Here is a short explanation about my poem in order to translate a few key terms and flesh out some of my thinking.

-Gabriel Graña

Cómetelo todo - Eat it all

Casuela - pots/pans

Maduros - fried sweet plantains

Cafecito - Cuban coffee (café - coffee; -cito - gives the idea that it’s small)

Bistec - beef steak

Sazón - the usual combination of green peppers, onions, garlic, and sometimes chorizo (sausage) that forms the base of most Cuban (and other LantiX cultures’) dishes

“Porque en Cuba no hay” - Because in Cuba there isn’t any…

• My grandmother would often tell me that I shouldn’t waste anything because in Cuba there is so much poverty

• This was her way of connecting me with the home country, reminding me that I should remain humble and think about what life would be like if I were living there

Even though I was born in Miami, Cuba has always had a special place in my heart. I had the unique advantage of being raised in Miami where a thriving Cuban enclave exists. In a sense, I was raised in a Cuba-away-from-Cuba. Still, the distinctly American influence could be felt. As much as my grandmother told me to assimilate, to become “American”, there was (thankfully) no removing myself from the atmosphere of my Cuban culture.