Early Arrival Blazed Trail for Other Refugees

When Evaristo Rodriguez came to California from Cuba, he didn’t have a job and knew only a few words of English.

Rodriguez, 37 at the time, was among the first Cuban political refugees to arrive in the United States in April, 1962.

Since then, he has taken advantage of opportunities in his adopted country. Rodriguez, who had owned a machine shop in Guantanamo, Cuba, became a highly skilled machinist in Orange County. He bought a home, and even opened his own gasoline station. He became a citizen so he could vote.

Meanwhile, his wife, Virginia, who had a doctorate in education from Havana University, prodded the couple’s four children to finish college. As a result, one son is a bookkeeper, another recently finished dental school and a third has finished medical school. Their daughter is an insurance executive.

Through the years, Rodriguez, now 59 with a full head of gray hair, has made it a point to help other Cubans. He has helped scores of relatives and friends immigrate to Orange County. Then he helped them find shelter and jobs here. He is regarded by many expatriates, especially those from Guantanamo, as a padrino, a godfather to the Cuban colony.

Rachel Salcines of Santa Ana, who knew Rodriguez in Guantanamo, recalled his help.

“He was the first one here in Orange County. He helped me and my husband come here,” said a grateful Salcines.

Rodriguez signed immigration affidavits for 12 members of Salcines’ family, as he did with many other Cuban political refugees, and acted as their sponsor. Salcines, in turn, kept the chain alive and helped other Cubans find homes and jobs.

Reflecting on his role, Rodriguez praised the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Santa Ana, which sponsored his family’s arrival in Orange County.

“I put them on the road in the same way the church put me on the road. Then they helped others like a chain,” Rodriguez said of the Cubans he has helped. “That’s what makes us like a family, a large family linked together.” In a very humble way, Rodriguez felt he owed the United States something.

“After all, the U.S. was the only country that helped me get out of Cuba,” he said during a recent interview.

Rodriguez leaned closer and said: “I’ve never said this, but when I came here I couldn’t enlist in the army. So, I waited until my first son was of age. I took him down to the recruiting place and had him register, then I coaxed him to sign up and enlist.”

His son, Evaristo Jr., 39, recalled many nights that his father would speak highly of the United States.

“It was the only country that opened the door for me and helped us,” the son said. “You have to pay the piper. I figured I owed that much.”