tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985338667892656892024-03-13T14:42:45.651-04:00Author's Diary - Raul Ramos y SanchezUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger474125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598533866789265689.post-83076235129633390332017-05-06T19:33:00.001-04:002017-05-06T19:34:17.923-04:00The Storm SeasonNumber 8 in a series of excerpts from <i><a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">The Skinny Years</a></i>.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h8fH_1fwwD8/WQ5c70WxHWI/AAAAAAAABjE/UMD_ZJBAjCgWX3u60YiUYv6DPWKYlMuxwCLcB/s1600/Cover-Grid-For-Excerpts-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h8fH_1fwwD8/WQ5c70WxHWI/AAAAAAAABjE/UMD_ZJBAjCgWX3u60YiUYv6DPWKYlMuxwCLcB/s320/Cover-Grid-For-Excerpts-10.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<h3>
Along with a budding plot of pubic hair, Skinny had
developed a short-fuse temper and the unshakable conviction that all adults
had been placed on earth with a single purpose: to thwart his will and make his
life miserable in every way possible.</h3>
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">LEARN MORE</a></div>
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5xrGk-fNIww/WDJunD43ghI/AAAAAAAABVs/4uJke2jnc0EVTZ7tc7Q_hvG7y46SIMD8gCLcB/s200/Cover-Jan-2016-with-shading.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
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SYNOPSIS:</div>
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Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/entertainment/books--literature/local-author-newest-novel-provides-insight-into-immigrant-experience/4uHqiuO18rQ95OstiUNPLJ/"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fnt-109ey5w/WMWjOwWV4JI/AAAAAAAABf8/GPLSuGgcGjcvkor2a6PIg0fLCKVtMKOvgCLcB/s400/Screen%2BGrab%2BDDN%2B3-11-17.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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This morning's Sunday paper brought an exciting bit of news to our doorstep. I was delighted to see <a href="http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/entertainment/books--literature/local-author-newest-novel-provides-insight-into-immigrant-experience/4uHqiuO18rQ95OstiUNPLJ/">an article in the Dayton Daily News</a> by literary beat reporter Sharon Short featuring my fourth novel, <i><a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">The Skinny Years</a></i>.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>"Raul says that writers 'have to love the process more than the reward.'" </b></span></blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.sharonshort.com/">Sharon Short</a> is a accomplished author with four titles to her credit including her most recent, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/My-One-Square-Inch-Alaska/dp/0452298768/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1489349131&sr=1-1">My One Square Inch of Alaska.</a></i><br />
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It is always a pleasure to be recognized close to home. As Mark Twain purportedly said: "An expert is just some fellow from another town."<br />
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">LEARN MORE</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
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SYNOPSIS:</div>
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Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PctTmAHMjfc/WHBlikjDF7I/AAAAAAAABcs/C8comgfx7wQfUPq2bT_q-DHfXdGaRZOtQCLcB/s1600/DSC04844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PctTmAHMjfc/WHBlikjDF7I/AAAAAAAABcs/C8comgfx7wQfUPq2bT_q-DHfXdGaRZOtQCLcB/s400/DSC04844.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Many thanks to everyone who stopped by the event for THE SKINNY YEARS at </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=113543128659252" href="https://www.facebook.com/BooksandBooks/" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Books & Books</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> at the Studios of Key West this evening. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We had a nice turnout and a lot of fun. Great discussing the book alongside </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1100276577" href="https://www.facebook.com/anthony.yaniz" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Anthony J. Yaniz</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> and Tony Mendez, my Wynwood homies. This had to be be the most gratifying event of my time as an author. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The staff was wonderful... friendly, helpful, and supportive. An author could not ask for more.</span><br />
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">LEARN MORE</a></div>
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5xrGk-fNIww/WDJunD43ghI/AAAAAAAABVs/4uJke2jnc0EVTZ7tc7Q_hvG7y46SIMD8gCLcB/s200/Cover-Jan-2016-with-shading.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
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SYNOPSIS:</div>
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Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.</div>
</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-70xdnkMcqJU/WGZW-1peQ3I/AAAAAAAABcI/0yZsufuHb_0lrvzknnMD5SBfCU-PHXcLQCLcB/s1600/KeyWestScreenCap.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-70xdnkMcqJU/WGZW-1peQ3I/AAAAAAAABcI/0yZsufuHb_0lrvzknnMD5SBfCU-PHXcLQCLcB/s400/KeyWestScreenCap.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Friday, January 6 at 6pm</div>
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Books and Books at The Studios of Key West</div>
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533 Eaton St, Key West, FL 33040</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">One week from today... starts the first of three South Florida events for my 4th novel, THE SKINNY YEARS. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">If you are in Key West on Friday January 6th, I hope you can join me at </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=113543128659252" href="https://www.facebook.com/BooksandBooks/" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Books & Books</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> in The Studios of Key West. Festivities begin at 6PM and will include a 60s Trivia Quiz with prizes.</span><br />
