Every immigration story holds a universe of challenges, losses, and new beginnings. In the case of Ernesto Morales Alpízar, his life is a testament to how art, reading, and perseverance can sustain a human being even in the most uncertain times.

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Born in Bejucal/Rincón, Havana, Cuba, Morales Alpízar arrived in Tampa, Florida, in 1980, accompanied by his father, his wife, and his children. His departure from the island was neither a simple nor a planned decision. The impossibility of dissenting within the Cuban political context profoundly shaped his destiny. “The revolution in Cuba didn't allow dissent, and I did it constantly because I had read its doctrines,” he recalls. There was no time to pack; the journey was, more than a relocation, a rupture.

 

Before emigrating, her life revolved around two great passions: music and literature. Once in the United States, far from abandoning her vocation, she reaffirmed it. During her first years in Tampa, she dedicated herself intensely to music with a group of friends. However, the course of her career took a turn when she found an opportunity at a local radio station, where she began working as a journalist. At the same time, she resumed writing books and articles, thus solidifying a literary career that continues to this day.

 

His relationship with writing had been developing since Cuba, where he even achieved recognition in literary competitions. He won awards for works such as Unexpected Profession and Respectable Activities, although the latter was never published due to his departure from the country. That episode, far from discouraging him, seems to have strengthened his commitment to the written word.

 

For Morales Alpízar, each publication represents a significant achievement. With 11 books to his name, he doesn't point to a single peak in his career, but rather values ​​each work as a personal triumph. His creative process is constant and disciplined: he observes everyday reality, researches, organizes ideas mentally, and then patiently writes, revises, and edits.

 

Unlike many writers, he claims to have never experienced writer's block. He attributes this fluency to his constant reading habit, which he considers essential not only for enriching his vocabulary but also for broadening his understanding of the world. "Reading gives us immediate comprehension, vocabulary, and a broader perspective," he asserts.

 

This same clarity of thought, he says, allows him to connect with readers of different ages and cultural backgrounds. For Morales Alpízar, intelligence and common sense transcend generational and cultural barriers, and culture is an accessible path for anyone who wishes to travel it.

 

To young people who feel drawn to writing, he offers a simple but powerful piece of advice: read, learn, ask questions, and research. Only in this way, he maintains, can one build a solid foundation from which to begin writing.

 

The story of Ernesto Morales Alpízar is not only that of an immigrant who rebuilt his life in another country. It is also that of a creator who made words his refuge and his tool for understanding and narrating the world. On every page he writes, the experience of someone who has lived through displacement beats, but

also the certainty that it is always possible to start over.

 

Ernesto has been writing his column “Entre Comillas” for almost 25 years, the same years as our newspaper, and he instructs and educates us on various topics every month.

 

“Every Hispanic immigrant has their own story,” and Ernesto Morales Alpízar’s is one of them.