The Boatlift Unfolds: Perspectives from Both Sides of the Florida Straits*

In this program, panelists will offer unique perspectives on the unfolding of the Mariel crisis itself—from its beginnings at the Peruvian embassy in Havana, to the arrival and detention of many Mariel migrants on far flung military bases across the United States. We will also hear detailed accounts of the mass rallies and “acts of repudiation” carried out in Cuba to denounce those choosing to depart, and we will explore how race and racism fed into these practices of internal stigmatization. Ironically, the denigration of Mariel migrants in Cuba would mirror the ways some would see and treat them in the United States.

Panelists

Ambassador Ernesto Pinto Bazurco Rittler

Writer, lawyer in International Politics, and former Head of the Diplomatic Mission at the Peruvian Embassy in Cuba

Abel Sierra Madero, Ph.D.

Independent Scholar

Omar Granados, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

Neri Torres, MFA

Visiting Professor, The University of Texas at El Paso, and Artistic Director of Miami-based IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company

Michael Bustamante, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of History at Florida International University

Didn’t make it to our previous event?

Watch the recording of Antecedents to the Mariel Boatlift in Cuba and Cuban-America.