Documentary Highlights Cuban Immigrant's Rise from Orphan to Mayor of Denver
TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 90 Miles and a Dream Productions, LLC in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month announced today the launch of "Good Things Will Come: No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga," a 38 min. documentary which tells the little-known story of the "Pedro Pan" airlift of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children out of Communist Cuba in the early '60s.
The film follows the stories of two "Pedro Pan" children, Guillermo Vidal and Ric Prado, that came to America from Cuba as 10- and 11-year-old child refugees. They share their memories of a homeland quickly overtaken by Communist totalitarianism, the resultant chaos and destabilization that led their parents to make an unthinkable choice to send their children alone to a foreign country, and the trials and tribulations that faced them when they were sent to an orphanage in Pueblo, Colorado.
The airlift now known as "Operation Pedro Pan," was a joint covert operation between the US State Department, the Catholic Church, and courageous citizens on both sides who utilized underground networks to coordinate the efforts. The secret "Operation" ran for a two-year span and was at the time believed to be the largest migration of unaccompanied children in the world.
Both contributors interviewed in the film devoted their careers to American public service reaching the highest echelons of government, in order "to make their (parents') sacrifice worth it" as stated in the film by Ric Prado, who retired from the Central Intelligence Agency as the CIA equivalent of a two-star general.
Guillermo Vidal went on to become Denver's 44th and first foreign-born mayor. "Fortunately for me the American Dream was available. Imagine, I was an orphan at one time and became Mayor of Denver. This trip from orphan to Mayor, who would imagine that was possible?" Guillermo says in the film.
Ric says about the project: "It is my honor to be part of this project documenting the miracle that is the Pedro Pan program and the heartache that was part of the somber decision of sending our kids to freedom."
The documentary is currently under consideration for inclusion in several film festivals.
Visit www.goodthingswillcome.com for updates on future screenings.
About 90 Miles and a Dream Productions, LLC
90 Miles and a Dream is the production company of Janelle Bosek whose mother came as a 9-year-old to the US through Operation Pedro Pan and inspired this documentary.
Media Contact:
Janelle Bosek
[email protected]
347-419-0270
SOURCE 90 Miles and a Dream Productions, LLC
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