"To die completely, a person must not only forget but be forgotten; and he
        who is not forgotten, is not dead." 
                                                                     - Samuel Butler, Note-Books (1912)

JAVIER ??
  - Camp San Pedro, Orlando, FL

IGNACIO AGRAMONTE
Matecumbe - Camp San Pedro, Orlando, FL

PEDRO BELTRÁN CÓRDOVA "Chicharito"
   Matecumbe - Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA

JUAN BENEDIT TORRES (  - 3/96)

SANTIAGO BILBAO HARVES
Matecumbe  -   Casa de Sallies, Wilmington, DE

RAMIRO ÁNGEL BRAÑA "El Portorro"
Kendall - Matecumbe - Casa Carrión

JORGE CAÑAS MARTÍNEZ
CWB Mendigutía  -  Casa de Sallies, Wilmington, DE

JOSÉ RAMÓN CARREÑO CUETO

MANUEL DURÁN
  - Foster Home in Albuquerque

JORGE FERNÁNDEZ ACOSTA
Florida City -

JOSÉ MIGUEL FERNÁNDEZ IGLESIAS (  - 01/25/1999)
Foster Homes in Miami

JUAN FERNÁNDEZ GONZÁLEZ (  - 12/2009)

MARTA FERNÁNDEZ GONZÁLEZ (  - 12/2003)
Florida City -


 

FRANCISCO FIGUEROA
  - Casa de Sallies, Wilmington, DE

JORGE GARRANDES GONZÁLEZ (1/24/53 - 7/08/09)

(La Salle del Vedado - Florida City - St. Vincent de Paul Orphanage, Vincennes, IN)

I had written about JORGE “Bull George” GARRANDES in the July 2009 Newsletter wishing him Godspeed because of his letter to us announcing his 25^th Running of the Bulls in Pamplona on July 7^th.  (He actually completed almost 90 runs in those 24 visits!) However, his sister SUSANA wrote in, after that publication, to inform me that JORGE was very ill and was hospitalized with a deadly condition. He passed away on Wednesday July 8 without fulfilling his Last Hurrah, without singing his swan song! I did not have the pleasure of knowing him personally but only through his sister’s e-mails.

He had a twin brother named TONY and twin daughters Janine and Janessa. JORGE had a very kind heart and strongly supported St. Jude Children’s Hospital, proudly displaying on his desk pics of “his”children.

  SUSANA also wrote to the family and friends that JORGE lived his life without regrets and always said that no matter what may happen to him, he wanted everyone to know, "I lived my Life to the fullest!" She posted it in the Miami Herald Pedro Pan database website on JORGE’s registration site. Other friends wrote in as well. There is one post, however, sent in by SUSANA, of a farewell letter from an Enrique Donoso from Toledo that is a small literary jewel, in which the author re-defines the meaning of friendship in ways that touch one’s heart. This is excellent writing, to be re-read and treasured, worthy of being perpetuated in a Powerpoint Presentation with pictures of JORGE in Spain at the Encierro de Pamplona wearing white shirt and pants, a red sash and neckerchief - perhaps even white Nikes! - laughing and taunting a half-dozen deadly Miura bulls while great, brassy, ominous and triumphant music plays! 

I have included a copy below.

Such a heartfelt letter is the best witness to the goodness of a man like JORGE GARRANDES.

JORGE will be missed with great sadness, even though he probably stepped into that longer, better Life that we all wish to achieve. God bless him!

[The Editor - as published in the August 2009 CampMatecumbeVeterans Newsletter]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hasta luego, querido Amigo!!,... todavía no me hago a la idea de que esta vez tardaré algo mas en volver a verte, todavía no me creo que no tenga que abrazarte de nuevo para poner paz en alguno de esos líos en que sueles meterte de cabeza, todavía te estoy esperando para abrazar y reírnos con José y Manolo en el Mesón del Champiñón,... porque Casa Paco,... sin Antonio dándonos de comer ya no es lo que era, ¿verdad?, todavía te estoy esperando en las putas escaleras esas de la churrería San Ginés, que cualquier día nos esnucamos al bajarlas, por empinadas y por el pedo, a partes iguales.

