Brothers: A Pedro Pan Story

By Betty Viamontes

In 1961, brothers Angel and Roberto-ages fifteen and twelve-become part of the Pedro Pan Operation, the biggest recorded exodus to the United States of unaccompanied children in the Western Hemisphere. They glimpse what they are about to experience when their aunt, Marina, begs a stranger to take her infant son out of Cuba to save him from the new authoritarian government. Moments later, Mirta, the boys' mother, tearily hugs and kisses them goodbye. The boys believe that in about six months, they will see their parents again. However, their lives will be forever altered.
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"At the beginning of the Fidel Castro regime, two Cuban siblings are separated from their family and sent to live in the United States in this novel.

In 1958, Roberto and Angel Montero are living with their parents in Santa Clara, Cuba. Guerrilla Che Guevara is gaining ground, as is resistance leader Castro. Both figures are popular and getting support even from some affluent Cubans. As the government's forces are defeated, Roberto and Angel's uncle Ciro, a policeman, is arrested and executed. Devastated, the Montero family loses hope for Cuba's future and sends the two boys to Florida in the Pedro Pan program. Then 12 and 15 years old, Roberto and Angel nervously board a plane, thinking their parents may join them in a few months. Housed at Camp Matecumbe, the boys learn they are to be split up and live with foster families in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Roberto is placed with a family that has an awful mother who treats him like an enslaved person and becomes more and more violent. Beleaguered, he remembers his uncle's words: "No one remembers the quitters." Desperate to escape, Roberto plans to flee the house and find his brother, hoping they can be reunited with their parents if the pair is ever able to leave Cuba. Viamontes writes with firsthand knowledge of escaping Cuba for the U.S. and wisely bases this novel on stories from those who were part of Pedro Pan. The descriptions of struggle and loss in Cuba are written with a keen eye toward relationships across a large family. The narrative's focus on young people experiencing family separation and stepping into the unknown heightens the emotional effect. The book offers both a good reminder of the losses that Cubans have suffered and a compelling tale about yearning for togetherness and success...

A succinct, historically accurate, and engaging tale about Cuban kids longing for freedom." - Kirkus Reviews

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"Once again, Betty has brought a gripping story to the pages of her new book, Brothers: A Pedro Pan Story. It's a novel that illustrates what so many boys endured living alone in the United States, away from their families in Cuba. It will change the way you see how this time in history unfolded, changed the lives of so many, and produced outstanding citizens. A must read." - Susana Jim?nez-Mueller, Author, producer, and host of The Green Plantain - The Cuban Stories Project podcast.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1955848009
• ISBN13: 9781955848008
• Release Date: June 2021
• Publisher: Zapote Street Books LLC
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"