La Yuma
From Chess Piece: The Elián González Story by My Cultura and iHeartPodcasts
October 9, 2024 · 35 min · Season 1 · Episode 3
About this episode
The episode explores Elián González's experience in Little Havana amidst the Cuban American community's rallying for his freedom and the contrasting ideologies of Cuba and Miami.
While authorities decided how to proceed, Elián stayed in Little Havana with his Miami relatives, including with his older cousin turned mother figure, Marisleysis. The Cuban American community in Miami rallied around the family, arguing that Elián would only be free in the U.S., and that sending him back to Cuba was sentencing him to a life under the Communist regime. This idea was fueled by traditional exile ideology, a set of beliefs informed by the Cuban American experience. Peniley explores how the staunch ideology, often informed by trauma, animated Elián' s story. While in Cuba, the ideology of the revolution also colored Elián's journey. Peniley reflects on what it has been like for her to experience Cuba and Miami — two places with very strong belief systems. And she revisits how the INS finally decided who Elián should stay with. This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos. Thanks to These Archival Sources: Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives Original Material Appeared In: CNN's "Elián: The Remarkable Story of A Cuban Boy's Journey to America" C-SPAN Gabriel Iglesias' "How To Tell Latinos Apart" Martí Noticias Sony Pictures' "3:10 To Yuma"…
Topics covered
- Elián González
- Cuban American community
- exile ideology
- Cuba
- Miami
- INS decision
Keywords
- Elián González
- Cuban American
- Little Havana
- exile ideology
- INS
- Miami
- Cuba
- Marisleysis
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Cuban American community, INS
Books & works: CNN's "Elián: The Remarkable Story of A Cuban Boy's Journey to America", C-SPAN, Gabriel Iglesias' "How To Tell Latinos Apart", Martí Noticias, Sony Pictures' "3:10 To Yuma", YouTube/dvjmindsnare
Places: Little Havana, Cuba, Miami
More episodes of Chess Piece: The Elián González Story
- Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York (hosted by Rosie Perez) · June 2, 2026 · 40 min
- The First Time The Men’s World Cup Came to the U.S.A. · May 29, 2026 · 27 min
- Introducing – La Brega: Season Three · February 11, 2026 · 36 min
- Through Each Other’s Eyes · November 27, 2024 · 24 min
- "Crazy Cubans" · November 20, 2024 · 23 min
- Being Home · November 13, 2024 · 31 min
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