OPENING THE WAY Memoirs of a Cuban exile: Political prisoner. Brigade 2506. First Cuban elected to public office in the United States in the 20th century. International Presence. Builder and family man

Manolo Reboso was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1933. His is a life that has developed across multiple and varied scenarios, some of them of great importance. This has allowed him to be an excep¬tional participant in the history of the Cuban exile and a remarkable witness of the Latin American events of our times. He was a political prisoner in Fidel Castro's jails, member of Brigade 2506, commercial ambassador of the state of Florida in Latin America, the first Cuban elected to a public office in the United Stat¬es in the 20th century, and a builder, to a great extent, of contemporary Miami. An influential character in all areas of U.S. politics at the local, state and federal level; a friend of great personalities such as Robert Kennedy and many politicians and officials of this country, as well as of Latin America and Spain. Businessman, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather... This, his memoirs, is not only a look at the past, but also a wise projection of what could be the future for all those places where he left his indelible mark. To read it is to enter into a fascinating history and a challenge to humanity's conscience. In these memoirs the reader can learn about the struggle of Cubans since 1959 to free Cuba from the totalitarian regime implemented. It is also a story of the Cuban exile and the way it transformed Miami into a first-class tourist center and also one of international trade.