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/images/trivia-quiz-5panels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://raulramos.com/images/trivia-quiz-5panels.jpg" height="65" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Co-hosting the event will be my childhood friend and former Key West city commissioner </span></span></span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1100276577" href="https://www.facebook.com/anthony.yaniz" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">Anthony J. Yaniz</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> whose family inspired several characters in the book.</span><br />
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/images/wynwood-fat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://raulramos.com/images/wynwood-fat.jpg" height="172" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">You'll find more details about the event here: </span><a href="http://tinyurl.com/Skinny-Years-SoFla">http://tinyurl.com/Skinny-Years-SoFla</a><br />
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NOVEL</a></div>
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5xrGk-fNIww/WDJunD43ghI/AAAAAAAABVs/4uJke2jnc0EVTZ7tc7Q_hvG7y46SIMD8gCLcB/s200/Cover-Jan-2016-with-shading.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
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SYNOPSIS:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.<br />
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS<br />
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<b>"Gritty and witty. A complex, humorous, and utterly absorbing coming-of-age tale."</b><br />
(Five-star rated) Foreword Reviews - Monica Carter<br />
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<b>"Vivid, engaging, well-paced, with compelling characters. A terrific book.”</b><br />
Ralph Keyes, best-selling author of Is There Life After High School?<br />
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<b>"An uplifting and entertaining tale."</b><br />
Vick Mickunas, host of Book Nook on NPR/WYSO<br />
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<b>"Illuminates, with grace and wit, both one boy's passage and the complex story of Cuba's exiles."</b><br />
John Thorndike, author The Last of His Mind<br />
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<b>"Readers will love the characters, the fast pace, and the realistic setting that frames the story. It’s an emotionally packed coming of age tale that is destined to be a classic. "</b><br />
Maria Ferrer, Latina Book Club (Book of the Month selection)<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<h3>
Going steady with a girl usually meant listening to the
radio together in her living room and maybe sneaking a peck on the lips before
going home. Although Skinny was still stuck in “friend” limbo with Janice,
their relationship wasn’t much different—except for the kissing. That furtive
brushing of the lips was the momentous line of demarcation between friend and
boyfriend.</h3>
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<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
SYNOPSIS:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.</div>
</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nFn0OTyJlA/V9sKppG2seI/AAAAAAAABTc/irZw_Y_IaAQWUS_i5Zb3lIuVq4KsshhOQCLcB/s1600/Evil%2BSanta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nFn0OTyJlA/V9sKppG2seI/AAAAAAAABTc/irZw_Y_IaAQWUS_i5Zb3lIuVq4KsshhOQCLcB/s400/Evil%2BSanta.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<i>[An excerpt from THE SKINNY YEARS]</i><br />
<br />
Skinny opened the Christmas songbook he’d brought home from school and pointed to the smiling fat man on the first page. “This is Santa Claus, <i>Abuela</i>. That’s who I was telling you about,” he said to his grandmother.<br />
<br />
Sitting beside <i>Abuela </i>on the living room’s frayed couch, Skinny was taking great pains to show her how <i>Navidad </i>was celebrated in America. The last thing Skinny wanted was a repeat of their first Thanksgiving.<br />
<br />
Gathered around the table, their mouths watering, the family had watched anxiously as Juan began to carve the turkey. As the family’s guide to Thanksgiving, Skinny had explained this was always done by the man of the house. <i>Abuela </i>had basted the bird for hours and it was now golden brown and smelled like heaven—until Juan plunged the knife deeper. Suddenly, the acrid odor of burned plastic filled the air.<br />
<br />
No one had told <i>Abuela </i>that American turkeys came stuffed with a plastic bag holding the neck, heart, liver, and gizzard.<br />
<br />
That disastrous meal was now driving Skinny to make sure his family got Christmas right. <br />
<br />
“In America, the Three Kings don’t bring children their <i>Navidad </i>presents—the presents come from Santa Claus,” he said slowly to <i>Abuela</i>, hoping it would sink in. “And children get their gifts on December twenty-fifth, not on the sixth of January like in Cuba.”<br />
<br />
“That’s ridiculous,” <i>Abuela </i>said scowling. “Everyone knows the Three Kings brought the gifts for the baby Jesus in the manger, not someone who looks like Karl Marx after four shots of rum,” <i>Abuela </i>said, pointing to Santa. “Look at him. He’s got a beard like Castro and he’s wearing a red suit—that’s the color of the communists! My God, Victor. What are they teaching you in this country?”<br />
<br />
Marta, who had been serving high tea to her dolls in the corner, perked up at the talk of presents. “Are the Three Kings coming soon?” she asked, remembering the bounty of toys during <i>Navidad </i>in Cuba.<br />
<br />
“No, Marta,” <i>Abuela </i>answered. “In this country children get their gifts from a fat degenerate.”<br />
<br />
Disgusted, Skinny slammed the book shut and stomped out of the living room, certain he’d be the only kid in the neighborhood without any gifts on Christmas morning. </div>
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###</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
SYNOPSIS:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.</div>
</div>
</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000;">IN THIS SEASON OF HOPE AND PEACE<br />MAY WE HAVE THE STRENGTH AND WISDOM<br />TO KEEP THE FAITH</span></h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cl3EPDqCoug/WFWUlfWvLjI/AAAAAAAABa0/FKQw57R004Qvli-aPYsfhvgQsJqeMeD-gCLcB/s1600/Rockwell-DoUntoOthers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cl3EPDqCoug/WFWUlfWvLjI/AAAAAAAABa0/FKQw57R004Qvli-aPYsfhvgQsJqeMeD-gCLcB/s400/Rockwell-DoUntoOthers.jpg" width="362" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A HOLIDAY WISH FROM</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
RAUL RAMOS Y SANCHEZ</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0-V7HTjGjp0/WFDRvpwJ_eI/AAAAAAAABac/UAcAy2vPbs4eo0ojyqE1efsnzca2rSPCQCLcB/s400/Cover-Grid-For-Excerpts-5.jpg" width="376" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>An excerpt from <a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">THE SKINNY YEARS</a></i></div>
