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by Raul Andres Villamia (Author), Rhonda J. Villamia (Author), Paul J. Guzzo (Author)
Raul Villamia's childhood in Cuba revolved around baseball and bloodshed. The violence that he witnessed led him to support Castro's revolution, and his brother Mario introduced him to Castro's 26th of July Movement (M267). Minor league baseball brought him to the United States, where he hoped to pursue a career in the majors, and left Villamia uniquely placed to aid Castro's revolution from abroad.
From Tampa, New York City, Bridgeport, Union City, Miami, and Key West, the Villamias, Angel Perez-Vidal, Howard K. Davis and others supported Castro through fundraising, collecting supplies for the revolutionaries, propaganda campaigns, and arms smuggling. Raul rubbed elbows with Castro and his top men and with American gangsters who did business in Cuba. He was hounded by the FBI, and his brother Mario is mentioned in the Warren Commission Report. This memoir recalls Villamia's experience as an advocate for Castro in the United States and tells the story of those in America whose efforts helped to oust Batista.
Author Biography
The late Raul Andres Villamia came from Cuba as a professional minor league baseball player in 1947. In 1955, his brother Mario asked him to help Castro establish a M267 branch in Tampa. Raul served as its secretary and president, and as Tampa's first Cuban Consul under Castro. He retired from a 30-year career with the City of Tampa Traffic Department. He died on December 2, 2020, at the age of 95. Rhonda J. Villamia was a production crew member for children's/educational TV series, a teacher with the New York City Board of Education, and an interpreter for Hispanic marketing research focus groups. She has written articles for the Woodside Herald, La Gaceta, and Cigar City Magazine. She lives in Tampa, Florida. Paul J. Guzzo is a filmmaker and journalist whose work includes the discovery of lost segregation-era Black cemeteries throughout the Tampa Bay area. He lives in Lutz, Florida.
