The Red Umbrella
The Red Umbrella The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez is a novel based on the experiences of her parents as they tried to escape Fidel Castro’s regime. Lucia Alvarez, the main character describes each event, from the moment the Operation Pedro Pan started, until she lives in the United States; she has to go though a lot of things such as watching the hanging of a man at a park, her best friend turning into a revolutionary and her family being betrayed by her uncle. As the book goes on, besides seeing all of Cuba’s changes we are also present in Lucia and Frankie’s most difficult times. When Lucia and Frankie are sent to the United States, they start a new and different life. The moment they arrive, they are separated, being together was the only thing that they had left, and luckily they are able to find a home to live together within days. When Lucia and Frankie move with the Baxters’, it is all new to them, they went from living on an island to living in a farm where the weather is cold and very different form Cuba, additionally, being in Nebraska wasn’t like being in Cuba or Miami, were you could find someone that spoke Spanish to you, therefore the language was also an obstacle that they were able to overcome. Aside from this, what was harder for Lucia and Frankie was being away from their parents, because even though the Baxters’ were great nothing can compare to the love and care from your mom and dad, which this is one of the ways I could personally identify with the novel and my transition through college. Being independent is much harder than we think; Lucia and Frankie showed it to us every step of the book. When I started college at Florida International University, it felt like I started a new and different life; having school five minutes away from my house, waking up to have break fast done by my mom, not having any homework, not reading, not writing…are only a few of the changes that I’ve been through as college began. Independence is