October 15, 2025 • 25 mins
A childhood stage mishap teaches Wilmer Valderrama the mantra that will define this episode—and Desi Arnaz’s life: just keep going. Wilmer draws a parallel between his family’s flight from Venezuela and the night Havana turned on the Arnaz household in 1933. As President Gerardo Machado falls and mobs ransack the family estate, teenaged Desi loses his home, heirlooms, and innocence—but gains the hard-won resilience that will later fuel I Love Lucy and Desilu. It’s the origin of a showman forged by revolution—and a reminder that the show must go on.
Featuring: Wilmer Valderrama (That ’70s Show, NCIS, Encanto)
Topics: Desi Arnaz, 1933 Cuban Revolution, Gerardo Machado, Fulgencio Batista, Havana, immigrant journeys, resilience, Wilmer Valderrama, Venezuela/Hugo Chávez, I Love Lucy origins, Latinx representation, Hollywood history.
Starring: Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama is produced by WV Sound in partnership with iHeart’s My Cultura Podcast Network.
Starring: Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama is written by Erick Galindo and narrated by Wilmer Valderrama. It is produced by Sophie Spencer-Zavos and Leo Klemm, with special help from Angel Lopez Galindo.
Executive producers are Wilmer Valderrama and Erick Galindo.
This episode was edited and engineered by Sean Tracy and features original music by Halo Boy and Madison Davenport. Cover art illustration by Lindsey Mound.
Voice Acting by Eddie Mujica, Danielle Koenig, Asher Muldoon, Alejandro Maciel, Jose Leon, Lorena Russi, Jesus Hernandez Blanco, Andy Vargas, Christian Valderrama, and Miguel Salinas
For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Okay, there's a room full of parents watching the latest
production of a comedy starring a bunch of elementary school kids.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
The play was simple.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
It was a collective group of characters that represented different things,
and this young, very promising boy by the name of
Wilmer representing devices. So I had this little white suit
and I had like a cigarette boxes stuck to my jacket,
and I was carrying a fake bottle of whiskey. And
as I was making my way across the stage, I
(00:39):
only had one line, and the line was Hello, pretty lady,
and in Spanish would be like ola seorita or something
like that. And I remember one of my co stars
was walking right in front of me, and when I
saved the line, the audience started it laughing. I mean,
there was an explosion of laughter and that energy was
just unbelievable. And in that moment, the lights turned on.
(01:03):
It was an accident, it wasn't meant to happen. Somebody
accidentally hit the house lights and I could see the
entire audience, the teachers, the students, the families, and without
a beat. Somehow something told me I needed to stay
in characters. So I acted a little drunk at seven
years old, and I cheers my fake whiskey to the crowd,
and then they keep laughing even more. And in that moment,
(01:28):
I learned a very important lesson of performing. No matter
what happens while you're on stage, just keep going.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
La deblamente loss.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
A few years later, I'd learned that lesson again when
my family was forced to flee a beautiful metal class
existence to avoid political persecution.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
What was my father supposed.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
To do when our whole way of life was threatened, Well,
just keep going. Sadly, this is a common story in
Latin America. Political upheaval tears families apart, turns beautiful cities
(02:28):
into places of fear and uncertainty.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
For my father, like so.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Many know what to do, he backed up everything everything
he could.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
We started over. No complaints, no hesitation, just keep on going.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
We landed in America the line of the opportunity, at
least that's why we heard. But let me tell you,
starting over wasn't easy. We had no idea what was
waiting for us. It was like stepping into a whole
new world. We didn't speak the language, we didn't know
(03:15):
the rules, and for the longest time, we didn't know
if we'd ever feel at home again.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
But through it all we did when we had to,
we just kept going.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
My dad worked two jobs, my mom did everything to
keep the family going. And me, well, I kept chasing
the crazy dream of acting. Years went by, rejections piled up.
People would ask me why acting, Why not something safer,
And honestly I couldn't explain it. But I knew one thing.
(03:54):
I was going to keep on going no matter what.
Fast forward to today and here I am. I've been
lucky enough to live my dream. But it's not luck
that got me here. It was persistence, it was resilience.
