Marielitos, balseros and other exiles

the long version

A panoramic portrait of the Cuban American community, Marielitos, Balseros and Other Exiles shares the joys, tragedies, and amazing resiliency of the Cuban immigrants who arrived in this country via the Mariel boat lift of 1980 (marielitos) and the "rafters" (balseros) who came in the years afterward. The stories in this debut collection reveal the full social, economic and emotional scope of the immigrant experience, from the repression that many of the "boat people" experienced in Castro's Cuba, the discrimination they encounter upon their arrival in America, and their struggles to build a new life in the United States. Written in an arresting style that marries English with the native Spanish of the characters, Marielitos, Balseros and Other Exiles is an important achievement by a new voice in Latino Literature.