Refugee Roots, Creative Wings with guest Carlos Solis

About this episode

Carlos Solis shares his family's journey from Cuba to the United States and his struggles as a musician.

Episode 66 of Soul Decodes brings a raw, emotional, and far-reaching conversation as Tia Jolie Phillips and Sarah Tirri welcome Carlos Solis to the Treehouse Studio. Listeners have already met his children in prior episodes, but this conversation steps directly into the man who shaped a family’s survival story. Carlos introduces the premise of his book: New Horizons: A political-refugee journey that began in Cuba, where Castro’s regime stripped his family of their business, property, and freedom. His parents endured repeated escape attempts, each ending in punishment, interrogation, or retaliation. When the family finally broke free, they passed through detainment and intense fear before reaching the United States with nothing but determination left. Life in America began in Miami in poverty. Carlos lived in a small apartment he shared with others and had to push through language barriers, cultural shock, racism, and the emotional dislocation that comes from losing one’s homeland. When Carlos matured into a young man, music became the place where his soul could breathe. He wrote his own songs, built a band, and found a producer interested in signing them—until he realized the…

People in this episode

Hosts: Dr. Tia Jolie Phillips, Sarah Tirri

Guest: Carlos Solis

Topics covered

• refugee experience
• music
• family survival
• Cuban history
• cultural identity

Keywords

• refugee
• Cuba
• music
• family
• Cuban-American
• survival
• identity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Castro’s regime

Books & works: New Horizons

Places: Cuba, United States, Miami

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