It was my family's legacy of always moving forward no
(04:18):
matter how hard things got. And that's the crazy part.
The political upheaval in Venezuela was what was a catalyst.
It was a guy named Hugo Chavis, who would eventually
personify the worst of real life bad guys I yet
A well.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
As for Desi Arnez and his family.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
This role would eventually be played by Fidel Castro, But
even before Fidel, there was another bad guy, full Hencio Battista,
who thought DESSI the valuable.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Show must go go one.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Listen, No matter what life throws at you, you just
gotta keep going.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Twenty five years ago today, Cuba was ranked by political
upheaval and revolution. In nineteen thirty three, just as today,
then there was fighting in the streets of Havana in
a stormy period of the overthrow of the dictator of Mashadow.
One name still familiar made headlines Batista, But then he
was leader of the army forces supporting the rebels and
a popular hero. The name is the same, but what
(05:28):
a difference twenty five years are made.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
How I am a Women About Drama and you're listening
to starring desernazin Woman About Drama, the real life story
of the Latin immigrant who basically invented the modern Hollywood system,
and to understand how and why. In this episode, we
are traveling to nineteen thirties Cuba, a paradise for the
Ernest family that was just about to become a hellish
(05:53):
war tom country. It's spring of nineteen thirty three in Cuba,
and for sixteen year old desire Nat the whole world
(06:13):
is alive, vibrant, and full of promise, which basically means
he had discovered girls.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Gonta.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
Can I tell you what I learned tonight?
Speaker 6 (06:28):
What did you learn this ario? Because it seemed like
you weren't even paying attention.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
Well, it was a long important play. I mean there
was a lot I could point to. It was good.
Speaker 6 (06:40):
Oh my god, this aio. You are such a liar.
You were zoned out after the intermation.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
That's exactly my point. I was distracted by what your eyes.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
B ballet?
Speaker 5 (06:57):
What are you doing here? Can you see? MBC? It's
a little daisy.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Your father would like.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
A words, don't call me that? What else he want?
There is only one way to find out, mister little daisy.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
It turns out that he had a tough time keeping
up with his classes for most of the junior year
in high school in Cuba. He had straight a's his
first two years of high school, but spent most of
his junior year playing poker with his buddies and well
dating fun stuff. Now he was failing most of his classes.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
That you always said I could come to you with anything,
will soon.
Speaker 7 (07:46):
Let's hear it.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Their year of high school is martyr playing in solid geometry, trigonometry,
lid terator, history of lidaarator, logic, psychology, and physics. I
mean come on even Jackson Doya is failing, and you
know he's smarter than me, and I.
Speaker 7 (08:03):
Don't want to hear it. The Sorial Listen to me.
No one is smarter or not smarter. There's just who
works harder.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
I'm sorry that, but I don't think I'm going to
pass my final exams. I don't know what happened. Time
just sort of run out on me. I'm just I'm
sorry this.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
His dad may have been busy helping to run the
Cuban government, but he apparently had a lot of people
keeping tabs on his only son, and based on some.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Of the reports he got, they said, you had a theory.
Speaker 7 (08:38):
I know what happened. You got lazy and complacent, gambling
with your friend Jack and the other spoiled knuckleheads. You
know better. I told you the value of hard work,
but you discovered girls, and from what I hear, you
didn't have any trouble learning that subject.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Does He apologized to his father for messing up, but
the Sadio was impressed that his son admitted to his shortcomings,
so he offered to happen.
Speaker 7 (09:06):
Look, son, I'm proud of you for telling me the truth.
Now there's no sense in crying over what's done if
you're a pump in the road. But there's always another way.
This is what we're going to do. Hang on, hi,
can you send in Sergeant Rojas?
Speaker 5 (09:24):
That are you having me arrested?
Speaker 7 (09:27):
Sort of?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
All right, all right, he's kidding.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Having his son arrested was not part of the sarrust plant,
but he was putting him on lockdown.
Speaker 7 (09:37):
Sergeant Rojas is a whish. He got the highest marks
at school. You and him are going to spend the
next two months locked in my study learning everything you
can to pass his final exams.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Now, wait a moment, I can tell something else.