<br />
<h3>
<i>Abuela</i> let out a sharp, dry laugh. “Anyone who thinks
Juan Delgado’s articles sucking up to Batista are ‘fighting against communism’
doesn’t know a donkey t*rd from a chocolate cupcake.”</h3>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
SYNOPSIS:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.</div>
</div>
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_fuSQOrW67Y/WDosRZ0gxdI/AAAAAAAABYU/Dsv4NFk0R8YTKQaMixhq8k4K1y4ctoPMwCLcB/s1600/Cover-Grid-For-Excerpts-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_fuSQOrW67Y/WDosRZ0gxdI/AAAAAAAABYU/Dsv4NFk0R8YTKQaMixhq8k4K1y4ctoPMwCLcB/s320/Cover-Grid-For-Excerpts-4.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<h3>
About a half-mile inland on the cheap side of
the bay, Wynwood was a tightly-packed grid of small houses and apartments—a
low-rent area where the cooks, cabbies, mechanics, and maids whose labor
greased Miami’s tourism machine rested their heads and raised their kids.</h3>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
SYNOPSIS:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.</div>
</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PlzwzNfwztY/WDoqoxfGikI/AAAAAAAABYI/2Odi7T38-pkXnrod2vFwsRg6qkSFumTMwCLcB/s1600/Cover-Grid-For-Excerpts-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PlzwzNfwztY/WDoqoxfGikI/AAAAAAAABYI/2Odi7T38-pkXnrod2vFwsRg6qkSFumTMwCLcB/s320/Cover-Grid-For-Excerpts-3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<h3>
“Be reasonable, <i>mamá</i>. Juan barely speaks English—and
he’s a professor of Cuban law,” Alicia calmly explained. “Where could he find a
job in this country?”<div class="MsoNormal">
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<o:p></o:p></div>
“He can push a broom, can’t he? You don’t need an American
law degree to do that.”</h3>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
SYNOPSIS:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
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<a href="http://il7.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/961261/thumb/1.jpg?i10c=img.resize(height:160)" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://il7.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/961261/thumb/1.jpg?i10c=img.resize(height:160)" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">There's one thing most people in the U.S. don't realize about Cuban-Americans.
We are primarily exiles rather than immigrants. Many of us left, not for a better life, but to have a life at all. All the same, most Cuban-Americans now probably consider
themselves fortunate that they were forced to leave. I certainly do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Oddly, my
family did not come here fleeing Castro. On the contrary, my father was
involved in Havana's urban underground trying to overthrow Castro's brutal and corrupt predecessor, Fulgencio Batista. Like Castro, Batista trampled human rights. His secret police kidnapped, tortured and at times executed political opponents. That's what led my mom to divorce
my father and come here out of fear for her safety and mine in 1956. My mother also disdained the socialist ideology her husband had adopted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">We did not lose property
to Castro or had relatives jailed or executed after the revolution in 1959. Still, I feel a deep empathy for
my fellow Cubans who did. Those kind of wounds do not heal easily. I can understand why they'd want to dance in the streets right now. But I don’t feel any joy knowing Castro is dead. Just relief... and hope. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Maybe this time around we can have an “evolution” rather than a revolution in Cuba. Let’s
liberate the Cuban people with Big Macs instead of bullets. Getting rid of the
embargo is a first step. We traded bullets with China and Vietnam. Today we
trade goods. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Why should Cuba be any different? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/213158-the-skinny-years"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mmTY6FTtsK0/WDuRCXnTytI/AAAAAAAABY4/gibwaJjG4sQAUn7IaSc94gWrON3i4GooACLcB/s400/Facebook%2526LinkedIn-Images.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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You can now enter a drawing to win one of 15 free paperback copies of my 4<sup>th</sup> novel, THE SKINNY YEARS, on Goodreads. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 6pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: orange;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/213158-the-skinny-years"> ENTER DRAWING </a></b><br />
<br /></div>
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Please act soon. Drawing ends December 9th. </div>
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<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5xrGk-fNIww/WDJunD43ghI/AAAAAAAABVs/4uJke2jnc0EVTZ7tc7Q_hvG7y46SIMD8gCLcB/s200/Cover-Jan-2016-with-shading.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
SYNOPSIS:</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: orange;"><a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"> LEARN MORE </a></span></div>
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
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</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 6.0pt;">
<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yCHX22DgLC4/WDJ0C4bFJtI/AAAAAAAABWE/T9HmBLiHxuswL7Zm-uMKi0mqJ7M0ilMfwCLcB/s400/Cover-Grid-For-Excerpts-2.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
As the family took their seats, Victor saw his mother begin
to cry. With a flamboyant sweep, Juan put his arm protectively around his wife.
“Don’t cry, <i>mi amor</i>. I assure you,
we’ll be back home in a few months—perhaps a year at the most.”</h3>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">LEARN MORE</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5xrGk-fNIww/WDJunD43ghI/AAAAAAAABVs/4uJke2jnc0EVTZ7tc7Q_hvG7y46SIMD8gCLcB/s200/Cover-Jan-2016-with-shading.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
SYNOPSIS:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CYMg-8Z3Pi4/WDJuI2bu8oI/AAAAAAAABVo/dkb7Zsgtrrk-sP4aXwl9yAxZCst5XAXigCLcB/s400/Cover-Grid-For-Excerpts-1.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<h3>
“If Batista and his low-life cronies have become the cream
of Cuban society, then it won’t be long before that scoundrel Castro is taking
his morning sh*t in the Presidential Palace,” the old woman yelled at her
son-in-law before shuffling out of the room.<br /> “Your mother has a lot of class, Alicia,” Juan said dryly.
