I often dream of returning to live in my neighborhood, in the heart of Santiago de Cuba, the most Caribbean city on the grand Caribbean island. Santiago is the birthplace of son and bolero, and where I was born, just four blocks from the Casa de la Trova. I dream of returning, because in reality, that is no longer possible. Everything that made that place meaningful to me has changed. There, I was Rubencito, or Tito, the son of Rubén and Anays, the brother of Darina and Dania, who lived in the house with a piano in front of little Serrano Park. 

I dream of returning because that's no longer possible. Everything has changed. Time has gone by, and I left like millions of other Cubans. My educational and life journey made me one of the many migrants of this century. 

Jesus also once lived in a neighborhood called Nazareth. Every time I read this passage from John 1, I imagine Jesus returning to his own neighborhood, to the place where he was known as “the son of Joseph and Mary.” There, in front of his people, he declared his mission in life during a religious service. He did not speak of complicated doctrines or sacred rituals. That first time, he took the opportunity to explain his program to rescue the neighborhood, with good news for the poor, health for the brokenhearted, freedom for the imprisoned, and justice for the oppressed. In other words, he spoke about his work plan, what was in his heart, and how this was a platform for change in his neighborhood. And of course, that caused tension. So much so that they wanted to kill him when he offered to start fulfilling that mission that very day.