NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Leo Lopez left his home in Cuba sixteen years ago. He traveled across the ocean for 13 hours on a homemade raft, spent a year and a half detained in Guantanamo and made his way to Indiana where he is now a successful restaurant owner and living the “sueño Americano” – the American Dream.

Lopez grew up in a rough neighborhood about 10 minutes outside downtown Havana. His father abandoned the family for America when Lopez was just 4 years old, leaving his mother to raise her two children alone in poverty.

“It was a tough time,” Lopez said. “My dad never took care of us in Cuba or when he went to Miami. We struggled for a lot of years.”

As he grew older, Lopez said he wanted to help his family in any way he could, but times were tough in Cuba. He came to a drastic decision when he learned that Castro would allow Cubans to leave the country legally, so long as they did not steal from the government.

The 18-year-old Lopez put together a team to build a raft; eight people joined him on the project, each providing a useful service or item.

“The nine of us didn’t have a lot of money, so everybody brought something to put it together,” Lopez said. “Whoever chipped in could come… We worked together. We had a guy come in who found a truck to pick up the raft and take it to the beach. Just because he found the truck, he left with us. Another guy said he had compasses, so he joined, too.”

On the last day of Castro’s window for a legal exit, Lopez set sail. If the group did not reach international waters by the deadline, they risked being sent to jail in Cuba.

“At 1 a.m., we were on the water; 6 a.m. was the deadline for anybody who wanted to leave the country. We had five hours, so we paddled hard. We had food and water for about 10 days.”

Lopez successfully entered international waters, but after sailing 18 miles in 13 hours, the raft was intercepted by the Coast Guard.

Lopez and the others were transported to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, which at that time held refugees rather than the suspected terrorists that it would become notorious for in the 2000s. When Lopez arrived, he said he joined 25,000 to 30,000 other refugees.

“It was kind of like jail, but we were outside, we had people with us and we weren’t treated too bad,” Lopez said. “[The Americans] always told us that it would take a little time and to have some patience.”

While at Guantanamo, Lopez met a fellow refugee named Ulises Garbey. The two quickly forged a bond that would prove to be lasting.

Officials began relocating the refugees in October 1995. The first groups to leave Guantanamo were children and their families. After that, the sick and elderly left. The last group to be transported were single men, including Lopez.

In January, 1996, he arrived in Miami to reconnect with his father, but soon decided it was not where he wanted to settle down.

“My dad tried to reconnect,” Lopez said. “When I got there and saw how he lived and how he had a nice house, a boat, a car, my question to him was why he never took care of us. I couldn’t handle it, so I just left. I was only there for about two months.”

The next leg of Lopez’s journey took him to Kentucky, where he reconnected with an old friend from Guantanamo, Ulises Garbey.

“Once I came to Kentucky, everything started getting better.”

He eventually relocated to Sellersburg, Indiana, where he started bartending for at a friend’s restaurant. When the business was sold, Lopez started looking for other opportunities.

“The chef and I became really good friends, and he wanted to leave, too,” Lopez said. “I had some money, he knew the kitchen and I knew the front, so I said we should open something together.”

In April 2010, the two opened Cuba Libre in Jeffersonville, Indiana and just months after starting Cuba Libre, Lopez opened Habana Blues in New Albany, Indiana. Lopez decided to close Cuba Libre in 2011. Shortly after that, he opened a second Habana Blues in Louisville, which lasted only a year.

“When I started the restaurants, I didn’t know what I was getting into,” Lopez said. “I thought everything was going to be great, but I lost everything to keep up my business. I lost my house so I could pay my employees. I kept with it to build it up. I had faith in it.”

Lopez’s determination soon paid off, as the original Habana Blues became increasingly popular.

Garbey, who is the head server at Habana Blues, stood by him through thick and thin, Lopez said, who considers him one the keys to his restaurant’s success.

After countless ups and downs during his time in America, Lopez said he is finally able to take care of his family back in Cuba

“She has a good life. I bought her a house in 2009. In her neighborhood, there are a lot of kids who are hungry. They go to mom’s now, and she gives them stuff to eat. She is a really good person. That’s why a lot of people love her.”

In 2011, Lopez returned to Cuba for the first time in nearly 20 years. He had been wary of visiting and fearful of being unable to return to the states.

“After I went the first time, I came back every three months. I missed that family touch. I’ve been [in America] all by myself.”

Lopez said his experiences over the past 16 years have taught him to appreciate everything you have, no matter how little it may be.

“I have a good life now, but I worked hard for it. This country is about what you want to do. You just have to work hard. Nothing comes easy.”

Boyle writes for the Jefferson, Indiana News and Tribune.