“Unfortunately, it’s all low.”</h3>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">LEARN MORE</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5xrGk-fNIww/WDJunD43ghI/AAAAAAAABVs/4uJke2jnc0EVTZ7tc7Q_hvG7y46SIMD8gCLcB/s200/Cover-Jan-2016-with-shading.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1479693684&sr=1-1-spell"><i>The Skinny Years</i> is available in hardbound, paperback and eBook editions. </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
SYNOPSIS:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Surfers, soul brothers, hippies, and thugs — they’re all part of Victor “Skinny” Delgado’s world growing up in Miami during the turbulent 1960s. Fleeing the Castro regime in Cuba, Skinny’s once-wealthy family moves from a mansion in Havana to a roach-infested bungalow in Miami’s low-rent Wynwood district. Over the next ten years the Delgados struggle to survive in this strange new land—a place where fat men in red suits enter your home through the chimney, demons appear at the door begging for candy, and young women go on dates without chaperones. There’s only one constant in Skinny's world as he grows from 8 to 18. He longs in vain for the girl of his dreams: his neighbor Janice Bockman who seems everything American—and everything he’s not.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The new book trailer for The Skinny Years colorfully chronicles a young Cuban exile’s bittersweet coming of age during the stormy 1960s, a time of the cold war, civil rights struggles, and the hippie counter culture. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Enjoy...and please share! </span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RYi3eMa6NtU" width="525"></iframe><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">You can learn more about the novel at: </span><a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html">www.RaulRamos.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://raulramosysanchez.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/tech-fav-1.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5oJ-SS20rak/WBxyKzqg-gI/AAAAAAAABUg/fL5jMABcQx0eTFak4zMG4rXX6J0F8PZxwCLcB/s1600/tsy-vid-cover-still.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5oJ-SS20rak/WBxyKzqg-gI/AAAAAAAABUg/fL5jMABcQx0eTFak4zMG4rXX6J0F8PZxwCLcB/s1600/tsy-vid-cover-still.png" /></a></div>
<br />
Coming soon to a digital screen near you...<br />
<br />
The Skinny Years Book Trailer!<br />
<br />
Months in the making, the one-minute, 38-second video is slated for release next week.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned!<br />
Raul<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://raulramosysanchez.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/tech-fav-1.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>
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</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">With Halloween approaching, this excerpt from <a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html" target="_blank"><i>The Skinny Years</i></a> seemed worth sharing. The setting: October 31, 1960 at the home of a Cuban family recently arrived in Miami. </span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YHUyOMZ3fxg/V9r9YS27-SI/AAAAAAAABTA/st-GwQyil_0BP2_u-oEluzJOqSwwZk6IwCLcB/s1600/Halloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YHUyOMZ3fxg/V9r9YS27-SI/AAAAAAAABTA/st-GwQyil_0BP2_u-oEluzJOqSwwZk6IwCLcB/s400/Halloween.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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An eerie wailing from the front door startled <i>Abuela </i>as she cracked another egg into the cast-iron skillet. The voices were shrill and insistent, uttering a bizarre incantation. In her sixty-seven years, she’d heard nothing like it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Triko-tree! Triko-tree!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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After the signs of <i>brujería </i>in the neighborhood, <i>Abuela </i>was wary. Evil sorcery was lurking, she was sure of that. She inched to the kitchen door and peered toward the front of the house, straining to focus her failing eyes. What she saw nearly stopped her heart.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lucifer was at the door.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Prince of Darkness was accompanied by Death himself, his skull’s face staring in a wicked grin. Judging by their short stature, it was clear both had assumed the form of gnomes. Worse still, as they continued their eerie incantation, each demon was thrusting an orange gourd toward her with an evil smiling face.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Triko-tree! Triko-tree!” they shrieked again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Oblivious to the danger lurking at the door, Marta sat in the living room transfixed by the television.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Abuela </i>fought a sudden weakness in the knees and the urge to urinate. She braced herself against the kitchen door, her mind racing. She had to compose herself. Her grandchild was in danger.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then, with piercing clarity, an inspiration came to her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rushing to the kitchen sink, she filled a saucepan with water from the tap, then ran into the living room where she grabbed the plastic crucifix hanging on the wall.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Be gone from this house! Leave us in peace!” she screamed in Spanish as she charged toward the front porch brandishing the crucifix and the saucepan. “This is holy water! This is holy water!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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* * *<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Trick or treat! Trick or treat!” Michael and Tommy Brewer called into the yellow bungalow’s screen door. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The porch light was on and the boys could see the gray glow of a television set flickering on the walls of the living room. An overhead light was visible in the kitchen at the back of the house.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Trick or treat! Trick or treat!” they screamed again, holding out their pumpkins expectantly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After several seconds, Michael and Tommy finally saw a figure moving toward them in the house. At last, someone was coming to the door.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What they saw next left them petrified.<o:p></o:p></div>
