A book

Books

Description ""Welcome to A Book, in which I try to explain how a kid from Cuba found a way to make a living in the United States. It's all here -- the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the unbelievably lucky breaks, and the heartbreaking failures. "Except for my first experience with sex, a major earthquake, and a revolution in which we managed to lose everything we had, life in Cuba was lovely. Exile in Miami was a time for survival, when I perfected many interesting trades such as mobile canary-cage cleaner and broken-mosaic-tile salesman. Father Barry and Al Capone, Jr., helped me finish high school. There I learned much about America and her people while carrying on my battle with her language. "While I was playing guitar and singing at the Roney Plaza in Miami Beach, Xavier Cugat offered me a job with his orchestra. I had to steal from the Waldorf-Astoria kitchen to live on what he paid me. What he taught me was worth a fortune. When I quit and went back to Miami, he sent me a small 'Latin' band.