Speaker 7 (09:53):
You won't be going to the Cayo Island this summer.
You'll be working the farms with Bombay and his crew.
Got it, Yes, sir, Thanks that.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Dessi spent the next several weeks studying for his final exams.
He had a lot writing on it, including his acceptance
into the prestigious university in the States, but the task
of a seeing all of his exams was not easy.
Cuban high schools were some of the toughest in the era.
(10:29):
Dessi was buried in textbooks, trying to make sense of everything.
From advanced mathematics to world history. DESSI could almost feel
the weight of his dad's hopes for him crushing his shoulders,
but he persisted.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
Boys, you're looking at a future irishman. You got in,
that's right, Jack, my boy, and got accepted into Notre Dame. Congrats, Deasy.
All you have to do is graduated high school, which,
by the looks of it may be a bit of
a stretch. Hey, just one mus he's my finals senior year.
(11:11):
Here I come, but one thing out of time. First,
I'm taking all your money.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Thanks to his dad's intervention, as he passed and was
headed for the family's vacation via Cayo Smith before his
final year in high school and a future life abroad
at the prestigious American University of Notre Dame.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
Sorry, Jack, I got the asis. Just lucky, I guess
not as lucky as you think. I got three of
a con.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
That was a plan at least.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
But while Dancy cramped for his final exams, Laser focused
on his bright future, he was blissfully on a where
of what was happening in the rest of Cuba, a
growing unrest with his father's boss, He's president head out
of the motel.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
There was a growing number of chants of down with
the Dictator being heard across Savannah and that after the break.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
It's now August nineteen thirty three in Cuba and Deessie's
desire to play this elevatory game of poker fates.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
He's not sure why. Something's just off.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
Sorry, guys, I gotta get home.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Oh, come on, Dessi, it's still early.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
I'll be back you, Patty. Animals will still be at you.
To be sure.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
The five blocks from Jack's house to his house to
find the phone is ringing after hook.
Speaker 8 (14:13):
Hello, finally, Jessey, what is my sister? I've been calling?
Tell her she needs to leave. You both need to leave.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
What's going on?
Speaker 8 (14:23):
Get your mother out of the house right now. They're
coming after you.
Speaker 7 (14:27):
Who's coming after us?
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Will you come down to you? What the hell are
you talking about?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Well, Dessi had been busy studying in the opposition to
President Machado had become stronger than it ever has, and
Deessi's uncle Luardo was frantic about it.
Speaker 8 (14:45):
Machado has flipped the country and anyone who belonged to
the Machado regim is in danger. You hear me. Dessi.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Machado had been a prominent general in the Cuban War
of Independence, helping to throw out the Spanish. He had
been elected Cuba's fifth president on the Liberal ticket with
a simple campaign slogan water, roads and Schools. Machalla had
been popular in his first term, but had also gone
back on a lot of promises, including the promise to
(15:17):
only serve for one term, leading many in Cuba to
call him a dictator. Machado did not handle the criticism well.
In fact, he reacted with violent suppression of his critics,
who in turn reacted with violence of their own. The
spring of Dease's almost failed junior year, Machado had survived
(15:39):
several attempts on his life.
Speaker 8 (15:41):
I need you to listen carefully, don't argue or ask questions.
Time is running out.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Untela was forced to agree to a peace conference with
the opposition, broker by US Ambassador Sumner Willis.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
The talks had gone badly for Machado, and.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Since Dessie's dad worked with Machado well, Uncle Larry was
worried it was about to get bad for the Arnest
family too.
Speaker 8 (16:14):
All Machadistas are being arrested or killed. Their houses are
being run, sat and burned by the anarchist and Bolsheviks.
They have killed and wounded policemen, soldiers, anybody who tries
to stop them. Mother of God, even the army post
is in flames. For God's sake, we are wasting time.
(16:35):
Get out of there now, have Boba. Let drive you
to Bravo Corrioso's house and I'll meet you there.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Antonio Bravo Correoso was Dessi's great uncle on his mother's
side and one of the most famous and powerful lawyers
in Cuba. As he knew they'd be safe at Bravo
corriosos Villa, but he was still unsure about the need
to rush until he heard rumbling coming from the outside
of the house.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Right when I hung up with Eddie, I heard a rumble.