No se bien cual es la medida de la amistad verdadera, en estos días en que la palabra “amigo” está tan devaluada y se usa con desmesura y despropósito, y se acepta y se alaba la mediocridad con tal de tener mas “amigos” como si de coleccionar se tratara. Si que he aprendido, que la amistad no se forja con las palabras, ni con las caricias, ni con regalos, ni siquiera con la presencia,... la amistad la forjan los hechos, y lo que compartimos nadie puede cambiarlo.

También he aprendido contigo, que la amistad no es algo que se tenga, es algo que se siente,... no importa el tiempo que pase y,... han pasado veinte años y sigo sintiéndote cada día,... y hoy,... mas.

Te he buscado estos días de San Fermín cada mañana en la televisión, en la plaza del Ayuntamiento, donde sueles correr, pero pasa lo de siempre,... la cámara va muy deprisa y casi nunca consigo verte, aunque veo al armario de Jou y sé que andas por ahí. Bueno,... no te preocupes en demasía, voy a seguir cuidando de Eileen cada vez que venga a España, y Esther y yo, volveremos a Miami, y conoceremos a tu nieto, Julián,... nuestro sobrino-nieto, y le hablaremos de ti junto a tus hijas, para que sigas viviendo entre todos nosotros, de modo,... que ya puedes ir olvidándote de morirte, porque no vamos a dejar de pensarte ni un instante.

Hasta luego Jorge,... te quiero, amigo mío.

Enrique Donoso, Toledo, España

AMAURY GONZÁLEZ

OSCAR GONZÁLEZ MOLINI  ( 11/28/47 - 1990)
    Matecumbe - 

Manuel J. Gordon “El Cota” (Matecumbe – Albuquerque, NM) passed away on November 20th, 2002 of a massive heart attack.

I first knew of my tocayo when we started the Matecumbe website back in August of 1999, Manny was an integral part of the second website that I found on the Internet and I believe it is still the BEST “beca” website ever put together anywhere in the history of Pedro Pan. Manny was very cooperative in providing me with names and e-mails of his other friends and acquaintances from the Villa Virgen del Cobre in Albuquerque. I was fortunate enough to meet him in person in October of 2001 in New Jersey and it was a double pleasure to do so in a Pedro Pan party put together by José Manuel Gómez in Florida City - Oswego, NY that was attended by a dozen grown refugee children. Since his untimely demise I have been reading e-mails from other Villacobrenses which witness to his being an excellent fellow who dedicated a lot of time and effort to keeping the group in touch and aware of each other, even though he was busy with his advanced career at Nabisco.

Iván Castro, one of the villacobrenses, is godfather to Manny’s son Mark, and Manny was godfather to Ivan’s son Bryan. Ivan wrote some historical items about Manny: “Manny was from Cárdenas, Matanzas, and graduated from Albuquerque High in 1965. Was married twice. Loved the Dallas Cowboys. Relished the NY image, you know the sleek hair – which he could not comb back – the Mafioso life styles. Really, was the one that started the whole reunion thing for the VVC guys, kept track of everybody, that is why he was the Chairman.”

Rafael Carvajal “El Magnífico”, who resides in Miami, has sent what he termed to be Manny’s favorite photo and we are showing it at the end of this Newsletter to share with all Pedropaneros.

Álvaro García, “El Profesor”, also from Miami, wrote that Manny was coming down to South Florida on the 29^th to attend a reunion in honor of Brother Reinaldo. Al writes that: “Manny did not have brothers or sisters or many relatives. He felt that all of us were his close relatives and he kept us within reach. Even when I was stationed in Korea and no one knew my address, Manny found me. He never gave up keeping us together…” Manny’s dream was to retire to Miami. He mentioned that more than once.

Antonio Gómez wrote from Houston: “Al fallecer otro de los nuestros, parte de nosotros se ha ido.” When Tony was in the Army, Manny drove Tony’s parents to Fort Dix to see him because they did not know how to get there. Tony ends: “Creo que Manolo puede estar contento de que siempre vivirá en cada uno de nosotros.”

