Children of Pedro Pan–Cuban exodus of unaccompanied children

Mercedes Rodriguez June 29, 2012

when my brother and I arrived in Miami in 1962

Greetings,

First, I must state that I love your show! I think it might be quite interesting to do a story about the children of Pedro Pan–from December 1960 to October 1962, more than fourteen thousand Cuban youths arrived alone in the United States. What is now known as Operation Pedro Pan was the largest recorded exodus of unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere. My brother and I were Pedro Pan children. Albeit we were reunited with our parents, we were totally removed from our roots, our heritage, our families.

If you are not familiar with the history, you can find information at http://pedropan.org/category/history

I would love to find out more about my heritage, particularly given the conditions in the island, and the lack of communication with long lost relatives. I attach some photos of the log when my brother and I arrived in Miami in 1962, a family tree I have tried to create, as well as a photo of the day we left Cuba.

Thank you for attention, and keep up this fantastic show!

Best regards,

Mercedes Rodriguez

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About the Series

The basic drive to discover who we are and where we come from is at the core of the new 10-part PBS series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the 12th series from Professor Gates, the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. Filmed on location across the United States, the series premieres nationally Sundays, March 25 – May 20 at 8 pm ET on PBS (check local listings).