I ran outside and looked out over the hill on
our main block. I could not believe my eyes. There
(17:30):
was this mob of five hundred people or more, you know,
carrying torches, pitchforks, guns, and god knows what else.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
This He grabs his mom Blola, about four hundred dollars
in cash and a revolver his dad always kept in
his nightstand and rushes downstairs to find Bombali the family
stressed the servant. They get in the car and tries
skidding out of there as the mob rushes towards them,
but the car won't start. According to Dessi's memoir, at
this point, Bomballet steps out of the car and offers
(18:07):
to fight the angry mob and defend the arneests estate.
Loland won't stand for it. She urges Bomballei to get
back in the car. Just then another car skids up.
Dessi recognizes Emilio Lopez, the top guy in the opposition
against my childhood. This is not sure what's going to
(18:28):
happen now. The tension is ratcheting up.
Speaker 8 (18:31):
Come on and lolita, Now this crowd is rabbit YouTube.
Speaker 7 (18:36):
Bomballet getting here and I'll take you to my home.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
I'll protect you, guys.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
It's a kind of ironic. You know that the man
who got us away from the mob and perhaps saved
our lives was one of the heads of the opposition party.
They are not foreseeing that the fall of my CHILDO
would provide the honor and Bolshevik's with a perfect opportunity
for a mob violence. We stayed at Emilio's home until dark.
(19:12):
The next day, he took us to my great uncle
Bravo Corso's house. We drove by our house on the way.
That is what was left of our house. The piano
was smashed to pieces in the garden. The car was
upside down on the sidewalk with all the windows smashed
(19:33):
and the tires all gone. It was like everything we
owned was scattered around, tables, lamps, basses, chairs, paintings, glasses, plates, records,
pictrola radio. My bicycle was twisted and bent like a pretzel.
Some people were still running into or coming out of
(19:53):
the house looking for things to steal. Maybe they were
just collecting souvenirs from the fall of Machaalo. It was
like that line from the great American President FDR said
about Pearl Harbor. It was a day that would live
in infamy for my family, for a lot of Cubans.
(20:13):
The last thing I saw was my guitarre, the neck
still smoldering away.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
And just like that, this his world was thrown into chaos.
His family went from being pillars of society to fugitives
of the revolution.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
My father always found the way, there's always a way forward,
he'd say, Valante, just a speed bump, keep going no
matter what. I lost a lot that night, and only
more loss would follow. But it wasn't the guitar, or
the paintings or the piano that heard. No, I lost
(21:11):
a lot more than that. In the Revolution of nineteen
thirty three. My mother put it in perspective for me.
Speaker 6 (21:19):
The things I missed the most are the baby pictures,
the baptist and souvenirs. Ah, the little shoes you were
at your first communion, My god, my wedding photos. You
know I still have had. I had the first present
your father ever gave me. It was nothing, a little
momento from our first day, but it was priceless to me.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I remember many years later, when Lucy and I were
living at the ranch in Chatsworth, there was a big
fire around us. We rushed home to try and save
what we could, which was our dream home. Mother was
with us in the car. As we approached the police barricade.
(22:08):
The police wouldn't let us through. They were trying to
keep everybody out of that area. But I explained that
we had to get to our house and try to
save it, at least a salvage, you know, whatever we
could they finally led us through. When we got there,
I went to the roof with a host to keep
it wet. Lucy was inside with mother deciding what to salvage.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Lola, I'm lost.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
I don't know where to start.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
How do I take off first all.
Speaker 6 (22:38):
The pictures, anything you can, Garry, take all your pictures
if you can, and your private and personal documents and papers.
Everything else can be replaced.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Lucy, she never got that, neither did I. When she
told me what mother had said, I was taken back
to that night of the revolution. I was once again
reminded that no matter how hard I tried, or how
successful or wealthy I could try to be, there would
always be certain things that money could never buy or replace.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
There's a hard way to learn a valuable lesson.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Seemingly overnight, everything changed for the Arnest family. Dens He
lost his childhood, his inheritance, and his mom.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Lost all those memories.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Desi's dad, who was a sitting member of Machello's congress
when the day started, lost his position, kissed wealth, and
now his freedom was in danger.