I noticed that Manny was called Grand Chairman by several of the writers.

Ángel Carballo “El Pillo”, from San Juan, Puerto Rico first alerted me to his passing away. Angel is also involved in finding and keeping track of Pedro Pan children, very friendly and willing to go out of his way for others and a very interesting and likable person to know. 

NICOMEDES HERNÁNDEZ "Nikita"

Ha muerto un hermano Pedropanero. Otro más!. Ya sé de 44 que no volverán a ver la casa de sus padres donde comenzaron su niñez, ni volverán jamás a su Patria. Ya llevamos más de uno fallecido por cada año de exilio, y posiblemente hayamos perdido muchos más que no se sepa.

¿Y qué tiene este Pedropanero de especial?. ¿Por qué el esfuerzo de un Requiem? Pues para mi el saber de su muerte será un recuerdo indeleble, porque aunque nunca le conociera, tenemos mucho en común.

En primer lugar, nació el día de mi cumpleaños (Marzo 1) en el año que naciera mi hermana María Luisa (1949). !Qué casualidad! Además, falleció el día después del cumpleaños de mi padre, que nació el 26 de Agosto!

Como si eso fuera poco, su segundo nombre es igual que el mío, yo me llamo Manuel Angel. Después de todo eso no me sorprendió enterarme que él llegara a los Estados Unidos en Septiembre del 61, porque yo había llegado en Agosto 29 del 1961. Si me tardo unos días mas con los enredos de la Visa waiver al salir, etc., hubiéramos brindado juntos en el avión al salir de las aguas territoriales!

Yo sé que otros han sentido esa lástima y pena por las noticias de los Pedropaneros que han muerto. Sin embargo, cualquier tristeza por su pérdida no se puede ni siquiera comenzar a comparar con el vacío que deja atrás en su familia.

!En toda la Creación no hay, ni ha habido, ni habrá dolor más profundo que el de una madre que entierra a su hijo! Se supone que los hijos entierren a sus padres. Hay algo horroroso AL-REVÉS cuando una Madre está presente en el entierro de su hijo y ve ese tétrico féretro bajar a la oscuridad del hueco en la tierra con el tierno cuerpo de su niño con el que ya no compartirá las alegrías y las penas del resto de su vida. Porque para ella su hijo no es alto y fuerte y decidido y valiente y gana $75,000 al año. Para ella es siempre un chiquillo sonriente que balbucea, le echa los bracitos al cuello y le grita “Mami!”

José Ángel también deja atrás a su hijo Chad, bastante crecido pero no del todo formado y preparado para la Vida. ¿A quién le va a pedir consejos que pueda confiar? ¿A los amigotes que saben menos que él?, ¿Quién lo llevará a cazar, a pescar, a ver a los Marlins o a los Dolphins?

José Ángel vino a nuestra tierra adoptada a los doce con su hermanito Julio. No “jugó catre” en la selva verde de Matecumbe ni se perdió en las casitas de Florida City como tantos otros. Tuvo la suerte de irse a Nueva York, la capital del mundo con familia. Se tardó 9 meses en reunirse con sus padres. Otra suerte : sus padres vinieron en Junio del 1962. Si hubieran tenido que esperar hasta después de la Crisis de Octubre no se hubieran juntado hasta mucho después……o nunca se hubieran visto otra vez, como le pasara a varios pedropaneros.

Entrenado en Belén, José acabó en la escuela parroquial de St. Teresa después de dos escuelas públicas. Trató primero el Archbishop Molloy High School y no le gustó la disciplina, como a otros tantos. Cambió al sistema público y sin embargo acabó su bachillerato en el Ejército donde se enlistara a los 18. Siendo la época la de Vietnam, acabó sirviendo un año en esas selvas tan lejanas, combatiendo al Comunismo que no podía combatir en su Patria. Un idealista, se mezcló después con un grupo militante que iba a invadir a Cuba, pero no se logró tal cosa.

