New College professor fosters future exchanges between U.S., Cuba

The renewal of full diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2015 caused myriad feelings for Americans and Cubans alike: approval, skepticism, anger, hope.

For Spanish professor Sonia Labrador-Rodriguez, she felt inspiration.

The result of that inspiration is the Cubano-American Community Project, which examines the arrival of Cubans in the West-Central Coast of Florida.

"By facilitating a dialogue about the origin of the presence of Cubans and Cuban-Americans in the Florida West-Central Coast we hope to make a contribution to the understanding of the Cuba-U.S. relations for future social and cultural exchanges," Labrador-Rodriguez said.

The project attempts to create conversation by focusing on the stories of Cuban-Americans in Bradenton and Sarasota. Labrador-Rodriguez, a professor at New College of Florida, interviewed local Cuban-Americans and researched the Cuban cigar industry that migrated to Florida in the 1800s.

Labrador-Rodriguez saw increased dialogue as vital since travel, among other things, would be opened between the two countries. She also thought it was important because of the large number of Cubans and Cuban-Americans in Tampa and Sarasota.

Florida has the highest number of Cuban-Americans in the country, in part because of its proximity to Cuba. Key West, at the bottom of Florida, is 90 miles from the island. More than 1 million Cuban-Americans live in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area, the highest concentration of Cuban-Americans in the country. The Tampa area also has a large population of Cuban-Americans.

For Labrador-Rodriguez, there are two ideas behind the project that she wants people to understand.

"One, I think that this is one of the missions of the university, to facilitate dialogue," Labrador-Rodriguez said. "The second is that the project has made a contribution to allow people to share their stories with the rest of the community, and I see that as a gift."

She created several components for the project, including a traveling poster exhibition and a bilingual course for New College students. Labrador was happily surprised at the interest shown by students, as well as the community at large. She expected a small group of three or four students; eleven signed up.

One of the best parts of the project for Labrador-Rodriguez was seeing students with a Cuban background who "had no idea of how Cubans' presence in Florida began" become curious about what they were learning, ask questions and develop research projects.

Cristina Harty, a fourth-year student at New College who participated in the course, said she enjoyed the material because it was a nice combination of local history and Latin American culture and helped to diversify the courses normally offered at New College.

"What I really like about Cuban culture and the Cuban identity is that there is something a little bit transient about it," said Harty, whose family is from Cuba. "Just this idea that you keep that identity and it's a part of you no matter where you are."

Labrador-Rodriguez, who has never done a project like this before, said it quickly took on a life of its own. She received funding from the Florida Humanities Council and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, as well as the New College Foundation.

The posters, which Labrador said were the hardest part of the project, are bilingual and cover the story of Cubans in Ybor City and West Tampa. The exhibition ends with five profiles of local Cuban-Americans, including a horticulturist at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and an Afro-Cuban business owner based in Bradenton.

For Labrador-Rodriguez, the people were her favorite part of the project.

"By asking these members of the community to share their stories, they're also connecting with their roots," she said. "I'm still amazed and humbled by the privilege of being able to listen to them and share them with the rest of the community."

The traveling poster exhibition has spent time at the Selby Public Library, the Manatee County Public Library and State College of Florida's library.

The exhibition will end at the Jane Bancroft Cook Library at New College. The college will host three different lectures between February, March and April about Cuban cigar workers in Tampa, the Cuban Diaspora and the renewal of relations between the United States and Cuba.

The project will culminate in a celebration at the college's Jane Bancroft Cook Library on April 29. The festivities will involve a workshop on Afro-Cuban rhythms and a performance by Leymis Wilmott and the Sarasota Modern Dance Company of two poems by Cuban poet José Martí. The library will be open and students from the tutorial will guide visitors through the poster exhibition inside.