Speaker 8 (23:52):
There he is robbed him that.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
On the next episode starring Desi, R.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Nass and Wilmer Valderama is produced by WV Sound in
partnership with Iheartsmichael Duda podcast Network, starring Desi R.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Nass and Wilmer.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Val Durama is written by Eric Galindo and narrated by
me Wilmer Valdorama. It is produced by Sophie Spencer Savos
and Leo Klem, with special help from Anhele Lopez Galindo.
Our executive producers are myself and Eric Galindo. This episode
was edited and engineered by Sean Tracy and features original
(24:39):
music by Halo Boy and Madison Devenport. Our cover art
illustration is by Lindsey Mount. For more podcasts from iHeart,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite podcasts
Okay, there's a room full of parents watching the latest
production of a comedy starring a bunch of elementary school kids.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
The play was simple.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
It was a collective group of characters that represented different things,
and this young, very promising boy by the name of
Wilmer representing devices. So I had this little white suit
and I had like a cigarette boxes stuck to my jacket,
and I was carrying a fake bottle of whiskey. And
as I was making my way across the stage, I
(00:39):
only had one line, and the line was Hello, pretty lady,
and in Spanish would be like ola seorita or something
like that. And I remember one of my co stars
was walking right in front of me, and when I
saved the line, the audience started it laughing. I mean,
there was an explosion of laughter and that energy was
just unbelievable. And in that moment, the lights turned on.
(01:03):
It was an accident, it wasn't meant to happen. Somebody
accidentally hit the house lights and I could see the
entire audience, the teachers, the students, the families, and without
a beat. Somehow something told me I needed to stay
in characters. So I acted a little drunk at seven
years old, and I cheers my fake whiskey to the crowd,
and then they keep laughing even more. And in that moment,
(01:28):
I learned a very important lesson of performing. No matter
what happens while you're on stage, just keep going.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
La deblamente loss.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
A few years later, I'd learned that lesson again when
my family was forced to flee a beautiful metal class
existence to avoid political persecution.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
What was my father supposed.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
To do when our whole way of life was threatened, Well,
just keep going. Sadly, this is a common story in
Latin America. Political upheaval tears families apart, turns beautiful cities
(02:28):
into places of fear and uncertainty.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
For my father, like so.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Many know what to do, he backed up everything everything
he could.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
We started over. No complaints, no hesitation, just keep on going.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
We landed in America the line of the opportunity, at
least that's why we heard. But let me tell you,
starting over wasn't easy. We had no idea what was
waiting for us. It was like stepping into a whole
new world. We didn't speak the language, we didn't know
(03:15):
the rules, and for the longest time, we didn't know
if we'd ever feel at home again.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
But through it all we did when we had to,
we just kept going.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
My dad worked two jobs, my mom did everything to
keep the family going. And me, well, I kept chasing
the crazy dream of acting. Years went by, rejections piled up.
People would ask me why acting, Why not something safer,
And honestly I couldn't explain it. But I knew one thing.
(03:54):
I was going to keep on going no matter what.
Fast forward to today and here I am. I've been
lucky enough to live my dream. But it's not luck
that got me here. It was persistence, it was resilience.
It was my family's legacy of always moving forward no
(04:18):
matter how hard things got. And that's the crazy part.
The political upheaval in Venezuela was what was a catalyst.
It was a guy named Hugo Chavis, who would eventually
personify the worst of real life bad guys I yet
A well.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
As for Desi Arnez and his family.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
This role would eventually be played by Fidel Castro, But
even before Fidel, there was another bad guy, full Hencio Battista,
who thought DESSI the valuable.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Show must go go one.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Listen, No matter what life throws at you, you just
gotta keep going.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Twenty five years ago today, Cuba was ranked by political
upheaval and revolution. In nineteen thirty three, just as today,
then there was fighting in the streets of Havana in
a stormy period of the overthrow of the dictator of Mashadow.
