Luis Cruz Azaceta was born on Easter Sunday, 1942. His parents were of Basque and Asturian ancentry; "Azaceta" means "from A to Z" in the Basque alphabet. He grew up in the Marianao section of Havana, where his father worked for 33 years for the Cuban Air Force as an airplane mechanic; his mother was a housewife. At the Sabrina Garrido Academy, Azaceta showed artistic talent, but it was not indulged.

He always wanted to be a pilot and he had barely started instrument training when Batista fled from Cuba. The fanaticism of both sides of the Revolution appalled him and he decided to try to emigrate. It was in 1960; he stood in line three days and nights at the American Embassy and received a visa to sett...