About Me
Profile courtesy of MySpace LayoutsThere have been many stories filled with individual struggle, strife and sacrifice to come out of Cuba since Castro's "El Movimiento 26 de Julio". Manny Alvarez, too, has a story.Manny and his twin brother, Sergio, left Cuba in 1962 at the age of 8 years. Because boys were enlisted in Fidel Castro's "young army" at an early age, many Cuban families felt it critical to get the children out of the country at great sacrifice. Most families were separated in the hope of reuniting stateside. Their airline escapes were dubbed "the Peter Pan flights",.Manny arrived in Miami with Sergio to live with his Aunt and Uncle who had previously relocated. Four months passed before their mother, Eli, could join them. Manny's father, Manuel, attempted to make this flight with her but was detained. Manuel assured Eli that they would soon be reunited and Eli boarded the plane under protest. Manuel would make another unsuccessful attempt before he would finally be lead to, "stow away", undetected aboard the flight that would finally reunite him with his wife and children patiently waiting in Miami.Three months after his arrival, the entire family moved to Chicago. Many Cubans were relocated by our government in an attempt to relieve the concentration of Cubans forming in Miami. Interestingly enough, most Cuban families migrated back to Miami eventually.What many may not know or understand about the Cuban culture is that they are a very proud people. In those times (and of course now), they were willing to work very hard to survive and succeed once they arrived in the United States. These people changed Miami making it the beautiful, fun place of sights, sounds and culture that it is today. In fact, it's hard to imagine Miami without its Cuban connection.While many Cubans were professionals in their homeland of Cuba, they were reduced to waiting tables, washing cars and doing anything they could to put food on the table. Many had to return to college to earn their degrees, certifications and licenses all over again. This applied to Manny's father Manuel as well.Naturally language posed its own barrier and Manuel had to earn a living through manual labor. It took him two years to learn the language well enough to better his employment. After four years in Chicago, Manny's family moved to New Jersey where Manuel became a stock broker for Merrill Lynch. Three years later, the entire family found themselves back in Miami, Florida.One can imagine with a childhood such as Manny's, survival became a mastered skill. In fact a skill he carries forward today in his art. He now projects this skill into making people aware of the survival needs that animals have.Manny graduated in 1973 from Miami Norland Senior High. He went on to earn an Associate degree from Miami Dade Community College. Additional classes toward a Bachelors degree were taken at Florida International University.With Manny's natural talent and ability, art quickly became the main focus in life when he took interest in airbrush murals on custom cars and motorcycles. After experiencing as much irresponsible living as he could possibly handle, Manny landed employment at Vathauer Studios in Ft. Lauderdale where he started his architectural rendering and model making career.In 1986, Manny married his love of 10 years, Linda Simioni, who he describes as "beautiful, wonderful and extremely patient." Linda describes living with Manny as "babysitting." Manny admits, like many artists he knows, he has never grown up.Manny is currently working on his studio under construction. He vows that once completed, nothing will keep him from prolific creativity.
