SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Seeking refuge from the iron-fisted dictatorship of Fidel Castro, a young boy fled Cuba, where his father was a political enemy of the state. The year was 1967. The boy’s name? Fernando Arenado, a 6-year-old that loved baseball and spoke no English. He and his family fled to Spain and, a year later, to the United States, a nation built on the dreams of immigrants, finding a safe place to call home.
“This is the country that gave me my freedom,” said Arenado. “The United States means everything to me.”
Years ago, all the kid wanted was a chance.