Who's Rickie Ciprian?

Rickie Ciprian was born in 1962 in Miami, Florida, to Cuban immigrant parents trying to carve out a slice of the American Dream. After seeing many of their friends arrested, or worse, killed, his mother and father fled Cuba on the eve of Fidel Castro's rise to power. The Ciprians, along with their first two children, Manny and Sola, were able to secret passage to Spain where they waited nearly a year for a sponsor to bring them to the United States. Rickie's father had operated a large medical clinic in Havana before the revolution; they lost everything—clinic, house, savings, all their personal effects—when they fled.

Rickie's childhood in Miami was difficult as his father studied to become a licensed physician. Every one in the Ciprian family worked, including the young Rickie. Manny and Sola worked at a local steak house where they were able to spirit home food that would otherwise be thrown away. Because Rickie was the youngest, and smallest, his job was to climb under the kitchen counters and clean out the grease traps. These humble beginnings left a lasting impression on the adult Rickie, nearly forty years later.

Rickie's father did not get to enjoy his American dream even after securing his license to practice medicine in the United States. First, Manny returned from Vietnam without his legs and then Rickie's sister, Sola, was tragically killed in an automobile accident while returning to college. Rickie's father and mother passed away in rapid succession, leaving Rickie a young Miami Beach cop with no family.

Rickie worked fifteen years as a Miami Beach policeman and then detective. He foolishly married his police captain's niece, a marriage that failed after five excruciatingly painful years. A string of failed relationships was halted by Roxy Ramirez, another Miami Beach police officer, who believed in Rickie as no other woman could.

After several failed starts, their love exploded into a relationship that would take them through hard times and tough cases. They eventually quit the police and currently run their own investigations firm.

Rickie's greatest conflict is that while the Cuban-American community tries to remind him of his ethnicity, his parent's dream of becoming fully integrated Americans pushes him away. This conflict colors how he responds to the extrodinary situations in which he finds himself.

Copyright 2008 The Westhighland Press

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Who's Rickie Ciprian?
	Rickie Ciprian was born in 1962 in Miami, Florida, to Cuban immigrant parents trying to carve out a slice of the American Dream. After seeing many of their friends arrested, or worse, killed, his mother and father fled Cuba on the eve of Fidel Castro's rise to power. The Ciprians, along with their first two children, Manny and Sola, were able to secret passage to Spain where they waited nearly a year for a sponsor to bring them to the United States. Rickie's father had operated a large medical clinic in Havana before the revolution; they lost everything—clinic, house, savings, all their personal effects—when they fled.
Rickie's childhood in Miami was difficult as his father studied to become a licensed physician. Every one in the Ciprian family worked, including the young Rickie. Manny and Sola worked at a local steak house where they were able to spirit home food that would otherwise be thrown away. Because Rickie was the youngest, and smallest, his job was to climb under the kitchen counters and clean out the grease traps. These humble beginnings left a lasting impression on the adult Rickie, nearly forty years later.
Rickie's father did not get to enjoy his American dream even after securing his license to practice medicine in the United States. First, Manny returned from Vietnam without his legs and then Rickie's sister, Sola, was tragically killed in an automobile accident while returning to college. Rickie's father and mother passed away in rapid succession, leaving Rickie a young Miami Beach cop with no family.
Rickie worked fifteen years as a Miami Beach policeman and then detective. He foolishly married his police captain's niece, a marriage that failed after five excruciatingly painful years. A string of failed relationships was halted by Roxy Ramirez, another Miami Beach police officer, who believed in Rickie as no other woman could.
After several failed starts, their love exploded into a relationship that would take them through hard times and tough cases. They eventually quit the police and currently run their own investigations firm.
Rickie's greatest conflict is that while the Cuban-American community tries to remind him of his ethnicity, his parent's dream of becoming fully integrated Americans pushes him away. This conflict colors how he responds to the extrodinary situations in which he finds himself.

Copyright 2008 The Westhighland Press Home \| Haunts \| Raul Roqué's Books \| e-mail Raul \|