Red Tape Parts for Nicaraguan Father of Youth Dying in S.F.

Bedridden and dying of cancer, Dimaggio Velasquez will get his wish today as his father flies in from Nicaragua after a six-month visa battle.

During the last seven months, Velasquez has lost his left leg and most of his hair and his muscular, 160-pound frame has withered to a bony 90 pounds in a bout with bone cancer. The 18-year-old Nicaraguan refugee has hoped to see his father once more before he dies.

The father, Constantino Raul Velasquez, had tried to obtain a temporary visa so that he could be at his son’s bedside, but was repeatedly denied. Velasquez and his doctors asked for help from the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua and Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae). They delivered a letter to a member of President Bush’s staff during his recent visit to California.

Word came Monday that their efforts had been rewarded and that Constantino Velasquez was scheduled to arrive at San Francisco International Airport at 5 p.m. today.

State Department officials in Washington and embassy officials in Managua said that Constantino Velasquez had been granted a visa because of “humanitarian concerns,” but none knew if the President had any part in the decision.

“Everybody felt this was an instance where this man should get a visa,” said Francis Jones, Bureau of Consular Affairs spokeswoman.

Still groggy from radiation treatment Monday afternoon, Velasquez said, “We’ve tried for so long to get him here. Now that he’s coming, it feels like he’s not coming. I don’t even know what I’m going to tell him.

“I feel excited. I feel better. (My father) will probably be able to bring my spirits higher. I really thank anyone and everyone who made this happen.”

Velasquez made headlines earlier this year when he met with his namesake, baseball legend Joe Dimaggio, 74, a San Francisco native.

“It was my forever dream come true,” Velasquez said. “I was named after him, you know.”

Tie to Somoza

At age 13, Velasquez left Nicaragua for the United States with his older brother and grandmother to escape what they said was persecution under the Sandinista government. Velasquez said he and his family suffered because his grandfather and uncle had served under Anastasio Somoza, the dictator ousted by the Sandinistas in 1979.

After securing political asylum in the United States, Velasquez moved to San Francisco to live in a crowded one-bedroom home with an aunt. He attended Mission High School, where he made the varsity teams in baseball and football by his junior year.

But last September during football practice, Velasquez tripped and broke his femur. When he returned to the hospital a month later for a checkup, doctors discovered a tumor in his hip.