la marielita rum

Nearly 43 years ago, a mass immigration of Cubans travelled from Mariel Harbor near Havana to the United States, known as the Mariel Boatlift. 

The exodus, which happened over several months, saw more than 125,000 Cubans make the journey across the Florida Straits. 

One of those people was a six-year-old girl, Janet Diaz-Bonilla, who travelled with her parents towards a new life. But it was a journey that would impact not only Janet's life, but also, the fabric of her adopted homeland. 

While many have looked back on these journeys to freedom through art writing, Janet, a writer herself, decided to tell her story through liquid, releasing La Marielita to rum at the end of last year. 

To find out more, we talked to Janet about perception, legacy, and how liquid can really tell stories in a very new way.