Aluminum Kayak

Installation Video from cece wheeler on Vimeo.

So Many Rivers to be Crossed

Original music by Thomas Lee

Continuings

Consuelo Ricoy (R) and her daughter Laura view the aluminum kayak her husband Laureano built 41 years ago.

This was the first time Consuelo had seen the kayak since she stepped out of it and on to a Coast Guard ship over 40 years ago. Her daughter Laura had heard the story but had never seen the kayak her father made until this moment.

The story continues, to be shared, as it must.

Endings

The philosopher Irwin Edelman defines art as that ‘whole process of intelligence by which life, understanding its own conditions, turns these into the most interesting or exquisite account.’ Such an examination connects, rather than isolates, art, thus creating the dialectic between the individual and the collective.

Forty-one years ago he built a boat and placed his wife in it. That small but determined act of bravery is overwhelming in its humanity and this small artifact, handmade with great care and in harrowing times, resonates the profoundness of this simple, intimate story.

And now, stationary, this boat serves as a trace - a reminder - of the great gift of freedom and the courage two people had to recover that gift.

Four nights ago she saw the boat for the first time since she stepped off it and onto a U.S. Coast Guard vessel. This trace, this reminder, of an act that seems inimitably personal reverberates the political and collective struggle all humans endure – the right to be free.

Please Let Us Be Invisible

One of the most moving moments in my conversation with Consuelo was about the night they pushed the kayak out into the water. They had been at the beach all day, waiting. Leaving home that morning, the neighbors had waved and said goodbye - have a good time at the beach, not knowing they would never be back.

When darkness fell on that moonless night, they went to the car and got the kayak out from under the blanket where Ricoy had carved out a storage place to hide it. They pushed off and got in.

The Cuban Coast Guard was patrolling the seas and Consuelo felt sure they knew they were there. They sat motionless as the searchlight from the officials started dancing on the water. ‘Please,’ she prayed, ‘please let us be invisible.’ As Consuelo explained, the light hit ‘here and here and here and here,’ surrounding the boat but never landing on it. Her prayer was answered. It appeared they had become invisible.

To ensure they were not captured, Ricoy turned the boat south, rather than north towards the U.S. They took a detour for hours before turning back to hope and a new home.

It Made One Trip

The exhibit, due to open in June, has been renamed Stationary Voyage.

The kayak made one voyage. One crossing. Now it stands stationary and has for 40 years. But in that stationary position, it remains full of power, the power of humanity, courage and hope.

Crossings

It is estimated that between 30,000 to 40,000 Cubans have died in the treacherous waters of the Florida Straits in at attempt to flee Cuba and Castro's regime.

Consuelo and Ricoy survived the crossing in a hand made boat. The very next week, a raft carrying 21 Cubans sank, killing all but one.

An estimated 2,000 Cubans attempt the crossing every year.

Invariably, when picked up by the Coast Guard, the response is nearly the same:

'I'd rather die at sea than keep living in Cuba.'

At the end of our time together, Consuelo looked directly into my camera and said, 'If I lived in Cuba today, I would do it all again.'

This site, Cuba Archive, is a reminder of how treacherous these crossings are and how much is risked by these people seeking freedom.

http://www.cubaarchive.org/english_version/articles/50/1/The-Martin-Family

May You Achieve Your Goal

Image from www.floatingcubans.com

Protecting Our Borders From What?

The top news story online this morning: Florida Prepares for Possible Mass Migration. With the pending death of Castro, U.S. officials are expecting a major migration, expecting more than 2,000 Cubans to cross the seas for Florida. The Coast Guard and Border Protection Agency are preparing for this migration with training to secure and ‘protect’ our borders. Officials explained that the goal of the exercise is to stop 95% of the migrants at sea. ‘The message is clear,’ one official declared. ‘Don’t take to the sea. It’s dangerous and, by the way, it’s illegal.’

The climate has certainly changed in the 40 some years since the Coast Guard picked up Consuelo and Ricoy and helped nurse them back to health. Consuelo’s favorite moment in this story, other than first spotting the Coast Guard vessel that dark night, was when one of the sailors smiled at her and gave her an apple to eat after 3 days with no food and water.

What alarmed me the most about this article were the hateful comments left by some readers. The protective mentality and humanity of our country has shifted and we seem too easily to forget that America is primarily a country of immigrants simply looking for a better life.

Once Consuelo and Ricoy arrived in the United States, they never received welfare or government support. They both worked hard at jobs, saved money, bought a small business and lived in this country as hardworking, proud residents.

After reading this article, it was refreshing to find a website like www.floatingcubans.com dedicated ‘to the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit of the various Cuban refugees who have attempted to sail to the United States on homemade vessels cleverly crafted from old American cars. Here's to you, floating Cubans! Your cleverness and your persistence inspire me. May you all achieve your goal, and finally reach the land of McDonald's, Disney, and Coca-Cola.’

Ricoy and Crossing

Listening to this beautiful song again, I had Ricoy in my heart. From everyone who spoke to me about him, he was a strong, proud and kind man - a 'man of steel' with a heart of gold, according to one neighbor in New York.

He built a boat and placed himself and his wife in it. But only after having been imprisoned three times for days on end with no explanation. Only after living with a scarcity of food and supplies. Only after hearing Castro tell his country to do better.

Ricoy's response to Castro? 'I will do better. For me and my family.'

How can our country deny that tenacity, that search for freedom - for a life free from political prison? Isn't that what this country stands for?

America is richer for having these two proud, tenacious people grace it's land.