In 1958, I was shooting a movie in Florida, and I decided to go to Havana, Cuba, to see what it was like.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I've been to Cuba many times.
Living in Cuba made me unafraid of whatever could happen to me.
I went to Cuba maybe eight or nine times.
It didn't get any more glamorous than Havana, Cuba, in the 1950s. I used to go there when I was a waiter on a cruise ship.
I lived in Cuba - I was there for one year in the 1950s. We built the famous nightclub, which is still there, Tropicana, and a restaurant, Montecatini, that I opened is still there. I was there when the U.S. ambassador said everyone must leave because Castro was arriving the next morning.
I think that I've tried many times to get Cuba in my writings, especially Havana, which was once a great and fascinating city.
My mother told me many stories about her childhood in Cuba. Living there had a profound impact on her and how she regards herself.
My grandfather left Cuba when Castro came into power and literally left everything. He had two suitcases and two kids and showed up in New Jersey and waited for my uncle to meet up with him. Imagine - there were no cell phones back then!
In 1958, a year before the revolution, Magnum wanted to send me to Cuba because they had contacts with the rebels. I'd just spent six months in South America and said 'No', so I missed everything.
I have not been to Cuba, though if you count the stories my grandma told me growing up, I've been there in my head many times. I think someday I will see it, when things are different there, but I've come to feel like I really am a Miami girl.