Pulitzer Stems from Cuban Boatlift

Fresh Air | By Terry Gross

Published April 26, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT

Mirta Ojito is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The New York Times. When Ojito was a teenager, 25 years ago, she and her family were part of the Mariel boatlift out of Cuba.

Her new memoir is Finding Mañana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus. As part of her research, Ojito interviewed members of the Carter administration -- and leader Fidel Castro himself -- to understand what led to the boatlift.

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