Esther Bramnik
Esther Bramnik was born in 1934 in Havana, Cuba, the first child of four. She attended a Hebrew school named for Theodor Herzl for six years, then continued her education at high schools near Havana and completed secretarial training at Instituto Edison. Her father came alone to Cuba from Syria as a boy of thirteen, following brothers who had settled there ahead of him, and he built a life as a jeweler. Her mother was a homemaker and a deeply musical woman who encouraged her children in music. Esther played piano for years and performed and sang with her sister. Her maternal grandfather had been a writer and photographer, and her grandmother a homemaker.
Esther married Maurice in 1957, having met him at a party her parents hosted at their home. Maurice worked in a furniture store. As Fidel Castro came to power, life in Cuba grew frightening. Businesses were seized, and Esther's oldest brother, a university student involved in the underground resistance, was imprisoned for four years on the Isle of Pines. Because Maurice was related to the imprisoned brother, government agents watched his business closely. Fearing arrest, the family decided to leave. They spent nearly a full day at the American Embassy in Havana obtaining visas for their two very young children before departing for the United States in 1961.
The family reached Miami and eventually settled in Dallas, where they received a warm welcome from the Jewish community, arriving to an apartment stocked with food and flowers. Believed to be the first Jewish family from Cuba to come to Dallas, they found work within about a month and became active in the Jewish community. Esther's parents, siblings, and their families eventually joined them in Texas. Esther worked at Neiman Marcus, where she was on the floor the day President Kennedy was assassinated and later recalled assisting a customer she recognized as Marina Oswald. Esther and Maurice raised two children and had four grandchildren. Her advice to future generations was to always love America and be proud to be American.
Full Transcript
Esther 1934 Havana let's go back what can you tell you and you're just a little girl well I was a very happy girl that was the first one to be born from my parents and I was in school in Hebrew school in Cuba for six years you know and the school name was Theodore O'Hare itzel which was one of the you know Israelis you know big you know you called image you know and I was called after the school was called after you know Theodor Herzl so I had a basically six years of schooling you know elementary school and then from there I went to
the high school Cuba we have several high school I went to a high school in la vivo de which was a town near havana because they have on a high school my mother was very frightened that you know it was too many commotions and you know so we went to a small you know school high school English evora in Cuba and then from there I went to Instituto Ellison which I had my education in you know in high school partly but you know mainly in secretarial work you know which I spent four years there you know doing my secretarial work so what did your dad
do good living my father was a jeweler you know he came from Syria you know to Cuba because he had you know I brother that was already in Cuba waiting again for visa to come to the United States you know he landed there because of his you know brothers they being there you know and he met my mother thank you very thank you now when did your dad come over to Cuba well you're right it looks like it was in the 20s okay you could ever tell you why they decided the Senate did his family come with him already come alone he came alone his
brothers were already in Cuba okay so others were here his parents though did not come exactly then thereafter you know they brought their parents you know from Syria and why was it that they were coming right what was the problem well you know I mean probably the same problem as we have anywhere you know especially in Europe and in Asia in you know all around the world you know anti-semitism so did he talk at all about that trip that he made he was a young man I take it he was only 13 years old when he came to me giggle old he came along and
he went to school right away yeah yeah you know did he talk about that trip though at all no but it was one ever did he never did it yeah yeah mm-hmm what did you do for fun as a little girl I play piano I sang you know mainly you know I mean my mother she was a real you know I mean musical person you know and he wanted for us to you know be musical too so I spent five years playing piano you know so you had two brothers and a sister that's correct older younger I'm the oldest one my mother she loved to
you know sing and you know we were performing in school a lot you know he still play you still a little bit not refuse did you perform you know in your younger yeah yeah with my sister besides the piano you play anything else no I'm just a peon your sister would sing with you yes it she also play the piano yes now your mom's family were they in Cuba your pick grandparents yes okay tell me about your grandparents well I never met my grandfather he was you know he died before you know I met him yeah do you know what he did for a living
