Luis Garcia Nerey and Belkys Nerey

00:00 Hi, my name is belkys nerey. I am not telling you my age or this interview is over. You do the work. I'm not telling you if you figure it out Google it but I'm not going to tell it to you. Forget it. Today's date is February 5th 2013. We are at the MoCA the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, Florida. One of the best museums in all of Miami. If not all of the United States far as I'm concerned the person that I am doing the story Corp with is my cousin Louis who happens to be my coolest cousin. My name is Luis Garcia. I am 39 years old February.

00:50 What day is today February 5th in Miami happy to be here to talk to one another if tomorrow is your uncle's birthday my dad. Don't forget to turn 78 tomorrow. I remind you. I remind you via text message can't just get away with texting a miracle. They have to call him. He's not one of those, you know, if he's not that text Abby. We're the coolest not if not them. Can we are second-generation cuban-americans our family our parents came from Cuba in the

01:34 Some came late 50s early 60s, they all trickled in all the siblings are Aunt Sarah was first and then everybody has kids Louis was born Puerto Rico Puerto Rico, but we all the bulk of our childhood was spent, you know, pretty much but I think we all can come together. Now don't you know our family history. You are so loud kind of everybody else afterwards. And so what are you telling my dad K. My dad came before me and my mom or your similar age, but you know, I don't know, you know how it all worked when we were younger years older than lie detector on this year's.

02:34 Parents all got here and came to New York. Some of us were borincuba. Some of us were born here. But yeah, we grew up. I think most of his cousins were born. You didn't know that no cross your mind, you know, what wild because you and I are like someone

02:59 So, you know, I'm more if I was born in Puerto Rico and I came when I was eight months old. So I reckon they asked me. What are you? Where are you where you from? And I say I'm Cuban and then they say what part and then or where were you born and I say always I have to explain the whole thing. So I think I've gone to where I am. Now I say, I'm Caribbean it is a little confusing though for people that don't know you but I think you consider yourself more Cuban because of the way we were raised know. Well, absolutely, but I but I don't know there's people that think like where your born is where you're from and I are who you are or what not. I mean, I guess you like that I feel the same way. I was born in Cuba, but I came.

03:59 York I turn to a New York so I feel like I'm more American than anything else while we all do it at a part of me is like going outside, you know, like when I got to add cubed as they come, you know, I will I think that's where the SAS comes in will my kids when they ask me why they always I was Tom was born in Puerto Rico and they have a hard time because you are born here. Right and they don't know anyting like I asked him yesterday. I asked him yesterday. I was doing like a trivial thing. Like who's this? Who's Barack Obama our president? Who's this was that and I asked him who's Fidel Castro and my youngest Lodi says I don't know but it sounds like she said it sounds like a cookie or like she died. She didn't know what the matter was not a clue when I mean that's really growing up. We were also, Santa who that was and what the deal was their parents.

04:59 Issues then maybe we do. I mean, I think we have the same issues cuz we were like like we learn that growing up but maybe not the same as they that might have connected to it will have to leave their much more connected. They have to have their whole lives and you know a way of living and everything because of this one guy who came in and took over their countries or groups are more connected to it, but I don't even as a as us teenagers and stuff growing up that

05:28 That demographic of our parents the Cuban Exile Community seemed like more active.

05:37 Then it is today meaning they would march on the street protests in the you know, the Cuban Rafters would come and I think I brought us through the years. When a lot of those people have you know passed on they they they can't march Walmart again walk or whatever. We were raised here, but they've been here 40 plus years, you know what I mean? So they have to have also the same kind of feelings like a disconnect but a connection absolute like they can like pick up and move over there and I'll tell my mother asked me what I was going to happen. If something happened and it became back to a democratic country and cash it was gone and it was you open a new embargo and the whole thing was all you know, good to go. Would you move back to Cuba? She's like what fun?

06:37 The family's here where to buy a condo on the beach and that's it. Exactly. I'm like access everybody everybody but it's interesting that the girls just because we're not they don't know anything and by the way was cheese. She said it was Fidel Castro's just like I know it sounds like cheese. I was like cheese we were laughing so much. They have no idea what the little two twins are six and eight anymore and that near the way. I mean unless there's some kind of big issue, right?

07:37 Well, I don't have any siblings or the coolest in our family. We are the coolest you're looking at it right is okay right here in 3D. You're here yet. I don't have any siblings.

07:55 And all of my cousins are siblings, he comes from one of three two sisters are the cousin is a brother or sister and everybody has siblings. So I grew up with all of my cousins really tight and his mother happens to be on telling you I'm at I'm telling him I grew up with you because your mom pick up my dear to me. My Aunt Carmen is you know, she's my favorite. She's my other mother. I know that she's my other mother I would tell your mother stuff before I tell my family care for your mother. That you know, it has some growing up. I spent a lot of time at your house because my mom was divorced part of the time sometimes and I think it was because we're always together like it. We're always together like our ideas and Deals they moved together everywhere, you know what I mean? And it was always like

08:55 It seemed like you had friends, but they were more like just them all the time. Yeah, and they had all the all of us were kind of similar in age of me trickle down a bit. But we all kind of we're like brothers and sisters we still are but I think also as we grew up just as kids we always hang out together, you know by the phone because I spent a lot of time at your house because your mom took care of me should my favorite aunt. She was always a fun one. I wanted to hang out with her you have two sisters and but as we got older that we were all teenagers and you were a teenager. I was already my twenties we would hang out. Yes. I was a kid, he would hang out with the older cousin and we go to clubs and party and have fun and have a good even though I'm feeling like something in my house or a party or something and not invite like you and you know, my cousin's you know what I mean? It's kind of like already. It's already a known thing. Like I'm I'm not going to have like, you know,

09:55 Super Bowl thing for example or whatever and then invite you over either given we are like we're brothers.

10:05 Drive through that was not very much is named Johnny Johnny Drive playing in me. And you need to read for those of you listening in the 80s when the beach was there. Nothing retirement home in Ocean Drive. It was just it was busy as not to have to be so I get his today. This was a a local guy whose real name is Johnny Guardiola. I happen to know him, but he decided to play reggae and because you know a Rasta and green dreads and so he went by Johnny dread and he had the hottest reggae band. It was cool. Like I'm stupid. I was like, yeah there a toy, are they were there the other day I saw him walking on the beach by my house, but I'm anyway, so that's the Johnny dread in the name of the group was copacetic that wasn't able to

11:05 What's the memory the memory was we're all together as usual. And then for whatever reason why you know Bucky and I decide to leave our are you and I decide to leave first to the to the place where they're playing and I remember getting there and there was not a lot of people so me and you were together and we were drinking and having a good time and we're looking at the thing and we knew we were really we're idiots. We knew the band guy. We're young and stupid. So we're like, we're so cool. We're so cool. So we kept saying we're the coolest. We're the coolest and the funniest thing is that it's it's like it's been a consistent thing to miss you and I till today they said that was 30 years ago 30 years ago. Did I say we always go through a day?

12:05 We're the coolest because it felt that way in the moment here. We are young people in this, you know the city that we got bad bad and we knew we didn't feel like we were in the coolest place. Yeah. I know. I remember I remember what Halloween that we spent together. What are we doing? The Halloween? I wasn't the one Halloween that we spent together at scrubs at scrubs and it was like eight or ten of us and we all wore surgery operating room jobs with you know, it was green the drawstring pants and we were like a surgical team and that's what we were doing. It is it what it is is there's too many things to remember zits. It was always something growing up. We we we went to like three clubs at night and then the time we left the