Cuba, Adios is a coming of age memoir written by Lorenzo Pablo Martinez. As a young adult, Castro's coming into power meant nothing drastic for Lorenzo. When the schools were ordered to close, he saw in that action the start of an ideal life for himself, a life devoted to music and the arts. Jorge Luis, who worked in a cultural branch of the government, had become his friend and mentor; and a scholarship to study music in Prague for a year seemed to be the beginning of an assuredly bright future. It all changed when his family received a telegram indicating that Lorenzo and his younger brother would be leaving for Miami the next day. His parents, who had originally been staunch Castro supporters, had become openly disenchanted with the regime, and they feared for the well-being of their children and themselves. Through special connections, they managed to obtain visa waivers for the two boys, who, once there, would begin the visa process to get the rest of the family to safety.

Lorenzo Pablo Martinez's coming of age memoir, Cuba, Adios, is a beautifully written and compelling tale of the author's experiences as part of the Pedro Pan program. The author gives us a glimpse of old Cuba before the hostilities between the US and that country led to the embargo. While many began to fear the over-reaching influence of the Castro regime, the author had found mentors and friends, and a safe place to be himself. His dismay at losing all speaks so vividly from the pages, even so many years after the event. The lives of Lorenzo, Beni and all the other Pedro Pans were dramatically changed with that one flight to a new country. I was saddened by the author's recollection of the many hours spent in a glassed-in room at immigration, with nothing but water and uncertainty and endless forms, and could feel his growing realization that no one knew what to do with all those children. Some were lucky, but others ended up in orphanages, where they were beaten, and reform schools. Cuba, Adios answered a lot of questions I've always had about that country, and the troubled relationship between Cuba and the US. I appreciated the difficulties he and Beni had with assimilation, especially with their first foster family, and loved reading how the author rediscovered his music and continued his coming of age in the US. Cuba, Adios is a marvelous memoir that touched me deeply. It's most highly recommended.

Cuba Adios: A Young Man’s Journey to Freedom is a memoir by Lorenzo Pablo Martinez, one of the thousands of young Cubans brought to the United States of America through a clandestine operation called Pedro Pan. When Fidel Castro won the revolution and subsequently closed every school in Cuba, ostensibly to start a comprehensive educational reform, Lorenzo's parents are determined to leave the country and, for the eighteen-year-old Lorenzo, life is going to take a completely different turn. A talented pianist looking forward to a scholarship in Prague, he suddenly finds himself facing an uncertain future as an exile in the US, accompanied only by his younger brother Beni, with the mission of helping the rest of his family flee Cuba while temporarily finding a home for him and his younger brother. Unwilling to leave his friend and mentor, Jorge Luis of La Casa de Cultura, the rest of the family and Santiago, his beloved city, the reluctant Lorenzo sets off and shapes his own destiny.

As a young man, Lorenzo Pablo Martinez seems destined to become a noted pianist in Cuba when his friendship with Jorge Luis of La Casa de Cultura blossoms and he moves into the rarefied world of Cuba’s foremost artists. This was not to be, however, and Cuba Adios: A Young Man’s Journey is his life story. Written in the first person perspective, and dotted with sardonic wit and steadfast honesty, this is an extraordinary journey that unfolds during a momentous time in Cuba’s history and continues long after the height of the US-Cuban crisis. It is indeed difficult not to empathize with two boys flying into an unknown life with just three changes of clothes in their suitcases. As Lorenzo and Beni move from a camp to Washington State and live with two American families - while trying to stay together, get an education and bring the rest of the family to the US - one cannot help but cheer them on. Going full circle, Lorenzo goes back to Cuba, to the city and a friend who has touched his life forever. Lorenzo Pablo Martinez's creative writing style is simple, inspired and lyrical and his story will certainly win your heart and mind.

A gripping, must read memoir - In "CUBA, ADIÓS: A Young Man's Journey to Freedom," author Lorenzo Martinez writes about his participation as part of the secret exodus, a mass migration of children from Cuba, known as Operación Pedro Pan in the early 1960s.

Told from a historical perspective as well as from personal experiences, Martinez's vivid memoir grabbed me and drew me in right from the start, into his life in Cuba, his family, his relationships. The story begins when Martinez's world is shattered with a telegram. A letter taking him away from his music, the music that defined him, all in the name of freedom. A communique that ensured his place in history as a Pedro Pan.

The story, engaging and lyrical continues with Martinez's exodus to the United States along with his brother, Beni. Throughout, I'm in their corner, hoping for the best for them as Martinez says, "adiós" from one locale to another, shedding relationships. He paints a picture of his life in camp, the feeling of isolation in different foster homes, the mixed emotions of his college years at Washington State University and his reuniting with his family. The story wouldn't let me go. It continued with his move to NYC with all of its experiences until his final "adiós" on the last page.

Like all great stories, I wanted it to continue. I can't say enough about Lorenzo Martinez's fascinating memoir that takes us from fear and hopelessness and loss, to happiness, optimism, and finally to freedom and peace within himself, a composer of his own future.