Background

“I was born and raised in Cuba in 1943. Our life in Cuba was very good although that's all I ever knew,” my grandfather described. However, as a kid, he was unaware of the corruption ravaging his own home city. Roberto’s father, Roberto Hipolito, worked for the government signing checks for Veterans of the Spanish-American War. The corruption in Cuba was so terrible that the two hundred peso check signed by Roberto Hipolito would only be fifty pesos when the veteran received it because people would steal money down the line. At the time the President of Cuba was Fulgencio Batista, who was a very corrupt man, which gained the attention of the Mafia in the United States. This led to increased Mafia involvement in the Cuban government and economy. By 1959, the Mafia had established numerous casinos and the notorious El Presidente Hotel also known as Hotel National de Cuba pictured in the Godfather Two. “The Mafia supported Batista because they wanted to continue the corruption, but they never took care of the Campesinos,” my Grandfather explained. The Campesinos were the farmers, laborers, and service workers ie. the heart and soul of the country. This is how Fidel Castro came to power through his “guerrilla warfare campaign and his propaganda efforts” (Britannica). Castro gained support from the Campesinos and began to erode the Cuban government from the bottom up. In fact, by 1958, Castro's revolution had made its way into Havana. My grandfather recollects being afraid to go out at night because he “did not know when the gunfire would go off or where a bomb would drop.” And, by January 1st, 1959 Castro had completely taken control of the Cuban Government, causing Batista and the Mafia to flee from Cuba. As an employee of the former Cuban Government, Roberto Hipolito knew he needed to move his family from Cuba quickly. In October 1959, the Fernandez family moved to Miami, Florida, leaving behind anything they once knew as home.