One name still familiar made headlines Batista, But then he
was leader of the army forces supporting the rebels and
a popular hero. The name is the same, but what
(05:28):
a difference twenty five years are made.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
How I am a Women About Drama and you're listening
to starring desernazin Woman About Drama, the real life story
of the Latin immigrant who basically invented the modern Hollywood system,
and to understand how and why. In this episode, we
are traveling to nineteen thirties Cuba, a paradise for the
Ernest family that was just about to become a hellish
(05:53):
war tom country. It's spring of nineteen thirty three in Cuba,
and for sixteen year old desire Nat the whole world
(06:13):
is alive, vibrant, and full of promise, which basically means
he had discovered girls.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Gonta.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
Can I tell you what I learned tonight?
Speaker 6 (06:28):
What did you learn this ario? Because it seemed like
you weren't even paying attention.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
Well, it was a long important play. I mean there
was a lot I could point to. It was good.
Speaker 6 (06:40):
Oh my god, this aio. You are such a liar.
You were zoned out after the intermation.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
That's exactly my point. I was distracted by what your eyes.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
B ballet?
Speaker 5 (06:57):
What are you doing here? Can you see? MBC? It's
a little daisy.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Your father would like.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
A words, don't call me that? What else he want?
There is only one way to find out, mister little daisy.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
It turns out that he had a tough time keeping
up with his classes for most of the junior year
in high school in Cuba. He had straight a's his
first two years of high school, but spent most of
his junior year playing poker with his buddies and well
dating fun stuff. Now he was failing most of his classes.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
That you always said I could come to you with anything,
will soon.
Speaker 7 (07:46):
Let's hear it.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Their year of high school is martyr playing in solid geometry, trigonometry,
lid terator, history of lidaarator, logic, psychology, and physics. I
mean come on even Jackson Doya is failing, and you
know he's smarter than me, and I.
Speaker 7 (08:03):
Don't want to hear it. The Sorial Listen to me.
No one is smarter or not smarter. There's just who
works harder.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
I'm sorry that, but I don't think I'm going to
pass my final exams. I don't know what happened. Time
just sort of run out on me. I'm just I'm
sorry this.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
His dad may have been busy helping to run the
Cuban government, but he apparently had a lot of people
keeping tabs on his only son, and based on some.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Of the reports he got, they said, you had a theory.
Speaker 7 (08:38):
I know what happened. You got lazy and complacent, gambling
with your friend Jack and the other spoiled knuckleheads. You
know better. I told you the value of hard work,
but you discovered girls, and from what I hear, you
didn't have any trouble learning that subject.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Does He apologized to his father for messing up, but
the Sadio was impressed that his son admitted to his shortcomings,
so he offered to happen.
Speaker 7 (09:06):
Look, son, I'm proud of you for telling me the truth.
Now there's no sense in crying over what's done if
you're a pump in the road. But there's always another way.
This is what we're going to do. Hang on, hi,
can you send in Sergeant Rojas?
Speaker 5 (09:24):
That are you having me arrested?
Speaker 7 (09:27):
Sort of?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
All right, all right, he's kidding.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Having his son arrested was not part of the sarrust plant,
but he was putting him on lockdown.
Speaker 7 (09:37):
Sergeant Rojas is a whish. He got the highest marks
at school. You and him are going to spend the
next two months locked in my study learning everything you
can to pass his final exams.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Now, wait a moment, I can tell something else.
Speaker 7 (09:53):
You won't be going to the Cayo Island this summer.
You'll be working the farms with Bombay and his crew.
Got it, Yes, sir, Thanks that.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Dessi spent the next several weeks studying for his final exams.
He had a lot writing on it, including his acceptance
into the prestigious university in the States, but the task
of a seeing all of his exams was not easy.
Cuban high schools were some of the toughest in the era.
(10:29):
Dessi was buried in textbooks, trying to make sense of everything.
From advanced mathematics to world history. DESSI could almost feel
the weight of his dad's hopes for him crushing his shoulders,
but he persisted.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
Boys, you're looking at a future irishman. You got in,
that's right, Jack, my boy, and got accepted into Notre Dame. Congrats, Deasy.
All you have to do is graduated high school, which,
by the looks of it may be a bit of
a stretch. Hey, just one mus he's my finals senior year.
