“The Red Umbrella” by Christina Diaz Gonzalez.
Alfred Knopf, New York, 2010, 284 pages, grades 6-9.
Cuba is a beautiful, tropical island 90 miles south of Miami. It has suffered and continues to suffer from brutal leaders. In spite of recent attempts to resurrect the image of Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader remains nothing other than a murderous, lying hypocrite. When he overthrew the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista in the late 1950s, hope for Cuba’s destiny rose. But since Castro is a Marxist, he soon began arresting, imprisoning and murdering “enemies of the state.” The fact that most of these people had done nothing other than question his decisions is irrelevant. As George Orwell said: “All the animals are equal, but some of the animals are more equal.”
After a number of Cuban children begin to be shipped over to Russia and other Communist countries to help “educate them,” some traditional Cuban families made one of the most painful decisions they ever faced. To save their children from Castro’s godless clutches, they would send the children to Miami, hoping to save their lives from the descending evil in Cuba. Thus Project Pedro Pan (Project Peter Pan in English) was born. With the utmost anguish of heart, these parents put their children on airplanes flying to Florida, with the hope that their relatives in Miami and the agencies of the Catholic Church could protect them. Christian Diaz Gonzalez tells this painful story in her poignantly written, beautiful novel entitled “The Red Umbrella.”
Lucia Alvarez is waiting for her upcoming 15th birthday, so that she can be presented in public. This happy ceremony is known as “the quinceanera” and is eagerly awaited for by most Cuban girls. As Lucia thinks about the dress she will wear at the party, the Cuban Revolution sweeps into her hometown and people begin to be arrested. Lucia has no interest in politics and dreams of the boys coming to her quinceanera and dancing with her.
These happy thoughts are violently interrupted when her father’s bank comes under suspicion for not supporting the revolution. Soldiers and secret police follow her father everywhere, trying to find something to incriminate him. Her uncle begins betraying his brother to gain the favor of the revolutionary leaders. Soon Lucia sees people hanging in the public square, executed for crimes against the state. Her father knows it is only a matter of time before he is falsely accused.
The Communist leaders are sending young people into the country to allegedly teach reading to the peasants. While they might have done that as well, the real reason is to break the children’s familial ties and to brainwash them about the wonders of Castro’s Cuba. Once this evil goal is accomplished, the children will begin looking to the state for leadership and not to their parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez know that the Communists want to ruin their family and so make an excruciating decision. They must send their children to Miami while they remain in Cuba. The parents learn of the Pedro Pan flights from Cuba. They take their most prized loves, their 14-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son and put them on a plane to the USA. They trust in God’s love and the support of the Catholic Church in Miami to save their children. What happens?
Christina Gonzalez has written a gripping, painful, beautiful story of the Peter Pan children. Many Peter Pan children came to Lincoln in the early 1960s and were assisted by the Catholic Church. In this story, the Alvarez children are sent to a loving family in Grand Island.
The novel shows the brutality and evil in the Cuban Revolution and the resilient love of a Cuban family. As well, Gonzalez writes of the kindness the people of Grand Island gave to the Alvarez family. I think this title is a must-read for junior high school students and I hope you take the chance to read this outstanding book as well. The story of the Peter Pan children is important in both American and Cuban history.
