From Moscow to Miami

Alba and other new Cuban arrivals from Moscow, who grew up thinking of the U.S. as "el ogro del mundo," with its Vietnam war atrocities, imperialistic meddling, violence, and civil rights battles, say they still carry some conflicting images of the country in which they now live. But most, sounding nothing at all like the New Men and Women of Castro's revolution, speak of Miami as "the dream," a city of welcome refuge that balances American wealth with Latin sensibility. A city where you can start with nothing and better yourself.

Alba was struck at first by the pervasive materialism of the U.S. and he still finds it somewhat jarring. "The Russian is more spiritual," he says. "For him the money isn't important. It's the quality of the man, the quality of the mind, of the soul, of the will. But little by little I'm getting accustomed to the fact that here everything has its price. It's another point of view." Adjusting is something that comes naturally to Cubans, Alba concludes. From the beginning, the Cuban soul has been a mixture of souls -- African, European, Asian, deeply spiritual, and crassly material. "Because of this, the Cuban can triumph wherever in the world he goes.