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From the gloom of the living room, an old woman charged toward them screaming something they couldn’t understand, waving a crucifix and holding a saucepan. Her gray eyes glared wildly, exposing the white around her pupils. Paralyzed with fear, the boys stood rooted to the ground, their expressions of terror hidden behind their masks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The deranged old woman opened the screen door and thrust the crucifix toward them, still shouting angrily. Thinking she might want him to take the crucifix, Tommy extended his basket tentatively toward the cross.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was the wrong thing to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The old woman emptied the saucepan of water in his face.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Drenched and terrified, Tommy turned and bolted with Michael trailing less than a step behind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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* * *<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
An excerpt from <i><a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html" target="_blank">The Skinny Years</a></i> by Raul Ramos y Sanchez</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Coming-of-age fiction has a rich history and includes some of the most memorable novels of all time. Do you have a favorite? Vote for yours below. If it's not on the list, please leave a message and I will include it in an update to this post.<br />
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<h2 class="title">What is your favorite coming-of-age novel?</h2><div class="widget-content"><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="460" name="poll-widget3749039229741346546" style="border: none; width: 100%;"></iframe><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">With summer almost over, I'm reminded of this excerpt from <i><a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html" target="_blank">The Skinny Years</a></i>. Enjoy the last days of warmth--and remember the times when a summer was forever. </span></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VPOAozMzxo8/V9sNE2C7KrI/AAAAAAAABTg/PO9Z_RyeboQ891dtih6wpMXRBErzIIDrgCLcB/s1600/BreatheUnderWater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VPOAozMzxo8/V9sNE2C7KrI/AAAAAAAABTg/PO9Z_RyeboQ891dtih6wpMXRBErzIIDrgCLcB/s400/BreatheUnderWater.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Standing on the sidewalk in
front of the Bockman’s house, Skinny stared nervously at the only two-story
home for blocks. The house was small compared to his home in Cuba, Skinny
reminded himself. But among the small, boxy
cottages in Wynwood, it seemed like a palace.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
The closer he’d gotten to the
Bockman’s house this morning, the more Skinny’s nerve had faded. Wearing a
bathing suit borrowed from a neighbor and carrying a castoff Everglades hotel
towel did not help his confidence. In fact, Skinny’s doubts had started only
moments after Janice’s invitation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
What had Janice meant by ‘the
kids who would appreciate it most’? The question had tortured him for the last
two days. Still, the thought of seeing Janice again—in a bathing suit, no
less—helped him kick that qualm down the road each time it surfaced. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Swallowing hard, Skinny walked
to the door and rang the bell.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
A stout, middle-aged woman in a
flowered sun dress opened the door. “You must be Skinny,” she said smiling.
“Come on in.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Skinny followed Mrs. Bockman
through a large living room where a slender man with a copper-colored beard sat
working on a fly fishing lure and smoking a pipe. He rose and extended his
palm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“Glad you could make it, son,”
Mr. Bockman said shaking Skinny’s hand. “Hope you enjoy the pool.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“Thanks for inviting me, sir,”
Skinny answered. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Mr. Bockman’s eyebrows rose.
“Wow. Janice wasn’t kidding when she said your English has improved. I’d swear
you were born speaking it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Skinny beamed at the
compliment—and the fact Janice had mentioned him to her parents. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
After meeting Janice’s dad, they
continued through the house to the kitchen. There, Mrs. Bockman led him through
open double doors to their newly-built pool. Seated at a patio table on the
concrete deck, Skinny saw Janice in a modest one-piece bathing suit and a
fully-dressed Norman Lee. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“Janice,” Mrs. Bockman called
out, “your other guest is here.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Janice smiled and waved him
over. “Hi, Skinny. You know Norman, right?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“Hi, Norman,” Skinny said with a
small wave. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Norman Lee was new to the
neighborhood, a lanky good-natured kid from Georgia with a honey-thick drawl.
The thing about Norman was this: He had a bright pink harelip scar under his
nose. It was something Skinny tried hard to ignore—but it always made his
throat catch with pity each time he saw the kid. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Looking at Norman, Skinny came to a
realization that made his stomach flop. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Janice’s reason for inviting him
now made a miserable kind of sense. <i>This
isn’t a pool party. It’s a pity party</i>. The ‘kids who would appreciate it
most’ meant the deformed, the fat and the poor. He knew the Bockmans meant
well. But it made him feel small enough to crawl under the belly of ant. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“Well, now that you’re all here,
it’s time to open the pool,” Mrs. Bockman announced in a sunny voice. “Norman,
why don’t you go get changed? The bathroom’s just inside on the right. I’ll be
in the kitchen if any of you need me.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Norman rose excitedly and
disappeared into the house.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Meanwhile, Janice pulled on her
bathing cap, walked to the edge of the small pool and gracefully dove into the
deep end. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“Get in, Skinny!” Janice called
out after surfacing in the shallow side. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Skinny joylessly took off his
shirt and shoes, lowered himself into the water and swam over to her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“Hey, you swim pretty good,”
Janice said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“I’ve been swimming since I was
little,” Skinny said dully. “We used to have our own—” Skinny stopped and
turned around as he heard the clomping of footsteps on the deck. Coming toward
the pool at a full gallop was Norman Lee in his white jockey briefs. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“Yeeeehaaaw!” Norman yelled as
he launched himself feet-first into the deep end. <i>KERSPLOOOSH!
</i>The splash sent small waves sloshing over the edge of the pool.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Janice looked at Skinny,
covering her mouth as she laughed. “Oh, my God! Norman’s in his underwear!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Skinny smiled back, the sound of
her laughter brightening his mood. But then Skinny noticed something wrong.