La madre recuerda ahora aún más fuertemente esos meses donde la familia escuchaba las noticias en el televisor por la noche para asegurarse que el nombre de SU José no estaba en la lista de los perdidos. Al final de la programación exclamaba “Gracias, Dios mío.” Y se preparaba para otro día sin su hijo a su lado.

José Ángel se casó el 15 de Marzo de 1986 con April; contentísimo de que tendría un hijo. El día de su boda, siendo alto y fuerte, llevó a la novia cargada tres cuadras hasta la recepción. Todos le siguieron.

Pero la suerte que le trajera a sus padres antes de la Crisis de Octubre, y le mantuviera vivo en VietNam le comenzó a abandonar. Se divorció de April y perdió custodia de su “Chachito” (Chad) por un tiempo. Después se encontró a su novia de juventud Barbara y a pesar de tratar de revivir un viejo amor y juntarse, las cosas no les fueron bien. Murió de que se le rompiera el corazón de mucha tristeza.

Su madre Carmen…….(¿es otra casualidad que la mía se llame Noemí del Carmen?)……..le dió una misa en St. Michaels en Flushing, donde acudieron muchos familiares y amigos.

Sus cenizas serán esparcidas en el mar al sur de Cayo Hueso. Para que las corrientes las lleven junto con su espíritu a la Cuba de su cuna que no volviera a ver.

Manuel A. Gutierrez – Junio 2003

GLADYS MARTÍNEZ
   Florida City - Villa Maria, San Antonio, TX

RAÚL R. MOLINA DACOSTA
Florida City -

MARIO J. OLIVA

ELÍAS PENSO "Elio" (03/07/44 - 11/19/08)

MARIO PI FORS  (  - 3/6/08)
Kendall - St. Joseph Villa orphanage in Richmond, VA

JOSE LUIS PRENDES FERNÁNDEZ ( January 31, 1945  - July 9, 2009)
(Maristas de la Víbora – Camp Matecumbe – Cristo Rey, Lincoln, NE)

JOSE LUIS Passed away early in the morning of July 9 after a long, debilitating rare nerve illness that shadowed him for 6 years and about whom I had written in the June Newsletter requesting prayers. I knew him briefly in Cuba through his sister MALENA and her intense admiration for him as role model for the family and friends. I knew him in Camp Matecumbe in late 1961, and I was lucky enough to end up in the same beca with a group of the PRENDES brothers and sisters in Lincoln, where I lived in the apartment next to JOSE LUIS’ so I had ample opportunities to interact with him.

JOSE LUIS was without question one of the most admirable young men of our generation and of the Operation Pedro Pan children and consequently one of the most admired. He was a consummate amateur gymnast, a very fast short-distance runner, a better-than- average swimmer and trampoline diver, a mature and caring fellow who tenaciously fought against the physical abuse that many of the bullies in Camp Matecumbe plied on the other younger and weaker kids and actually eliminated a great part of the bullying and abuse in camp. He had a great personality and an infectious laugh, and this had not lessened at all when I saw him the last time in January of 2000. 

JOSE LUIS played the trumpet and liked Jazz and Classical Music. He could imitate the trumpet sounds with only his mouth and this was his pleasure to do for friends and would do it at the drop of a hat. He studied hard and worked hard all his life and fulfilled the promise of his earlier years by becoming a respected neurologist.

He leaves behind a legacy of being a dedicated family man, loved and admired by many. I know. My first-born is named Juan Manuel after his two grandfathers. My second son was baptized and proudly named Jose Luis in Prendes' honor. He knew it, I had told him.

Our fervent prayers are with the soul of JOSE LUIS, and with the families he leaves behind. We pray that he is already in that wonderful other place he deserves and that the families find peace and calm to carry them through the next few years until they are together again.

[The Editor - 07/27/09]
(as published in CampMatecumbeVeterans newsletter for August 2009.)


