Wonderful article, Julie! In Venezuela, where I'm originally from, we have a very similar approach to family relations. As you know, Cuba and Venezuela have a lot in common.

My case was actually the opposite to yours. I grew up in a family-oriented society with many aunts, uncles and cousins. But by the time I was 18, I was a bit overwhelmed by the family dynamics (a lot of judging, "chismes", competition, etc.), so I decided to put some distance. I was also gay, which didn't help.

I married into a very small nuclear family: basically just my husband and his mom. There are other family members, but not very close. I guess unconsciously I was still running away from the big family "trauma".

Now after all these years, I kind of regret not having cultivated my family relations a bit more, especially because I have an 8-year old son now. He knows my brother and my husband's mom. But that's about it. Reading your article made me realize how important it is for him to have a larger family. I guess I'll start reaching out now :-)

Thanks again for writing the article. I look forward to reading more of your articles from Cuba!!!

PS. How cool it is that you're rasing your daughter in Cuba. You must have so many interesting stories...