Here’s the 99th dinner interview with a stranger!
It’s my lunch in Miami with Sebastian Arcos, associate director of Florida International University’s (FIU) Cuban Research Institute (CRI). Sebastian knows what he’s talking about — he was born and raised in Havana, grew disillusioned with the Castro regime in his teenage years and even spent a year in prison when his family was captured trying to escape the island. In the 1990s he was eventually allowed to leave, and he settled in Miami. After several years of study at FIU, he joined CRI where to this day he helps in collecting and disseminating information about his home country.
As I learned during our meal, Sebastian remains an ardent opponent of the Communist government in Cuba, and hearing his stories about the impact that Castro’s totalitarian approach had on him and his family help explain his position. I knew little about the island before my lunch with Sebastian, but learned a lot during our time together. He’s a very friendly guy and as one might expect can speak at length and with passion about Cuba, and I’m grateful that he met with me. He’s a great ambassador for FIU, the CRI, and helped make my trip to Miami more enjoyable.
Read the interview by clicking on his picture above, or on this link.