Some of the "Nebraska Cuban Connection" members have expressed their feelings in an open e-mail forum, writing to the family and to the rest of us. Here are those comments as a lasting document:

One of the Lincoln Nebraska Pedro Pans has passed on from this life.
Jose Luis graduated from the University of Nebraska medical school and went on to become a very successful neurosurgeon. He practiced in the Orlando, FL area for many years. Later on he taught at the UN Omaha School of Medicine.
Please pass this on to the Nebraska Pedro Pan group. Let's all keep Jose Luis in our prayers. May the Lord bring peace to his wife and family.
Orlando Suero (July 11, 2009) 

Hemos perdido un irremplazable compañero de nuestra niñez y un gran amigo de por vida. Que Dios lo tenga en su Reinado y a la familia Prendes nuestro pésame con un fuerte abrazo que tengan mucha Fe, Fuerza y Paz en estos momentos tan duros.
La Familia González
Julio González (July 11, 2009)

Hemos perdido un compañero de nuestra juventud. Nunca me olvidaré de los buenos tiempos que pasamos con José Luis tocando la trompeta con la boca. Que Dios lo bendiga a él y a su familia.
Roger & María Estrada (July 12, 2009)


José Luis fue un gran amigo y compañero mío y de todo el grupo original que fuimos a Nebraska.  Dios me dio la oportunidad de conocerlo y compartir con el y Raúl Acosta nuestro último año de High School en Pius X, y también nuestro primer año universitario.  Siempre lo recordaré como un hermano con el cual compartí muchos ratos alegres y tristes al estar lejos de nuestras respectivas familias.  Gracias al soporte del resto de ustedes, nuestro amigos y primos, que podemos recordar esos tiempos.  Mi mas sentido pésame a la familia Prendes.
Pastor Fariñas (July 12, 2009)


It is very sad news indeed and a great loss for all of us, Jose Luis was a great person just like all of his family, he will be missed but always remembered in our hearts .
Our prayers and condolences are with his family and may our Lord help pacify their pain for their loss.
God Bless them and Jose Luis' soul
Roberto Trelles and family. (July 12, 2009)


Sí quisiera que lo recordáramos como un magnifico hijo, padre, esposo y abuelo además de hermano y amigo.  Considero que siempre pensó mucho en los demás y siempre tendió una mano amiga a todo el que la necesitaba.
María Elena (Prendes) Albo (July 27, 2009)

RAÚL RODRÍGUEZ "Pucho"
   Matecumbe - 
   Constant Contributor to the Red Cross.

According to Christina DeNardo’s article on the Your Town section of the Post on Wednesday October 19, Carlitos can boast of several accomplishments during his short sojourn in this life – even if he was not one to boast – which list as follows:
Principal of several schools in Massachusetts .
High School Principal of Forest Hill High School in West Palm Beach .
School Administrator, Palm Beach County , supervising principals in central County area.
Director of district triple-A plan, which gives “the county’s most challenging schools extra money for teachers in exchange for additional testing.”
But he had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and he did not tell any of the other 150 Pedro Pan kids of the “Nebraska Cuban Connection.”
It is the grandest of gestures, I believe, of the finest of men, to avoid causing pain or any type of discomfort to his friends. Carlos did not want anyone to know he was dying of an incurable cancer; he refused to add his personal problem to the problems of others. He did not, perhaps, want to see his co-becados hurt with the knowledge of his pain and impending death.

Rest in Peace, Carlitos.

Manny Gutiérrez, Editor

LUIS RUBIO ALBET "El Bolo"
Kendall  - Casa de Sallies, Wilmington, DE

ELISA (VILANO) CHOVEL "Elly"
  Florida City - Foster Home in Buffalo, NY
  One of the founders of Operation Pedro Pan Group
  Served as President and as Chair of the Pedro Pan Foundation.

Sources : OPERATION PEDRO PAN (Yvonne Conde - Routledge, NY © 1999), newspaper articles and continuously-arriving e-mails to the Newsletter "Veterans of Camp Matecumbe, Kendall, Florida City, Opa Locka and other sites".

Last updated 06-19-10