Meet Claudia Estevez. Born on Jan. 14, 2001 in Camaguey, Cuba to parents Aurora Pardo and Omar Estevez, Claudia’s story began a little differently than what most Americans have experienced. At the age of six, Estevez was forced to walk to kindergarten with her abuela through fields for three miles. Walking was the only safe option, as most cars were either too rundown to use or expensive to fix while public transport was not offered.
“The worst thing about living in Cuba was the lack of hope,” Estevez admitted. “I felt as though I had to grow up faster than most kids because I didn’t have the luxury of not worrying about finances or when my next meal was.”
Estevez resided in a small three-bedroom one-bath apartment with her mother, uncle, cousin and grandparents. The Cuban government made it hard for the Estevez family to save enough money for their own living spaces, so an apartment became the only option for a home.
When it came to food, Estevez explained beef was illegal and only children under the age of seven and elderly over 60 could buy powdered milk. “If Cuban citizens tried to slaughter their cows or sell beef and byproducts without the government’s permission, they could be sent to prison for upwards of ten years,” she explained sadly. When asked if there was any benefit to farming in Cuba, Estevez told me that out-of-season foods were not available “year-round like in America” and farmers were forced to hand over all their crops to the government for a small slice of the compensation they deserved.
Estevez recounts why her parents decided to move to the U.S. after her father put his name in the “Special Cuban Migration Program,” better known as the “bachelor lottery.” She explained winning was like hitting the jackpot in America but instead of a check, you got to leave the communist island. Estevez’s father had won but had only been notified after he had gotten married and had his daughter. This complicated things as the lottery was mostly given to single men rather than entire families or women in general.
“We were basically told we had to stay in Cuba longer because my parents both had medical degrees, and that it was essential the government holds us in captivity until we had fulfilled the needs of the people in their eyes,” Estevez stated.
After staying in Cuba for nearly six more years, the Estevez family was given the go-ahead and packed as many things as they could—for Claudia it was her favorite red Bratz doll shirt. Taking a late-night flight to Miami, Florida, they finally arrived in America in 2008 carrying only $100 in their pockets.
“The first thing I remember after stepping off the plane was the look on my mother’s face because she realized the money we had saved wasn’t going to last very long,” Estevez said.
Her first meal in the U.S. was miso soup from a nearby Chinese restaurant not far from the Miami airport. “It was weird, seeing all of this strange food and eating in an American restaurant for the first time,” Estevez said with a laugh.
When asked if she ever experienced hate or discrimination, Estevez unfortunately had many stories. When she was enrolled in first grade in Miami, both the teachers and students bullied her for not knowing English. After staying there for a couple of months, the family decided to relocate to Bradenton, Florida for better opportunities but were met with the same prejudice.
“I remember in first grade in Bradenton, we were talking about Halloween, and I didn’t know how to say witch in English and the teacher started laughing at me and the class started laughing,” Estevez stated, “And I just felt so stupid and embarrassed, I started crying.”
However, life improved for the Estevez family when Claudia was enrolled in the public school English Language Learners courses and mastered the American language by third grade. Estevez’s dad went from working two jobs every day to becoming a dental assistant, her mother a certified nursing assistant.
Because of the limitations on college acceptances in America, Estevez’s father had to move to Puerto Rico to complete his degree in dentistry while her mother travelled to Miami every day to obtain her master’s degree in nursing.
Estevez herself completed her Associate’s in Arts degree (AA) at State College of Florida while still in her senior year of high school. When asked why she started a little earlier than most students, she replied, “I wanted to save money and ensure a future where both myself and my future family don’t have to worry about finances.”
After graduating from both community college and high school amid a global pandemic in May 2020, Estevez decided to continue her studies at Florida State University. Majoring in marketing and acquiring a minor in commercial entrepreneurship, the hard-working Cuban American has also participated in protests and been heavily involved in raising awareness around the Tallahassee community to voice the injustices the Cuban people are dealing with and the lack of aid and media coverage outside governments have provided to help free them.
When asked if there is any message she wants to say for the people of Cuba, she simply replied, “F*ck communism and Cuba libre.”
Estevez also wanted to use this time to voice her opinion on recent claims by American citizens criticizing the American government for not lifting the Cuban Embargo Act. “Many young Americans take for granted even the most necessities when in Cuba many don’t even have access to toothpaste,” Estevez explained, “So when some try to speak for the Cuban community and claim we want the embargo lifted, they are only taking away our voices as we are all trying to communicate that we want freedom from the communist government.”
After acquiring a marketing assistant position at Real Paella LLC. in recent weeks, Estevez is set to graduate from FSU in May 2022. After leaving FSU, she plans to move to Seattle with her boyfriend to chase her dreams of becoming a Senior Marketing Director for Apple. “I always imagined myself working for a large successful company, and I am going to continue working towards that goal until I achieve that,” Estevez declared.
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