... what, what happened.

That's correct.

So I grew up in Cuba.

Uh, the year that I was born, it was actually 1991, which is exactly the year the USSR fell.

Uh, after that, we went into a period known as El Periodo Especial, or the Special Period.

We saw shortages of food, supplies.

I mean, I saw my mom using baby blankets as woman pads.

Can you tell us about your escape and how that transpired?