TCMS Symposium: One School One Book

University of Tampa Ed Students with

Lynn Werner

Tessa Wiseman

Steve Ponzello

Pastor Brown

Mrs. Aiello

Yvonne Meredith

Pam Bell

Mark Silver

Russ Oberbroekkling

For Students: When the immigration officer in U.S. told Mirta that  she could change her name, What was her response?  Would yours be different?  Explain your answer by posting a comment.

Join us for this year’s Symposium on April 9th.

Finding Mañana:  A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus
Publisher House: The Penguin Press
Author: Mirta Ojito (pictured right)
Publish Date: April 11, 2005

Finding Mañana sends subtle messages to world leaders who transform their people’s lives into political battlegrounds. As she reflects on continued tensions between Washington and Havana, Ojito concludes that “refugees were pawns in a never-ending game of Cold War politics neither was able to win or willing to concede.” Castro’s endless pursuit to maintain absolute power by purging political dissidents has robbed Cubans of sovereignty over their personal histories. Even now, years after Mariel, Ojito still finds personal definition through the context of the political. She reflects that “exile … is not a temporary condition that dissipates in the euphoria of the return,” but rather “a way of life, much like a chronic, but not terminal, disease.” For Ojito, due to her exile, the concept of home is evasive, “like a desert mirage that grows farther” the closer she gets to it.

One School, One Book Symposium Website: http://www.tcmstornadoes.com/symposium/index.htm