Norman’s was thrashing wildly in the water. “Hey, I don’t think he knows how to
swim,” he said to Janice. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Janice’s smile changed to a look
of horror. “Mom! Mom! Come here!” she yelled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Without thinking, Skinny swam
toward Norman. Diving under the water, Skinny saw the gangly Georgian, limbs
flailing in panic, trying desperately to reach the surface. As he swam closer,
Skinny could hear Norman’s gurgling cries of terror. For a moment, Skinny
watched helplessly, not knowing what to do. Then an inspiration came to him. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Diving until he was directly
below Norman, Skinny stood on the bottom of the pool and pushed the drowning
kid toward the surface. Looking up, Skinny could see that Norman’s head was
finally out of the water. The question now was: How long could he keep this up
before coming up for air? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
The answer came with a heavy
splash. Looking above him, Skinny saw a pair of chunky legs in white cotton
panties billowing inside a flowered skirt. Mrs. Bockman had jumped into the
pool, fully dressed. In a matter of seconds, she pulled Norman to safety. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Skinny surfaced and found Norman
gasping for breath, clinging to the side of the pool. Mrs. Bockman was beside
him, her hair wet and plastered to her neck and shoulders. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
For a long moment, everyone
stared at Norman, expecting an explanation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
“Y’know somethin’,” Norman
sputtered in his Georgia twang. “You cain’t breathe underwater.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
A short while later, with
everyone safely on the pool deck, Janice’s dad put his hand on Skinny’s
shoulder. “Nice going, son. Mrs. Bockman told me what you did.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
Glancing at Janice, Skinny saw
her smile, eyes glittering with approval.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
The fireworks in Skinny chest
began once again. He didn’t dare hope Janice was ready to fall into his arms
like a hero in the movies. But there was a whiff of something more than
friendship in the chlorine-scented poolside air. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
An excerpt from <i><a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html" target="_blank">The Skinny Years</a></i> by Raul Ramos y Sanchez</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0xXqPjfyNBE/V8IDoxaviJI/AAAAAAAABR4/oxR7H6jyAZIYtxNQYILL2bxKKD0awJIsACLcB/s1600/september_specials.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0xXqPjfyNBE/V8IDoxaviJI/AAAAAAAABR4/oxR7H6jyAZIYtxNQYILL2bxKKD0awJIsACLcB/s400/september_specials.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.08px;">Get em' while you can. My publisher is offering some "September Specials" on The Skinny Years that won't last long (or I'll go broke):</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.08px;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Paperback edition, signed and dedicated </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Just $10 including shipping </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">(retail price: $12.99)</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_special_savings.html" target="_blank">ORDER NOW</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Hardbound edition, signed and dedicated </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Just $20 including shipping </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">(retail price: $22.99)</span><br />
<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_special_savings.html" target="_blank">ORDER NOW</a><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Kindle edition </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Just 99 cents</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">(retail price: $4.99)</span><br />
<a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_special_savings.html" target="_blank">ORDER NOW</a><br />
<br />
These specials are an excellent opportunity to create a keepsake or give a great gift. I hope you'll take advantage of these savings available during all of September.<br />
<br />
Raul Ramos y Sanchez<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I want to thank Vick Mickunas, host of <a href="http://wyso.org/programs/book-nook" target="_blank">Book Nook on NPR/WYSO</a>, for inviting me on his show to discuss my 4th novel, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472869368&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Skinny Years</a></i>. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wyso/files/styles/medium/public/201106/BookNook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wyso/files/styles/medium/public/201106/BookNook.jpg" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://raulramos.com/images/skinny_years_marquee.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://raulramos.com/images/skinny_years_marquee.gif" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A conga-beat coming of age in the stormy 1960s</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Vick Mickunas introduced the Book Nook author interview program for WYSO in 1994. Over the years he has produced more than 1500 interviews with writers, musicians, poets, politicians, and celebrities including Pat Conroy, Anne Lamott, Donald Ray Pollock, Tom Robbins, Kate Atkinson, Amy Tan, John Kasich, Donald Trump, Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Nora Roberts, John Glenn, Bill Bryson, Garrison Keillor, Dave Barry, and music legends from bands like The Animals, The Doors, and The Rolling Stones.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>You can listen live online at the link below:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://wyso.org/schedule" target="_blank">7AM ET Saturday, September 3 </a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A podcast will be available later in the week. </b></div>
<br />
Hope you can tune in!<br />
<br />
Raul Ramos y Sanchez<br />
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<a href="http://blog.ricksteves.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/19-cuban-students-havana-diversity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blog.ricksteves.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/19-cuban-students-havana-diversity.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Cubans are a people with genes from many parts of the globe. You'll find faces on the island that reveal ancestors ranging from Nubian to Nordic. Most mainstream Americans visiting Cuba for the first time find that diversity surprising. But it's not really unusual. Many other nations in Latin America have similar tapestries of phenotypes. But what makes Cuba unique goes beyond features and pigmentation.<br />
<br />
The United States is also made up of a wide range of races. These racial groups are, for the most part, divided into separate communities. African-Americans, in particular, live in a vastly different culture. There are "black" styles of music, food and fashion. Many African-Americans speak with a distinctive English dialect, These differences are an unquestioned fact of life in the United States.<br />
<br />
In contrast, Cubans have a single cultural identity. Cubans of every color share the same music, the same food, the same accent. That's not to say racial prejudice does not exist in Cuba.<br />
<br />
Look at the highest echelons of Cuban society and you'll find a preponderance of lighter skin. Poverty, on the other hand, is much more egalitarian on the island. The poorest districts are mostly integrated, These conditions preceded the communist revolution, by the way. The Castro brothers can take credit for removing Cuba's versions of Jim Crow. But the strongman overthrown by the communist revolution, Fulgencio Batista, was a person of mixed European and African heritage. <br />
