*CAMBIO

Had a few minutes to swing by my parent's house this morning in between meetings. I like to drop in on them unexpectedly every once in a while - I know it cheers them up, but I also do it because I dont want Mom to be spending her entire morning or afternoon or evening cooking some incredibly delicious and elaborate meal as Cuban moms are wont to do. Heck, even when I drop by unexpectedly, it's like I have to basically force Mom not to make me something to eat.

"Quieres un sanwichito? Te frio un bistek? Quieres cafe?"

As if I needed extra pounds to lug around. But I digress.

Dad sees my CAMBIO bracelet and says "Remember that Cambio poster you gave me that my barber had asked you for?"

"Yeah, Dad. Claro que si."

"Well, when I went to get my hair trimmed yesterday, the barber was all apologetic."

"What do you mean?"

"He kept apologizing for having to take the Cambio poster down from his storefront."

I knew right then and there why he took the poster down - we had a similar issues with the Cambio tshirts at Cuba Nostalgia - but I let him finish the story.

"Well, apparently, a few of his customers and many people that were just visiting the same little shopping center his shop is in kept coming in and complaining." He shakes his head and smiles when he says this. "They kept coming in and asking him how he could vote for a man like Obama and what kind of cambio could anyone expect from someone who is obviously a communist. He tried to tell folks what the poster was really all about, but it was so frequent and so many people came in pissed off so often that he couldnt get any work done."

I had to smile when he relayed this as, for months and months we've been hearing all about that demographic change in Cuban-American politics and voters and, well, Dad's barber shop is smack dab in the middle of Cuban exile central. In the heart of the City of Miami.

For Cuba Nostalgia, we were sent about 200 Cambio tshirts. I think we sold maybe 4 during the entire three days. And I think I spent the entire three days swearing to folks, of all generations, that we were not there promoting the Barrack "Cambio Usurper" Obama presidential campaign.

I think there's a couple of candidates out there trying to unseat Congressmen and women here in South Florida that are in for a big surprise come November. If, that is, they continue to believe and promote their own bullshit about changing politics and changing voter attitudes in the Cuban-American community.

I kiss Mom goodbye, give Dad a peck on the cheek and as Im stepping off their front porch turn and say "Oye Papi. Dile a tu barbero que le voy a mandar a Joe Garcia pa'lla pa' un pelaito."

"Muchaaaacho," he says, smiling ear to ear. "Lo pela al rape."

Posted by Val Prieto at May 29, 2008 02:34 PM

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Posted by: Lori at May 29, 2008 05:53 PM

Posted by: ORGULLOSADESERCUBANA at May 29, 2008 10:42 PM

Posted by: Cubanita in Colorado at May 30, 2008 11:57 AM

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