tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411619198289763796.post5373495305649300606..comments2023-07-06T11:14:14.744-04:00Comments on Octavo Cerco / English: The Gunpowder!*Octavo Cerco / Englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921583725411059226noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411619198289763796.post-75403779592617634432010-01-18T22:10:23.893-05:002010-01-18T22:10:23.893-05:00"And I'll tell you quite frankly, where t..."And I'll tell you quite frankly, where there's liberty, that's where your home is." "<br /> <br />AUSTIN (KXAN) TV Station:<br />Exchanging a PhD for freedom: Cuban immigrant embraces custodial job<br /> <br /> "At the age of 65, Rafael Garcia roams the halls of Westlake High School, broom in hand. That's a far cry from the life he envisioned growing up in Cuba. "<br />""The ideas of my household, of my father and mother were transferred to me," Rafael Garcia said. "But at that time, I had a lot of active participation in the church. I went to church; I participated in activities and I went to mass and was involved in the church."<br /><br />That behavior earned a young Garcia a trip to rural work camp.<br /><br />"We cut cane," he said. "We cleaned the agricultural areas and all the the camp work, all the work that an agricultural laborer does, very hard work, you work morning to night."<br /><br />The experience, which went on for two-and-a-half years, failed to make a dent in Garcia's church-going ways."<br /><br />"When an agreement was reached between Cuba and the United States, allowing those who had been sent to work camps to leave the island nation for America, Garcia jumped at the chance.<br /><br />At 7:00 AM, April 2, 1996, he gathered his wife and his 88-year-old mother and boarded a plane. The trip included stops in Cancun, Miami and Dallas before the Cubans landed at the airport in Austin.<br /><br />The family knew no one in their new town, but Garcia quickly enrolled in Austin Community College. He learned English, but in order to work in his chosen field, he would need a thorough-going command of the language. The family needed money, though, and Garcia needed a job.<br /><br />He found one at Goodwill Industries and later he and Victoria both found work at Westlake High School as custodians. They raised a son who in December earned his own Ph.D. in entomology. They also raised a happy life. From a home in South Austin, they relish that life.<br /><br />"No one made us come; we wanted to come," Rafael Garcia said. "So then we had to overcome all the situations in front of us. I'm very happy and I'm very grateful to the government to be here.<br /><br />"And I'll tell you quite frankly, where there's liberty, that's where your home is." "<br /><br /> <br />http://www.krqe.com/dpps/news/strange/exchanging-a-phd-for-freedom-_3191266Humberto Capirohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15110861833507178945noreply@blogger.com