By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami

Photography: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC

MIAMI | The rooftop of the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora proved a fitting spot for the 2021 edition of Havana Nights.

The annual fundraiser, canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, benefits Catholic Charities’ Unaccompanied Minors program. Not only is the rooftop outdoors — a must in pandemic times — the exhibit below depicted the story of the 1960s Pedro Pan exodus, which gave rise to the Unaccompanied Minors program.

“The exhibit went hand in hand with the program that we’re supporting,” said Martha Velasquez, senior director of Special Events for the archdiocesan Office of Development. “And they (museum staff) were so supportive and so helpful. They really made it easy for us and it allowed us to grow.”

The May 12, 2021 event attracted nearly 140 people, about three times as many as in years past. They played dominos, drank mojitos, and ate such Cuban delicacies as ham croquettes, ceviche with passion fruit and crispy mariquitas, mini pan con lechon sandwiches, and tostones topped with shrimp. And, of course, there were cigars.

“We smoke the cigars every once in a while,” said Deacon Ernesto Rodriguez, seated at a domino table with other members of St. Michael Parish in Miami, all first-time attendees at Havana Nights.

Although he’s been in the U.S. 41 years, Deacon Rodriguez said, “I never forget my roots and all things Cuban. I feel very proud of that.”

Seated on a couch nearby were also first-time attendees Stella Maris Parra, a native of Uruguay and member of St. Dominic Parish, and Julia and Ernesto Castillo of St. Agatha Parish, both in Miami. Parra and Julia Castillo met during an archdiocesan sponsored trip to Cuba in 2012 for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. “We’ve become sisters since then,” Castillo said.

She noted that two of her husband’s cousins came to the U.S. via the Pedro Pan exodus, which between 1960 and 1962 brought around 14,000 Cuban children to Miami and other parts of the U.S., where they were cared for by the Catholic Church until they could be reunited with their parents.

“That image moved me,” said Castillo, referring to an image at the entrance to the exhibit: a boy and girl holding hands, each carrying a duffel bag. She recalled how her husband’s cousin “always told us, ‘I didn’t let go of my brother for anything.’”

Catholic Charities still cares for unaccompanied minors at its Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children’s Village in southern Miami-Dade County, named for the Miami priest who launched, organized, and supervised the Pedro Pan exodus.

Today, the children are mostly from Central America, and they come not on planes but by walking across the southern border. Once processed at Border Patrol facilities, they fall under the protection of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which places them in licensed shelters such as Catholic Charities’ Children’s Village. There they remain until staff locate — and vet — a parent, relative or sponsor who is willing and able to house and care for them while their immigration cases make their way through the system.

While at the Children’s Village, they attend classes taught by teachers from Miami-Dade County Public Schools, receive health care and psychological counseling, and enjoy playtime and outings. The goal, as with the Pedro Pan children, is to nurture them in a home-like atmosphere until they can be reunited with family.

“Unaccompanied Minors Program is one of the things I know that’s close to his heart,” said Davika Austin, chief administrative officer for Catholic Charities.

She was referring to Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who decided Havana Nights would raise funds for the Unaccompanied Minors Program when the event began in 2013. Back then it was called the Man Cave and open only to men. When women were admitted, the name changed. Until this year, Havana Nights had been held at Cuban Crafters Cigars in Miami, where space was limited to about 40 participants.

The pandemic forced a change in location and added creativity on the part of organizers. This year, sponsors who paid $500 for a table of four domino players got to take the wooden table home. Along with those who paid the single ticket price of $50, they got to drink and eat as much as they wanted, see the Pedro Pan exhibit, and enjoy a cigar.

“We were able to raise more money than in the past because the place was bigger and allowed us to have more people,” said Velasquez. She added that the event raised close to $10,000.