Episode 23: I've Been Waiting for You: Mario Cartaya on Leaving Havana at Eight and the House That Waited 56 Years

The Immigrant Perspective · Nov 11, 2026 · 1h 6m

Mario Cartaya was born in Havana in 1951 and grew up in one big house with his parents, his older brother, two unmarried uncles, and his grandparents. He describes it as having three fathers: his own, an accountant and baseball buddy who taught him fairness and professional standards; his uncle, a U.S.-educated doctor who played boogie-woogie and rock and roll in Havana's bars; and his grandfather, an accountant who painted and had Mario building with three-dimensional toys every day. His mother practiced classical piano, the dinner-table debates were lively, and Mario can't remember a time…