Cesar Ramirez

Object Details

See more items in: Exiles in America: Cuban Pedro Pans and Balseros Collection; Exiles in America: Cuban Pedro Pans and Balseros Collection / Series 1: Oral History Interviews

Sponsor: The project was funded by the Consortium for the American Experience. The digitization of the addendum materials (Series 3) was made possible through a grant from the Smithsonian Latino Center's Latino Initiatives Pool (2020).

Collection Citation: Exiles in America: Cuban Pedro Pans and Balseros, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Collection Rights: Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Scope and Contents: Cesar Ramírez was born on July 14, 1962 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. In 1994, at the age of 32, Cesar along with 5 other fellow balseros left the island. Four days later, they were rescued by the US National Coast Guard and were taken to Campamento La India Camp in Guantánamo Bay Base. After a month living at the camp, he was taken to Howard Base in Panama. Cesar stayed in the base for three months and dedicated his time to organizing artistic activities for refugees. In 1994 he was issued a humanitarian visa that allowed him to travel to Florida, where he received urgent medical care. On January 1995, Cesar moved to Las Vegas. Eventually Cesar moved back to Florida, where he still resides.

Collection Restrictions: Collection is open for research. Interviews and supporting documentation available only in the Smithsonian Institution Digital Asset Management System (DAMS). Correspondence is available for access (physically and digitally).