Mrs. Cristina Brito is the lady whom we seem to know nothing about.

She sits by the SLC and helps organize every fundraiser the school does as well as mastering Homecoming by contacting alumni and bringing them back. She works behind the scenes on the activities we see in ILS, making sure the school takes pride in serving the community. Mrs. Brito did not jump on a plane like many of us do when we travel to the US. She came alone at 6-years-of age along with 14,ooo other kids as part of a clandestine mass salvation from Cuba program called Pedro Pan in 1961.

“It’s our story; it’s sad because of the separation from our parents, but at the same time, they were very brave to send us away to be able to grow up in a country so marvelous and to be able to grow freely,” she said

If you don’t know what Pedro Pan is, it was an organization made to save as many Cuban children as possible from Fidel Castro’s totalitarian, communist regime. Not many were eligible and many were left behind. Parting with family is not easy, but when it comes to saving children, they always come first.

Mrs. Brito even helped organize a documentary about Pedro Pans’s work on people in our own community. School alumni and current workers gathered in early December at ILS where dozens of local “Pedro Pans” watched a documentary created by and for their organization: Operation Pedro Pan: The Cuban Children’s Exodus.

Immaculata-La Salle, alongside the Miami archdiocese helped and supported all Pedro Pans to share their story and experience. At the end of the day, Mrs. Brito is not only a strong, hardworking, independent woman, but a survivor at that. Talk about the cherry on top.