Federico Falcon found his father after escaping Cuba on a raft with nine others a decade ago.

His parents separated when he was 1. Several years later, his father fled to the Redlands area of south Miami-Dade County.

"My father was trying for years to bring me to the States, but the Cuban government said he didn't have any right to because he abandoned Cuba," Falcon, 46, said.

Falcon's mother died when he was 12, but he was never alone. A family in Las Villas adopted him. With them, he found a new sense of belonging.

He rode horses bareback and swam with his new brothers."It was a beautiful time. We were so innocent," he said.

Falcon, who became an electrical engineer, ultimately decided he could not live under communist rule. Leaving his adopted family behind was hard, he said, but he vows not to return to Cuba "until my country is free." Once they were reunited, his father introduced Falcon to the country life he now adores. He finds peace in his home with his German shepherds, wife, his son Franklin and daughter-in-law Diana.

Adjusting to a new life in the United States has meant years of odd jobs in a print shop, with a cleaning crew and at an aerospace warehouse where he inspected parts.

But for Falcon, who hopes to one day again work as an electrical engineer, it was worth it. "No matter what, you have to sacrifice yourself, but you are free," he said. "You can reach whatever goal you want to reach."

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