By: Estefania Ospina
ORLANDO, Fla.―As the meeting room of the Orange County Public Library in downtown Orlando began to reach its capacity, Senator Mel Martinez made his appearance onstage Saturday morning after a warm introduction from a former co-worker, a library staff member.
He was welcomed by loud applause and stated he recognized some faces in the crowd.
Martinez talked about his early life and his recent autobiography, “A Sense of Belonging”, followed by a book sale and signing.
He informed the crowd that his first job had been in that particular library and went on to reminisce his early life in Cuba, during its revolution and the turbulent events that led to his escape along with his brother and 1,400 Cuban boys who fled to America.
“The government was still in process of controlling society,” said Martinez to explain how this operation was able to succeed without Castro’s interference.
He remembered when a free-election was promised by Castro, a privilege that had been denied for over half a century.
Instead, many religious figures were run out of the country and his Catholic school was forced to close, dramatically changing his life.
“He was sincere and honest. The way he supports Sotomayor shows he is a good person. Although I wanted to know more about his political life and why he left Washington, I am very interested in his personal life and will buy the book,” commented Marianne Price after the speech.
Martinez laughed as he described his first encounter with his present mother-in-law.
“She was expecting a short Cuban with a moustache who talked like Ricky Ricardo,” an expectation he proudly exceeded.
“It is vital that immigrant children learn English, which is the very key to success, although they must also maintain their culture and heritage” said Martinez about non-English speaking students.
An audience member, Jorge Padillo, said, “what attracted me to this presentation was to hear his story and how he overcame the obstacles that many of us face as immigrants, I wanted to know how he gained success and still maintained his roots as a Hispanic.”