<br />
Perhaps Cuba's greatest unity comes from our music. The neurosurgeon and the hotel maid still move their hips in the same saucy way when they hear a conga beat. It seems we all have the 1-2-3, 1-2 rhythm of the clave hardwired into our nervous systems.<br />
<br />
Want proof? Watch the video below. You'll see a rainbow coalition of Cuban musicians and everyday folks sharing their passion for music--and the moving words of poet and statesman, Jose Marti.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/blUSVALW_Z4" width="560"></iframe><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
To be sure, we Cubans have our faults and foibles like every other nation. But there is a lot the world can learn from the beauty of Cuba's cultural unity.<br />
<br />
Raul Ramos y Sanchez<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/timeline_photos/1892_small_fullsize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/timeline_photos/1892_small_fullsize.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since 2007 I've hosted <a href="http://myimmigrationstory.com/">MyImmigrationStory.com</a><span id="goog_638890616"></span><span id="goog_638890617"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>, a website where immigrants to the U.S. from all over the world can tell their stories in their own words. This week I received a series of similar stories, all from Phoenix, Arizona. This had never happened before. One of the stories mentioned a class called "English Innovations." After Googling the term in Phoenix, I discovered this course is part of the <a href="http://classes.sis.maricopa.edu/index.php?keywords=&subject_code=any&all_classes=true&terms%5B%5D=4162&credit_career=NC&credits%5Bmin%5D=gt0&credits%5Bmax%5D=lte9&start_hour=any&end_hour=any" target="_blank">evening curriculum at Maricopa Community College</a>. The reason behind the series of stories quickly became clear. Posting these stories to the website was evidently a class assignment for people learning to communicate in English.<br />
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As a child, my mother took English classes at the local high school. She attended these lessons after making my dinner following a long day of work. I can picture the authors of these stories doing the same. Below you'll find their stories, verbatim. Their struggle to master grammar and spelling underscores the challenges they face every day--and face willingly.<br />
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The next time you hear someone say today's immigrants don't want to accept American ways, remember these stories. There are many others like them, people quietly struggling to adapt to a new language and culture so they can provide their children with the same life you'd wish for your own. They're old stories, repeated many times in the course of U.S. history. Only the faces have changed.<br />
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Raul Ramos y Sanchez<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Susana, Phoenix Az</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>My name is Susana, and I am from Mexico City. I am 36 years old. I came to the USA because I was married. My husband and I came to have more opportunities and to have a better life. Now, I live with my sons and my husband. I hope that some day I will see my family again.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>On my journey, I felt nervous and was cautious. When I got here, I saw many differences, such as the language, the money and the weather. But as time passed, I met new people and I felt better. Now, I eat different foods, and I found many Mexican restaurants that bring me many memories.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Although I miss my friends and family back home, I am glad that I am able to provide a better life for my children.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Mario, Phoenix Arizona</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>My name is Mario. I am from Guerrero,Mexico. I am 44 and I am married. I have three children and I came to the United States for a better future. In Mexico I didn't have my own home. I came to Phoenix with the brother in laws and of my wife. I didn't have family in this city. My long term goal in this country is to get my own home. I need to prepare to take my Residence card. That's why in the eigth years I always have had two jobs to survive. It is very difficult to get a long without legal documents. My greatest des8ire is that my children continue studying to improve themselves and have a better way of life. Someday we will have our own home and be able to get our legal documents to go visit our relatives in Mexico.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Maria, Phoenix AZ</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>My name is Maria </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>I come from Tamaulipas Mexico.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>I cam to live in Phoenix, A Z</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>I left my country because need to work </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>I had no difficultades because I arrived by plane </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>My reaction to the U S A was fear.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Araceli, Phoenix Az </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>My name is Araceli. I am from Mexico I came to this country twelve years ago looking for a better life in this country.When I came I brought a suitcase with my Mexican culture,my roots and illusions for a better future leaving behind my family my job my country to start a new life. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>When I was travelng to this country I was very sad because I thought how will be my life in U.S.A .</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>When I was on the border was the worse experience in my life I feel humiliated because all things was diferent but I am happy because in this country I achieved things that in my country was impossible.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>some things I like in this country are I can do my Mexican traditions.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>One struggle I encountered was I could not find work because I was undocumented but that not prevented me to get ahead and achieve my dreams.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Luz, Phoenix</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>I left my country in 2003. I came to unite with my husband, who was working here for a few years. I brought with me my 2 children, leaving behind my mom, sibbilings and all my family.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>During my journey to Phoenix, I was feeling sad to leave all my life and thinking what it was to come. At the time I arrived my reaccion was better than I was thinking because the neighborhood was good. As I have found a big difference because my home town was smaller and all people living there greeting everyone and here we are like unknown people.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>I have found nothing the same.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>The struggles were finding the right school for my children and how to transport us and also the big struggle was when I wanted to get work.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Teresa, Phoenix, Az.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>My parents came from Puebla, Mexico we came to Phoenix, Arizona. Because my parents came for more opportunities for them and my siblings as well as better medical attention for me, for my eyes. I brought with me my hope, faith my desire to succeed. I am leaving behind my grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.During my journey to the U.S.A. I felt so excited & had fear at the same time. I had many emotions at this time. My reaction to the U.S.A was difficult in the beginning because I had an auto accident and had long time in physical therapy and mental (emotional), and then when I started school, it was a little hard to learn the new system of education, the difference from my native county is food, culture, language, the people the similarities from my country is some people that are from the same place I am from some places that have same language to me like Spanish the struggles that I have encounter the auto accident, time for my recuperation different system of education and the culture.