Mambo Farewell

By Adela Brito

After growing up under the communist regime in Cuba, Pedro Olivares and his friends are ready to make their escape. The four young men have been devising a plan for months while dreaming of living in America for years.

When the day of their planned departure arrives and there are some last-minute setbacks, they must remain undeterred, confident that, eventually, they will be able to leave once the conditions are perfect.

Who else knows of their secret plan and will their risky journey on their handcrafted raft go without a hitch?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adela Brito
• Release date: Aug 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386605102

Adela Brito

Adela M. Brito is a Miami native, who spent sixteen years in New York City, where she worked as an editor of textbooks and fiction. She is pursuing her MFA in fiction at the University of Memphis, in Tennessee. Her arts and entertainment reviews have appeared online, and she is currently working on her debut novel.

Book preview

Mambo Farewell

a short story

Adela M Brito

Mambo Farewell

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Copyright 2017 by Adela M. Brito

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All rights reserved.

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This is a work of fiction. While the names of geographic locations are real, the characters, places, and events portrayed in this story are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.

Contents

Quote

Havana, Cuba, 1991

About the Author

Yo soy un hombre sincero

De donde crece la palma,

Y antes de morirme quiero

Echar mis versos

del

alma

.

~José Martí

Havana,

Cuba

,

1991

Pedro Luis Olivares stood by the outside counter of La Flor luncheonette sipping espresso and getting crumbs from his guava caramelized pastry on his white guayabera . On any other day, he’d brush those crumbs off immediately, but today, the twenty-four-year-old wanted to savor it all as he bid a final farewell .

He’d taken a walk around el Parque Central before coming to his favorite lunch spot for a snack. While he felt nostalgic and excited, he couldn’t shake the anxiety that had become a constant in his life for the last several months. As he walked around the perimeter of the park, Pedro tried his best not to look at anyone directly for fear that they’d somehow know of his plans. He stood at the foot of the statue of José Martí and asked the national hero for courage and strength. The gesture calmed him a bit, and he continued