Cuba es Mi Patria: The Homeland I Keep Inside

As a result of tensions between the United States and Cuba, Cuban Americans have experienced exceptional identity and relational challenges that have persisted throughout their lives. Cuban Americans have remained cut off from their homeland, yet they continue to keep it psychologically present. Based on Dr. Rose M. Perez’s research employing the ambiguous loss framework, the film educates viewers on the historical and political backdrop leading to the post-1959 exodus that continues to the present day through the personal stories of Cuban Americans depicting how they cope with the loss of homeland and family separation. Through the interviewees' voices, this documentary tells the adjustment stories and coping strategies Cuban emigres employ. This film will become an effective tool for caregivers, educators, and researchers to understand, on an emotive level, the depth and longevity of this traumatizing loss. By demonstrating the effect of Cuban Americans’ lifelong struggle with separation, the stories told in this film increase awareness about the “Ambiguous Loss of homeland” and suggest practical strategies for coping with this chronic, traumatic type of loss.