(11:11):
Here I come, but one thing out of time. First,
I'm taking all your money.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Thanks to his dad's intervention, as he passed and was
headed for the family's vacation via Cayo Smith before his
final year in high school and a future life abroad
at the prestigious American University of Notre Dame.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
Sorry, Jack, I got the asis. Just lucky, I guess
not as lucky as you think. I got three of
a con.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
That was a plan at least.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
But while Dancy cramped for his final exams, Laser focused
on his bright future, he was blissfully on a where
of what was happening in the rest of Cuba, a
growing unrest with his father's boss, He's president head out
of the motel.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
There was a growing number of chants of down with
the Dictator being heard across Savannah and that after the break.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
It's now August nineteen thirty three in Cuba and Deessie's
desire to play this elevatory game of poker fates.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
He's not sure why. Something's just off.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
Sorry, guys, I gotta get home.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Oh, come on, Dessi, it's still early.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
I'll be back you, Patty. Animals will still be at you.
To be sure.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
The five blocks from Jack's house to his house to
find the phone is ringing after hook.
Speaker 8 (14:13):
Hello, finally, Jessey, what is my sister? I've been calling?
Tell her she needs to leave. You both need to leave.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
What's going on?
Speaker 8 (14:23):
Get your mother out of the house right now. They're
coming after you.
Speaker 7 (14:27):
Who's coming after us?
Speaker 5 (14:29):
Will you come down to you? What the hell are
you talking about?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Well, Dessi had been busy studying in the opposition to
President Machado had become stronger than it ever has, and
Deessi's uncle Luardo was frantic about it.
Speaker 8 (14:45):
Machado has flipped the country and anyone who belonged to
the Machado regim is in danger. You hear me. Dessi.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Machado had been a prominent general in the Cuban War
of Independence, helping to throw out the Spanish. He had
been elected Cuba's fifth president on the Liberal ticket with
a simple campaign slogan water, roads and Schools. Machalla had
been popular in his first term, but had also gone
back on a lot of promises, including the promise to
(15:17):
only serve for one term, leading many in Cuba to
call him a dictator. Machado did not handle the criticism well.
In fact, he reacted with violent suppression of his critics,
who in turn reacted with violence of their own. The
spring of Dease's almost failed junior year, Machado had survived
(15:39):
several attempts on his life.
Speaker 8 (15:41):
I need you to listen carefully, don't argue or ask questions.
Time is running out.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Untela was forced to agree to a peace conference with
the opposition, broker by US Ambassador Sumner Willis.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
The talks had gone badly for Machado, and.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Since Dessie's dad worked with Machado well, Uncle Larry was
worried it was about to get bad for the Arnest
family too.
Speaker 8 (16:14):
All Machadistas are being arrested or killed. Their houses are
being run, sat and burned by the anarchist and Bolsheviks.
They have killed and wounded policemen, soldiers, anybody who tries
to stop them. Mother of God, even the army post
is in flames. For God's sake, we are wasting time.
(16:35):
Get out of there now, have Boba. Let drive you
to Bravo Corrioso's house and I'll meet you there.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Antonio Bravo Correoso was Dessi's great uncle on his mother's
side and one of the most famous and powerful lawyers
in Cuba. As he knew they'd be safe at Bravo
corriosos Villa, but he was still unsure about the need
to rush until he heard rumbling coming from the outside
of the house.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Right when I hung up with Eddie, I heard a rumble.
I ran outside and looked out over the hill on
our main block. I could not believe my eyes. There
(17:30):
was this mob of five hundred people or more, you know,
carrying torches, pitchforks, guns, and god knows what else.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
This He grabs his mom Blola, about four hundred dollars
in cash and a revolver his dad always kept in
his nightstand and rushes downstairs to find Bombali the family
stressed the servant. They get in the car and tries
skidding out of there as the mob rushes towards them,
but the car won't start. According to Dessi's memoir, at
this point, Bomballet steps out of the car and offers
(18:07):
to fight the angry mob and defend the arneests estate.
Loland won't stand for it. She urges Bomballei to get
back in the car. Just then another car skids up.