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Elda, Phoenix, Az</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>My name is Elda. I am from Sonora Mexico. I came to the U.S.A because my husband did not have a job. My husband came first. Then a month later my children and I came whit some friends. My friends took me to my husband. In my country we have many parties, here in U.S.A every one is in their own world. I had no struggles when I came here. In Mexico we are not safe but in the U.S.A were are.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Ariana, Phoenix AZ </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>My name is Ariana; I came from Oaxaca Mexico, when i was 15 years old,my parents decided to move to Arizona because our business got burnt,They rebuilt the grocery store,but nothing was the same.I brought a Virgin of Guadalupe necklace.I left 1 brother and 2 sisters in Oaxaca. I felt sad because my family was separated.I was scared because I didn't know what was on the other side.The truck drivers drove like a crazy person,and I was worried about my dad because he was apart from us.I was so happy we were safe.My native country is a little town so only the road and big street was paved.I remember the weather; it felt so warm at 7:00am. The only thing that was the same was my uncle and aunt who recived us in their house. English was the first problem I had; the first question i learned was "Do you speak spanish? The kids were so mean and rude with no good manners,fortunately I started knowing good people.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Andres, Phoenix, AZ.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>I come here to the U S A . for the first time in 1992, because I looking</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>For better work. Now I have all my family with me, I have good work,</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>I 'm very happy.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>God bless me.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Estela, PHOENIZ AZ</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i>When I came to Amerca it was veri hard because the agente of immigration was holding me and took me bak to Mexico.when I came to America, everything was different than Mexico. So I was feeling sad because I was in a strange place. Everithing, was different the language, monney, stores and the people. I missed my mam, my dad and all my family. The weather was to hot here in Mexico the weather is very nice. I didn't have work . No money and I didn't know any body. I needed to go to places but I did not have a car. I did not know the city. So I really was want to go bak to Mexico.</i></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://raulramosysanchez.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/tech-fav-1.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ckwi-jIGBSU/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAADI/gAe_oP-V2J4/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ckwi-jIGBSU/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAADI/gAe_oP-V2J4/photo.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Roger Besu</td></tr>
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Roger Besu is an exile of my generation, born in Cuba and raised in Miami during the sixties and seventies. He is also the author of a definitive book on Cuban cuisine, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cuban-Cooking-101-Roger-Besu-ebook/dp/B00D02Z078/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468704765&sr=1-1&keywords=cuban+cooking+101+besu#navbar" target="_blank"><i>Cuban Cooking 101</i></a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cuban-Cooking-101-Roger-Besu-ebook/dp/B00D02Z078/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468704765&sr=1-1&keywords=cuban+cooking+101+besu#navbar" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://assets.booklocker.com/covers/6857cvr.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_276010610"></span><span id="goog_276010611"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
I did not know Roger growing up. We met as mature adults. So I wondered if he would connect with my fourth novel set in Miami during the sixties. Roger's review of <i><a href="http://raulramos.com/a_the_skinny_years_synopsis.html" target="_blank">The Skinny Years</a></i> left this author feeling heartened that the story resonated as authentic with someone whose experiences mirrored my own.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: #990000;">REVIEW OF THE SKINNY YEARS</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #990000;">by Roger Besu, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cuban-Cooking-101-Roger-Besu-ebook/dp/B00D02Z078/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468704765&sr=1-1&keywords=cuban+cooking+101+besu#navbar" target="_blank">Cuban Cooking 101</a></span></h3>
<span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000;">I started to read this book with the idea that I was going to encounter a chronicle or a biography. What I found was a ride through memory lane – a trip that reaches into the fantasies created by the author about the many encounters of the characters he describes in a family forced into exile from La Habana to Miami. The legend of the Delgado family takes place at the beginning from the sixties when the wave of the Diaspora began and thousands fled the oppressive new regime brought by the Castro brothers and their cohorts. But, the story is not so much about politics but about the serious business of young immigrants coming to the Melting Pot of America and trying to survive in the new environment. </span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i><span style="color: #660000;">"There is exhilaration, funny moments and the hard reality, all described in this very witty novel with a delicate touch by a master writer."</span></i></b></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #990000;">You will find in the lives described, as in many lives, those brilliant moments and those very somber, but in between there are many neutral zones. There is exhilaration, funny moments and the hard reality, all described in this very witty novel with a delicate touch by a master writer. You will laugh, cry, remember and find that you can actually understand what it is to find a new life in a new country. The immigrant, be it Cuban, or from whatever background you come from, will find incomparable affinity and rapport with the characters. </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000;">This is a very timely book for those who not only are interested in the history of the Cuban exiles of the sixties, but of the history of immigrants in general in America. A true work of literary license, which is much more interesting than a chronicle or biography, I say. </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000;">Roger Besu</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Armando F. Sanchez</td></tr>
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A former educator, Armando F. Sanchez has dedicated himself to inspiring Latino youth through his efforts as a CEO, producer and author. I was proud and honored to appear in Armando's global on-demand podcast interview released this week featuring my latest novel, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Years-Raul-Ramos-Sanchez/dp/0997264411/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468265727&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Skinny Years</a></i>.<br />
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