ROSALINA

No matter what else happens to me in my life, I know I really did win the only “Lottery” that is important to me! When I lived in Cuba, I got the idea that if my daughter and I could live in the USA, a democracy, we could be creative and free. 

On February 17, 2000, I won the lottery that allowed me leave Cuba to live in the US (this program no longer exists).  In order to pay for our fees and airline tickets I sold all of our furniture and slept on the floor for one year.

Now, I live in Pennsylvania: I own my business, my daughter attends college and I have friends that have become my family. 

This is an excerpt from a comprehensive interview.