Cuban-American siblings convince father to make emotional return to island

Lacamoire family patriarch returns to Cuba after 51 years

HAVANA, Cuba – Fredy Lacamoire, the father of musical director Alex Lacamoire and news producer Michelle Lacamoire, returned to Cuba after 51 years. His daughter and son were able to change his mind. 

It was an emotional journey. A man who remembered the beauty of Old Havana was heartbroken with all of the deterioration and the crumbling buildings. 

He visited a house where he spent the summers in Havana's Cotorro neighborhood. He also visited the cemetery where his relatives are buried. 

The Lacamoire family traveled to where he was born in Palma Soriano, a city in the Santiago de Cuba province.

Three years ago, his daughter, Michelle Lacamoire, made the pilgrimage to visit the homes where her mother and father grew up. The stops were part of the Historic Access: Cuba Coast to Coast special. 

In tears, Lacamoire said he was grateful that his children brought him back to the island. Many of the relatives he was able to hug said they had thought they would never see him again. 

FAMILY PHOTOS

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About the Author:

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, he covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba.