SYNOPSIS

Waiting for Snow in Havana unfolds in Chicago, Miami, and Havana between 1958 and 1970.

At Chicago O’Hare, Carlos nervously awaits his mother’s arrival. He remembers the last time he saw her. He was only eleven years old when she put him and his brother Tony on a flight to Miami, during what would later be known as Operation Pedro Pan. Now, after years of failed visa attempts, she will finally join him.

As he waits, memories surface: his privileged childhood in Havana surrounded by art collected by his eccentric, self-styled “Louis XVI” father; his mother’s faith and her promise that “one day it might snow in Havana”; the chaos of the Revolution; lavish parties, idealistic young activists, and his father’s stern courtroom. He relives the hardship of his years in U.S. foster homes, prejudice, poverty, and the fear that perhaps life in Cuba might even have been safer.

He recalls his mother’s tireless attempts to save the family, and his own teenage push to become “American,” working long hours, writing to erase his accent, and renaming himself Chuck. Now he wonders: Will she recognize him? What will she think of his new life and of him?

The plane lands, but his mother is not on board. Instead, the last passenger to step off is his younger self. “Where’s Mom?” the boy asks. “We have to keep waiting,” the older Carlos answers.

Devastated, Carlos returns home where he finds his mother waiting, having arrived on an earlier flight with no way to reach him. As they embrace, his younger self appears beside them. And then, at long last, it begins to snow.

“Home is where you are and we carry Cuba with us.”

CREATIVE TEAM

Sarah Gancher - Book Writer

https://sarahgancher.org/

Benjamin Velez - Composer/Co Lyricist

https://www.benjaminvelez.com/

Richard Blanco - Co-Lyricist

https://richard-blanco.com/

Maria Elena de la Noval - Producer

As one of the few Latina women producing a musical for the Broadway stage, choosing a story close to my heart was deeply meaningful. It was equally important to build a creative team who shared a common cultural understanding, artists who recognized the nuances of our heritage and the complex experience of the immigrant story.

Waiting for Snow in Havana reflects a part of my own Cuban story. I was fortunate that when my parents made the difficult decision to leave Cuba, we were able to remain together as a family. The children who left through Operation Pedro Pan were not given that choice; they were thrust into an unfamiliar world, alone, in search of safety and hope.

This musical is a true passion project, one that weaves together my love for the theater and my Cuban roots into a single, heartfelt journey. I am proud to share this beautiful story and to collaborate with an extraordinary creative team who will bring it to life with talent, care, and authenticity.

Waiting for Snow in Havana is ultimately a story about love, loss, hope, and the profound meaning of finding home.

Fiscally sponsored by the Cuban Cultural Center of New York, a non-profit organization founded to preserve and promote Cuban and Cuban-American culture, and to foster new developments in the arts. Please help bring this thrilling, important, and timely story to life. All contributions are exclusively destined to Waiting for Snow Development, LLC.

All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. If you prefer to contribute via personal check, send your donation payable to Cuban Cultural Center of New York (with “Waiting for Snow” in the memo line) to: P.O. Box 2608, Times Square Station, NY, NY 10036

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