HEADLINES FOR THE MONTH
SAD SAD SAD
Alina passed away. After a brave battle with brain cancer, after seeing her daughter get married, and, after waiting for her brother to be by her side, she passed away. The mass was simply beautiful... Right down to the priest remininding us that Alina is now at Heaven's gate ensuring that Fidel does not get in! If you have not seen her memorial site, visit it HERE . If you have a Snapfish account, you can see Carmencita's pictures HERE [family link for those that may not know: Alina is tio Paco's niece.]
THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
When in Atlanta for Alina's funeral we did make it a point to 'check-in' with the three new babies in the 'familia' (Daniel Joaquin [better known as DJ], Lino Antonio [better known as L.A.], and Alejandro Noel [better known as 'el Leon de Duluth') [By the way, lots of pictures on Facebook and Shutterfly accounts from their respective parental units!]
THERE IS STILL TIME FOR YOUR BASEBALL PREDICTION!
This will be the 5th year we do this 'family tradition'... If you have not done so, make sure you make YOUR prediction by clicking HERE - and, this year we'll do an All Star Break update. [Remember that if you win, you get a prize!]
FROM THE VILLAFANE CLAN IN MIAMI:
From Carmencita: Well, the Villafane's are elated with many accomplishments in '09: Carmen Yoli graduates from the University of Central Florida (go Knights!) on May 8th and is diligently pursuing her journalism career. Julio graduates from Belen Jesuit Preparatory on May 27th and will be attending Loyola University in New Orleans...get ready, Big Easy! Ana Tere turns 20 on June 5th and continues her very active life as a California girl, actor and student & Francisco finishes 8th grade this year with flying colors, as well as having become an avid Lacrosse player. Thank the Lord for all these blessings! Carmen M. Villafane 'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.' [The Villafne clan is our link to Central America, particularly El Salvador, where Julio is - proudly - from.]
...IN OTHER NEWS (FAMILY & OTHERWISE):
As many of us know, Toto and Jennifer will be getting married July 4th in Michigan. We'll be going not only to celebrate such a momentous event, but also as an act of solidarity with our American brothers and sisters that are struggling economically, especially in Michigan... So, we see going to Michigan and spending money there - on July 4th, no less! - as our patriotic duty! :-)
PICTURE(s) OF THE MONTH:
NEW & UPDATED LINKS TO FAMILY PICS AND/OR KOOL CUBA STUFF:
CUBAN RESTAURANTS ACROSS THE U.S.A.
No, this is NOT a repeat of last month's story... Once again, I've found yet another Cuban Restaurant in the most of unlikely place: This time it was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The restaurant (actually, a 'hole in the wall' in the middle of a neighborhood) even has a web site. Well worth checking out: HERE Its name is VICTOR's 1959 CAFE. And when I say it is a 'hole in the wall', I mean it. Neither the Convention Center folks nor the hotel folks knew it existed. But, I ventured out to it nonetheless and found its owner (a non-Cuban Latina ex-wife of the ex-Greek cook) very welcoming of our visit. The restaurant has a 'left section' with pictures of today's Cuba; and a 'right section' with pictures of Elian, la Virgencita, and Miami. The only seat left was in the middle. After much trepedation and deep discernment, I compromised: I offer to sit down in the middle, but only after the waitress promised to offer me a free Cuba Libre. :-)
THE DOCUMENTARY "CELIA THE QUEEN" IN DC
If you have not heard about it, check it out HERE "Celia the Queen", produced by a company appopriately called "Kids in Exile", is a documentary that will make you laugh and cry for joy... TOTALLY worth it! We saw it [for free] at the InterAmerican Development Bank. It is probably in the country of Miami already; it'll be on PBS in the fall.
EL CANAL DE AMALIA AGRAMONTE EN YOU-TUBE
Nuestra familiar lejana, AMALIA AGRAMONTE ha establecido
su propio canal en YouTube. Tiene muchisimos videos de
Cuba de ayer y Cuba de hoy; muchos de Camaguey.
CUBAN GYNECOLOGIST / AUTO SALESMAN
OK, so by know I think we've all seen the commercial. (If not, you can see it HERE.)
But, have you seen the 2 minute clip of the two gringo kids that made the commercial? Hilarious! See it HERE.
FAMILY TRIVIA QUESTIONS:
Q: At $5.0-6.0 for a pack cigarettes, would you be willing to buy it for someone you just met? [This Trivia question gets to the story of how a certain old couple in our familia met.]
PARTING THOUGHT:
"We must match our zeal for hi-tech with our passion for hi-touch lest we wire the world and short-circuit the soul." This IS my own quote! (Reemberto)
rr&gd
HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY