Antonio Mendoza

The longest relationship that I've had with a woman lasted two years, a fact I'm not proud of

My mother kept a detailed baby book for each of her five children

I met Carmen in a party in Boston in 1978

I like to think that i'm an expert in French wines, especially those costing less than three dollars

Stuart spent two years working every week-end on a 1942 Mercury Woody

In 1967 I dropped out of graduate school for six months and drove cross-country to San Francisco

Machete was my best friend when we were thirteen

Margarita married Nicolas when she was eighteen and he was twenty-six

My father's best friends growing up were his three brothers

The last summer we were in Cuba, there were a lot of weddings

In 1973 I quit my job as an architect and became an artist

After two years in Miami (and the Bay of Pigs) my father realized that we would not be returning to Cuba

When I was one year and three months old, my sister Margarita and I were given with our milk a chocolate called Cal-Ce-Tose, which was "succeeding in making us fatter."

I attended five years of private school, four years of college, and three years of graduate school before I became an architect

Margarita's debut party was held in an elegant stage set in the courtyard of the Havana Yacht Club,

My mother's thirteen year old poodle, Woody, was well cared for

When we were fifteen, Machete and I met two attractive Miami coeds on a week-end trip to Havana

Every summer my body requires that I immerse it into eighty-three degrees tropical ocean for at least one month, if it is to function properly for the rest of the year

I'm forty-two years old and I've never been married

My parents came to Boston for my architectural school graduation

My father, a businessman, thoroughly disapproves of my artistic lifestyle my financial irresponsibility, my failure to get married and and raise a family, and he doesn't understand art

When i arrived at Tio Luis' farm, i met Helenita, who was visiting my cousin Nina

Machete and I left Cuba the summer of 1960

Every time I return to my house, I always look forward to playing back the messages in my phone machine: I'm always hopeful that someone interesting is inviting me to dinner