The Nancy Pavon Story

Needs to be Told

         The 3-photo montage above encapsulates a remarkable life and tells a part of Nancy Pavon's story. Now 60-years-old, Nancy is a kind, sweet Cuban lady. The photo in the lower-right shows Nancy at age 15 on October 12, 1971 as she lay unconscious in her hospital bed shortly after the lower portion of her right leg had been operated on to repair extensive nerve damage. That portion of her leg had been blown completely off by cannon fire from a Miami speedboat as she slept beside her 13-year-old sister Angela in their coastal cabin in the tiny fishing village of Boca de Sama on Cuba's northeastern coast near the city of Holguin. The nighttime terrorist attack wounded Nancy's younger sister Angela but their older sister, Xiomara, was further up the coast on armed duty as a coastal militia guard. Two of Nancy's relatives -- Ramon Siam and Lidia Rivaflecha -- were killed in the attack. The photo in the upper-right shows Nancy two weeks later in a wheelchair on the day her doctor had told her she would never be able to wear the new red high-heel shoes that her father, a fisherman, had bought for her 15th birthday. The photo on the left shows Nancy as an adult, now a lady who understands the darkest offshoots of U.S.-Cuban relations.

       The terrorist attack that so drastically changed Nancy's life prior to daylight on Oct. 12-1971 was not a random act. That's why Nancy's older sister was on guard duty further up the Cuban coast that night.

       Since 1971 Nancy has received constant and free medical care in Cuba. She has suffered mightily because of the extensive nerve damage, not to mention being forever unable to use those red high-heel shoes that were supposed to brighten her 15th birthday. The telling of Nancy's story is a pro-American project, I believe, because it typifies aspects of the U.S.-Cuban malaise that long-propagandized Americans eventually have a right to know from a simple humanitarian standpoint.

        Nancy's older sister Xiomara, the one that was on guard duty further up the coast that night, took this photo of Nancy lying unconscious in her hospital bed on October 12, 1971 after major surgery. That one cowardly terrorist attack has affected many, many lives every day, every minute, since that seminal night.

      I mentioned that Nancy is a kind, sweet Cuban lady. She is. She doesn't hold grudges against Americans or Cuban-Americans. But she is well-known, as this photo indicates, for speaking out against "Americans and Cuban-Americans who to this day do not hold those responsible for such things, such terrible things still being celebrated in Miami." In this particular speech Nancy recalled how she was asleep beside her younger sister Angela when "the cannon ball tore through our cabin and sliced my foot off like a machete. Later, while hospitalized, I learned that the two big speedboats had been dropped off by a larger boat and after their dirty deed they radioed ahead so the Miami media could cover their victory celebration on the dock."

       Nancy's story is well-known throughout Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Thus, it is probably appropriate if Americans know it too. The photo above is from a YouTube interview in which Nancy details what happened to her and how the attack has affected "so many innocent lives for so many years."

        Nancy Pavon today is a beloved celebrity in Cuba. She is being embraced above by another beloved celebrity, Ramon Labanino. Ramon was one of the famed "Cuba 5" that were sentenced to up to life in prison by a Miami court and were kept in isolation at five different federal prisons around the United States. After serving about 15 years, the Cuba 5 were returned to Cuba as one of the offshoots of President Obama's amazing efforts to normalize relations with Cuba. The Miami courtroom accused the Cuba 5 of being spies; the Cuba 5 claimed they were in Miami only to detect possible terrorist acts against Cuba and that they gave their observations to the U. S. FBI. At the above gathering, Ramon said, "We tried to prevent things such as what happened to Nancy, her sister, and the two people who were killed that night."

       Boca de Sama today is a quaint little Cuban village with 85 very hard-working and friendly citizens. It is still a fishing village as the front cover above indicates. It is also a tourist attraction for bird watchers.

     This map shows the vulnerable location of Boca de Sama (check the upper-right} because it's located where the Sama River runs into the bay and then the ocean. As you can see, speedboats could easily enter the bay, attack, and then race back out into the sea toward their safe sanctuary in Miami.

This is the edge of Boca de Sama, Cuba.

       This is a classroom in Boca de Sama, Cuba. These children today are harmed by the ongoing U. S. embargo of Cuba but they are now considered safe from Miami terrorist attacks because of Cuba's vigilance and because of so many U. S. Coast Guard and warships in the Florida Straits. It is my hope that Americans care about these Cuban children just as I believe they should care about Nancy Pavon.

         Now and forever, The Nancy Pavon Story will be an integral part of the little Cuban fishing village of Boca de Sama. But it will also, now and forever, be a microcosm of U.S.-Cuban history and U.S.-Cuban relations. That's why I believe it's OK for Americans to know about a nice Cuban lady named...Nancy Pavon.

"The Nancy Pavon Story"

Yes, it needs to be told!!

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