Elián and his dad went back to Cuba in June 2000, just four months before the US Presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Miami Cubans, hurt and angered by President Bill Clinton’s handling of the Elián case, resolved to vote against the Democrats and for the Republicans in what was called el voto castigo — the punishment vote.

To understand the political influence of Cuban-Americans, the stakes, and lasting impact of this moment, producer Tasha Sandoval takes the mic. We meet Tasha’s grandmother, an 87-year-old Miami Cuban, and learn how her story as a first wave Cuban exile informs her perspective.



This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos. 

Thanks to These Archival Sources: 

Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives

Original Material Appeared In: 

ABC News

AP Archive

CBS News

CNN Evening News

C-SPAN

Democracy Now!

HBO's "537 Votes"

Museum of the Moving Image

National Archives

NBC Evening News

NBC News

PBS NewsHour

Retro Report

The New York Times

Voice of America

YouTube/Plopsmom

Elián and his dad went back to Cuba in June 2000, just four months before the US Presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Miami Cubans, hurt and angered by President Bill Clinton’s handling of the Elián case, resolved to vote against the Democrats and for the Republicans in what was called el voto castigo — the punishment vote.
To understand the political influence of Cuban-Americans, the stakes, and lasting impact of this moment, producer Tasha Sandoval takes the mic. We meet Tasha’s grandmother, an 87-year-old Miami Cuban, and learn how her story as a first wave Cuban exile informs her perspective.
 
This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos. 
Thanks to These Archival Sources: 
Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Original Material Appeared In: 
ABC News
AP Archive
CBS News
CNN Evening News
C-SPAN
Democracy Now!
HBO's "537 Votes"
Museum of the Moving Image
National Archives
NBC Evening News
NBC News
PBS NewsHour
Retro Report
The New York Times
Voice of America
YouTube/Plopsmom

At the turn of the millennium, a five-year-old boy from Cuba found off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving became the most talked about child in America. Elián González had left Cuba with his mom and a dozen other migrants, trying to make it to the U.S. but on the way, the boat capsized. Elián’s mother drowned. Before she did, she tied her child to an inner tube, saving his life.

Relatives in Miami — Cuban exiles — took the boy in. His father in Cuba wanted him back. The ensuing international custody battle over Elián González became its own mini Cold War, pitting Cuban exiles in Miami against supporters of Castro’s regime on an island just 90 miles away. 

The fight over Elián’s future came down to neighbor against neighbor, family against family. Now, 25 years later — we revisit his story through the voices of people who lived it firsthand.



Episodes drop every Wednesday, starting 9/25/24.

At the turn of the millennium, a five-year-old boy from Cuba found off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving became the most talked about child in America. Elián González had left Cuba with his mom and a dozen other migrants, trying to make it to the U.S. but on the way, the boat capsized. Elián’s mother drowned. Before she did, she tied her child to an inner tube, saving his life.
Relatives in Miami — Cuban exiles — took the boy in. His father in Cuba wanted him back. The ensuing international custody battle over Elián González became its own mini Cold War, pitting Cuban exiles in Miami against supporters of Castro’s regime on an island just 90 miles away. 
The fight over Elián’s future came down to neighbor against neighbor, family against family. Now, 25 years later — we revisit his story through the voices of people who lived it firsthand.
 
Episodes drop every Wednesday, starting 9/25/24.

Chess Piece: The Elián González Story

The Punishment Vote

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f626cf10-2624-41bc-bb5b-b21b011943ca/transcript

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