in Cuba yes he was a writer and a photographer huh okay okay what about tell me about grandma grandma was a homemaker yeah yeah ok now after college did you go to work very little ok very little because you know I met Maurice my husband ok you know and he didn't want me to work where did you meet worries I met him at my house at my home you know during a a party that my parents you know had you know and he was brought up you know to meet one of my girlfriends because she was a tall girl you know and you know in
Cuba you know men are not as tall as here in the United States so and she was really tall and then this friend of ours you know say well I have somebody that you know it's the right person for her and I think this was the time that you know probably you know my family you know was for happy to have you know the kids growing up you know and meet you know people right right now when you were little who was the president when you were small get out of my thing ok and then when castro started to come into power who is the
president at that time at that time Bautista who hangs you about this stuff okay and you remember what it was like when all of the this was going on with Castro tiny trying to take over control yes what was it like that well it was frightened you know but at the same time we thought you know since Batista was you know Taylor we were going to be freed from dictatorship you know and castro at that time he seems to be the leader of you know a group that wanted to you know make Cuba I mean free from the regimen of Batista so it was you
know we believe that you know it was going to be a change and then what was the like when castro took over bad very bad that he took you know I mean people's businesses you know over businesses you know and he caught relation with the United States he should people he got you know I mean my brother you know my oldest brother you know in prison what was that for well he was in the University of Havana and of course he was in in the underground fighting against you know Fidel Castro and he had you know people around him that were caught at the same
you know with the same problem you know and and at one time you know one of his friends you know was caught up by the you know I will call the secret police of you know Fidel Castro and my brother innocently he said that it he was his friend once you're a friend of a friend you know it happens that you know he got in you know into problems and they gave him four years in isle of pine which is a little island you know on the outside of Havana you know so basically he's like in examples nobody else would start up exactly was there
any talk amongst the civilians quietly about the dissatisfaction with Castro or was everybody just afraid to they were frightened because they have you know like you know I mean in the neighborhoods they people that were you know a against Batista and for Fidel Castro and those people were you know like emissaries of Fidel to let them know which family where you know how to counter revolutionary you know people in their family now you and Maurice get married 1957 and what were you guys doing at that time for a living well Maurice was in the store that you know he they sailed furniture so with a
furniture store you came to the United States and generally the eighth nineteen sixty one tell me about the making the decision that you're going to come to the United States and what's your family think and how was this you know all come about well we were frightened that at any time my husband was going to be involved you know by the Fidel you know people you know I mean was they were you know checking his business you know and as a matter of fact you know they had you know people you know in front of his business checking him out in and out of what
was he doing if it was you know since he was related to my brother that was already a prisoner you know if he was also in the controller revolution okay so then you knew it was time to go yeah oh yeah very much like okay so you have any problem getting out we had one problem yes the problem was the two kids one was a 18 months and the other one was three years old the boy and a girl and at that time they never had trouble before so they didn't have papers okay so we spend the whole night in the American Embassy in Havana
trying to get visas because we have you know already our visas but the kids were very little and they never travel so we were online you know for 20 for almost 24 hours waiting for visas for our children but then you were able to get him without any problem yes fortunately yes okay let's go back a minute when you guys got married you honeymoon honeymooned in New York City that's right now there was no problem at that time leaving Cuba and coming back to Cuba that was first trip to the United States no no I went with my mother and my brothers you know to
New York before okay ahead of time and when you when you got to New York what was it like in the city there New York City I it was probably this big as Cuba New York City was the city that I love it was there is nothing like New York I mean um I'm a dollar side right now and I love Dallas but New York is New York Broadway and you know theaters and everything hey you guys when you first came to the United States when you when you got out did your family come with you I know your husband and children but what about
your mom dad yes my mom was already here you know because my father you know Christine piece he he took one of my brothers you know to Miami to get in school you know and of course unfortunately you know the rest of the family was in Cuba my sister and her you know husband and my brother that was you know in jail no eventually did you all get out get out okay the whole family so when you went to Miami then you guys wound up in Dallas were you glad about going to dallas at the time or did you want to stay in miami no
