On Freedom with Cuban American Actress, Bertha Leal

One of my best friends is Cuban American. Her mom is like an Aunt to me. We were born two days apart in a military hospital in early September, with her mom’s birthday wedged between us. Cuban culture is an undeniable part of their story. I love these women and their whole family, wildly. They are my people. My tenacious, resilient, beautiful, Cuban American people. When all of the news started to come out of Cuba this summer, I followed along with some of the stories that my friend’s family and their friends out of Miami were sharing. Knowing the truth, I then watched the news and fellow American citizens get the story just so incredibly wrong. It was upsetting, to say the least. A denialism of sorts. A denialism of the truth in Cuba, seemingly to protect an agenda that I have felt for some time, creeping into the US.

I wanted to learn more.

In seeking the truth, I came across another beautiful, honest and courageous Cuban American woman who was boldly telling Cuban stories and explaining Cuban history on her platform on social media. I was sucked in.

Bertha Leal was kind enough to spend two hours with me, guiding me through Cuban history, her story coming to the U.S. and pursuing her American Dream and what comes next for Cuban people. It is so incredibly important that we continue to hear stories of people facing true oppression. What I learned is that, maybe more than anything, Cubans face oppression of their spirits.

When Americans look up to the stars to dream and design a life of greatness, we are free to do just that. We can stay right here and focus our minds and our energy on whatever we want. There are hurdles, sure. And for some, those hurdles are much higher than others. But we don’t face the threat of death or prison. We are also free to speak, to criticize and vote to remove the leaders who stand in our way. That simply isn’t possible on the island of Cuba. There are actual governmental and militaristic forces working against them. Under a communist and dictatorial regime, Cubans are not free. Over the past 12 months, I think Americans, for the first time in a long time, have come face to face with Freedom, liberty, personal responsibility and trust. I think that we frequently forget what we have in America and how special it truly is.

Today, Bertha discusses freedom with me. She describes a Cuban reality currently void of basic human rights and her hopes for Cubans. We discuss what freedom is to us and why it’s so important to the human spirit, in fully realizing our potential and purpose. It’s a powerful conversation. Highlights from our conversation: History of Cuba and the Cuban experience for so man Bertha’s experience both in Cuba and migrating to the U.S. What she’s currently busy pursuing in the U.S. What’s truly going on in Cuba right now, why this is important and what needs to be done.

See link below for show notes:

On Pursuing - Episode 9 - Bertha Leal, On Freedom

Resources & links to further connect with Bertha:

Cuba Decide - Organization looking to bring change peacefully to country

ADN Cuba - For News and Updates

Bertha Leal Instagram

The Amparo Experience

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