó el nombre de Cuba y los cubanos en el exilio, falleció la noche del miércoles en Miami a los 82 años.

"SOY CUBANO".

Por: Agustín Tamargo.

Publicada el 7 de diciembre de 1997 en El Nuevo Herald.

Sobre mi mesa de trabajo encontré una nota. No sé de dónde vino, ni quién la escribió, acaso fui yo mismo en días que he olvidado. Pero quiero transmitirla a mis lectores porque creo que recoge un sentimiento colectivo. La nota dice así:

Soy cubano. Para algunos tal vez no es mucho, pero a mí me basta y me sobra. Sor cubano. Podría ser venezolano, español o norteamericano. Pero sería un modo de ser artificial, de voto y pasaporte, hijo del papel y la tinta, que no cuadra a mi naturaleza. Soy cubano. Un cubano integral, de las buenas y de las malas. Soy cubano. Tengo un himno y una bandera. Y tengo, sobre todo, una historia, llena de nombres, hechos y lugares gloriosos en la que bebo, como en una fuente, cada vez que me acosa el desaliento.

¿Podría cambiar por algún hecho histórico extranjero a Las Guásimas, Palo Seco y Peralejo? ¿Podría negociar por algo el 10 de Octubre, el 24 de Febrero, Baraguá, Playa Girón o El Escambray? Soy cubano de café negro, de tabaco y de casabe, de son y de ron, de baile en La Tropical y de guateque guajiro. Soy cubano de hablar a gritos, de jugar a la pelota, de piropear a las mujeres. Y de bajar como un río de fuego por la escalinata de la universidad.

No soy un hombre, si se mira bien, soy una pasión que camina, y cuando enfrento la realidad última de mi vida, que es la de que no tengo patria, me vuelvo una verdadera furia. Por eso los extranjeros no me entienden. ¿Cómo van a entender que quien lo tiene todo siga pidiendo más? Y es que esos extranjeros no saben que ese todo, adquirido en tierra prestada y bajo el sol ajeno, no puede curar una enfermedad fatal que se llama nostalgia de la tierra natal. Dicen que lo bello, cuando se pierde, se vuelve más bello todavía. ¿Y qué era Cuba desde que la bautizó Colón sino la tierra más hermosa que ojos humanos vieron?

Así dentro del alma, carga el cubano a Cuba por todas partes como un escapulario para defenderse de la soledad. Podría decir también como un escudo. Con la historia de Cuba al brazo va el cubano por el mundo defendiendo a su tierra bienamada frente al envidioso y el calumniador. Cuba es una niña. Cuba es su obseción y su desvelo. Cuba es su madre, pero es también su hija. Cuba es su amante lejana inolvidable. Los libros que el cubano no leía en la isla los lee ahora aquí. La música que allá no escuchaba la escucha ahora aquí. Los cuadros que allá no miraba los mira ahora aquí. El cubano no vive en una casa ni en un apartamento, vive en un baúl de recuerdos. Cada vez que abre ese baúl y encuentra una fotografía marchita por el tiempo sufre una herida. Cada palabra criolla que no conocía o había olvidado y redescubre de pronto se le transforma en un instrumento defensor de su autenticidad. En el hipódromo de Hialeah hay una hermosa guadarraya de palmas. No son palmas canas, ni palmetos, sino palmas reales, ésas que en Cuba coronan las lomas y las riberas de ríos. Están allí, pero fueron traídas de allá. Se asegura que por las noches un hombre solitario camina bajo esas palmas hablando solo. No es invención de nadie. Ese hombre soy yo.

Soy cubano. No quiero, ni puedo, ni acepto ser ninguna otra cosa. Ser cubano es hoy una prueba amarga, un desafío. Allá en la isla un sujeto inicuo que una vez metió en ella a los rusos mete ahora a los traficantes y a los turistas extranjeros con la misma finalidad: pisotear al nativo. Aquí en el destierro, la prosperidad material por un lado y la indiferencia del extraño por otro, hacen del cubano un ser solitario e incomprendido. Nadie lo entiende, nadie respeta su afiebrada vigilia en espera del amanecer de la libertad. Todos le piden que olvide, que se adapte, que haga como el resto de los refugiados del mundo, que inicie una nueva vida. ¿Se puede, realmente, iniciar una nueva vida? ¿Dónde afincará sus raíces esa nueva vida? ¿En el Cuatro de Julio americano? ¿En el Dos de Mayo español? No, no.

La historia de un pueblo no puede ser una falsificación copiada. La historia de un pueblo es una continuidad, el plebiscito diario de que hablaba Renan. De Diego Velázquez a Fidel Castro la historia de Cuba ha sido un largo peregrinaje hacia la única felicidad posible: la que proporciona la libertad. Cuba mató su indio, masticó su negro y se tragó su español y de esa misteriosa ceremonia de sangres mezcladas, de infinitos tonos, sacó al cubano.

Hombre de islas, hijo del sol, ese cubano lo ha sido todo sobre su tierra ardiente. Matemático y jugador de gallos, ajedrecista y cantor de puntos guajiros, hacendado y político, rumbero y profesor. Fernando Ortiz es el cubano, Miguel Matamoros es el cubano, Gastón Baquero es el cubano, Alvarez Guedes es el cubano, José Canseco es el cubano, el chinomulato Wilfredo Lam es el cubano. ¿Se puede olvidar un país así sólo porque el anfitrión ocasional sea generoso y la mesa esté bien servida? Yo sinceramente creo que no. Como decía Martí de los que iban a su tierra cuando aún el español la ofendía con su presencia: "Otros pueden, yo no puedo".

Hasta aquí la nota misteriosa que encontré en mi escritorio. Aparecio allí como una página testamentaria, como una botella al mar. Vino Colón, vino Hernán Cortés, vino la desolación de la huida en masa. Pero la isla está allí, Cuba está allí. Esperando con los brazos abiertos por sus hijos dispersos. Hijos a los que simboliza dolorosamente ese cubano que habla solo por las noches bajo las palmas de Hialeah.

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