Dessi recognizes Emilio Lopez, the top guy in the opposition
against my childhood. This is not sure what's going to
(18:28):
happen now. The tension is ratcheting up.
Speaker 8 (18:31):
Come on and lolita, Now this crowd is rabbit YouTube.
Speaker 7 (18:36):
Bomballet getting here and I'll take you to my home.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
I'll protect you, guys.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
It's a kind of ironic. You know that the man
who got us away from the mob and perhaps saved
our lives was one of the heads of the opposition party.
They are not foreseeing that the fall of my CHILDO
would provide the honor and Bolshevik's with a perfect opportunity
for a mob violence. We stayed at Emilio's home until dark.
(19:12):
The next day, he took us to my great uncle
Bravo Corso's house. We drove by our house on the way.
That is what was left of our house. The piano
was smashed to pieces in the garden. The car was
upside down on the sidewalk with all the windows smashed
(19:33):
and the tires all gone. It was like everything we
owned was scattered around, tables, lamps, basses, chairs, paintings, glasses, plates, records,
pictrola radio. My bicycle was twisted and bent like a pretzel.
Some people were still running into or coming out of
(19:53):
the house looking for things to steal. Maybe they were
just collecting souvenirs from the fall of Machaalo. It was
like that line from the great American President FDR said
about Pearl Harbor. It was a day that would live
in infamy for my family, for a lot of Cubans.
(20:13):
The last thing I saw was my guitarre, the neck
still smoldering away.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
And just like that, this his world was thrown into chaos.
His family went from being pillars of society to fugitives
of the revolution.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
My father always found the way, there's always a way forward,
he'd say, Valante, just a speed bump, keep going no
matter what. I lost a lot that night, and only
more loss would follow. But it wasn't the guitar, or
the paintings or the piano that heard. No, I lost
(21:11):
a lot more than that. In the Revolution of nineteen
thirty three. My mother put it in perspective for me.
Speaker 6 (21:19):
The things I missed the most are the baby pictures,
the baptist and souvenirs. Ah, the little shoes you were
at your first communion, My god, my wedding photos. You
know I still have had. I had the first present
your father ever gave me. It was nothing, a little
momento from our first day, but it was priceless to me.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I remember many years later, when Lucy and I were
living at the ranch in Chatsworth, there was a big
fire around us. We rushed home to try and save
what we could, which was our dream home. Mother was
with us in the car. As we approached the police barricade.
(22:08):
The police wouldn't let us through. They were trying to
keep everybody out of that area. But I explained that
we had to get to our house and try to
save it, at least a salvage, you know, whatever we
could they finally led us through. When we got there,
I went to the roof with a host to keep
it wet. Lucy was inside with mother deciding what to salvage.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Lola, I'm lost.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
I don't know where to start.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
How do I take off first all.
Speaker 6 (22:38):
The pictures, anything you can, Garry, take all your pictures
if you can, and your private and personal documents and papers.
Everything else can be replaced.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Lucy, she never got that, neither did I. When she
told me what mother had said, I was taken back
to that night of the revolution. I was once again
reminded that no matter how hard I tried, or how
successful or wealthy I could try to be, there would
always be certain things that money could never buy or replace.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
There's a hard way to learn a valuable lesson.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Seemingly overnight, everything changed for the Arnest family. Dens He
lost his childhood, his inheritance, and his mom.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Lost all those memories.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Desi's dad, who was a sitting member of Machello's congress
when the day started, lost his position, kissed wealth, and
now his freedom was in danger.
Speaker 8 (23:52):
There he is robbed him that.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
On the next episode starring Desi, R.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Nass and Wilmer Valderama is produced by WV Sound in
partnership with Iheartsmichael Duda podcast Network, starring Desi R.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Nass and Wilmer.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Val Durama is written by Eric Galindo and narrated by
me Wilmer Valdorama. It is produced by Sophie Spencer Savos
and Leo Klem, with special help from Anhele Lopez Galindo.
Our executive producers are myself and Eric Galindo. This episode
was edited and engineered by Sean Tracy and features original
(24:39):
music by Halo Boy and Madison Devenport. Our cover art
illustration is by Lindsey Mount. For more podcasts from iHeart,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite podcasts
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