I was glad to Dino come to Dallas I mean for me there was not a problem as long as we could get a job so you come to dallas and what was that like wonderful we had a wonderful welcome it was a great experience the Jewish family you know help us you know we had a an apartment already ready with food and you know everything we needed you know even flowers on our table was just a great experience how long did it take before you guys were able to get jobs and what a month what okay yeah you know so you acclimate it to Texas
really well then yes how did your mother in the rest of your family come to Texas eventually after us yeah Peter us you know looking for a job you know my father you know and you know looking for a job and schooling for my own my youngest brother yeah and then my sister and her husband now when you were just a little girl World War two broke out did that affect your family at all in Cuba well yes my father lost his business you know he was in the jewelry business and he lost his business you know situation was hard you know I was a
little girl no yeah I don't remember too much about the world war because you know the parents didn't talk about it they didn't want to frighten us thankee what was so I mean close to the United States that we have to be very careful yeah you know so what did your dad do during that time he he started you know making jewelry you know at home you know and he got a partner that had a you know a little you know working place where they you know started you know doing small jewelry right now right they say he lost his business during the world war
two time was that because of the war or is it yeah the word causes a lot of businesses to close you know because the situation was bad you know here people were making lines to get food you know I mean we were you know so close 90 miles from the United States we learn you know fight now in Dallas um did you get involved with the Jewish community well you know when we came in yes uh-huh it certainly did you know and and how did that how did it feel knowing that your family was considered like the first Jewish family from Cuba that came here
without any support group it was a surprise yeah it was surprised because we were not frightened really you know we were educated my parents educators real well you know and I had you know even at home you know an English you know professor that came to you know teach us English because my father spoke several languages I you know Arabic he spoke Hebrew he spoke French and English and Spanish so he always believed being 90 miles from you know the united states that we should you know always be you know able to talk English was there an invention in your lifetime that when it came
along you want wow how do we ever kill long without that the moonwalking which was leaving us you know the different you called idea of what maybe there was more than we thought there was you thought about the moon landing yeah yeah it was unbelievable my children were little and you know that night within sleep the whole house was you know watching yeah yes was very exciting what did you think about the Cuban Missile Crisis well I don't want to talk about it because you know I have my feelings that there was a big mistake that unfortunately the president you know back up when he
was you know going to have you know the Cubans liberated Cuba because they were waiting for the planes you know and I mean it never happened did the Kennedy assassination affect you at all yes yes I was working for Neiman Marcus you know and I was working on the you know mezzanine floor you know and all of a sudden you know there was a commotion at the store that there was a you know something's happening you know and of course they didn't tell us exactly at that time what was going on but all of a sudden the store was closed and we heard that Kennedy
was shot and the first thing that I heard it was he was at the Cuba that was the first thing that we heard so we you know we heard that you know it was a Cuban so I said we better hide so no we went to pick up our kids that were in the nursery school you know and we were very very sad because he was a very bad thing that happened to the United States at the time that Oswald you know was already killed Marina Oswald you know went to Neiman Marcus and she was a very tiny girl you know I mean young woman
you know and I was working for the miss awning which was you know the place where you know people you know a junior size and all of a sudden my Dino manager told me you're going to have somebody very important that you're going to take care of said okay you know and when she came to my room I say I think I know this woman you know I have seen her somewhere well she started to speak Russian to her translator and I say oh my god I think she's Marie now swell and I took care of her you know two men were in the front
you know of the store waiting for her and I say how come well she was interview and she didn't have any closing you know nice clothes in that theater so I I dress her up you and Maurice have the two kids and four grandkids what advice does grandma have for the next generation to make sure to love always America and be very very you know proud to be Americans because there is no other country like America that's great well you did a great job thank you thanks for doing this today