User talk:Sanchez Miguel/sandbox

'BIOGRAPHY Miguel O. Sanchez

Miguel Sanchez was born in Holguin, Cuba in 1960 and migrated to the United States in 1979. He is a graduate of St. Paul TVI in St. Paul Minnesota with a degree in commercial art. A life- long learner, he attended numerous seminars and symposiums in the fields of psychology, philosophy, literature and business administration at the UM, FIU, and MDC. He is certified as a counselor and therapist in the field of hypnosis from the United States International Association of Counselors and Therapists. Mentored by the renowned professor Santiago Aranegui he received in-depth training in mental health, stress reduction, pain management and hypnosis. He has written four books titled, “Diario de la Vida”, “Vivencias cubanas”, “Cosas de la Vida”, and “Cuentos de Pepito.” Miguel Sanchez is the founder and president of the “Miami Power Team Foundation” a nonprofit organization which he directs as a volunteer without any compensation since 1995. This organization is dedicated to the noble cause of giving hope and extending a helping hand to children afflicted by terminal illnesses as well as cancer, Down’s Syndrome, autism, and numerous other disabilities. His contributions and labor have been acknowledged and supported by numerous governmental agencies both domestic and international, including the White House as well as private companies like Disney World, Prudential, Pizza Hut, Hope Florida. Mr. Sanchez’s efforts and endless dedication has turned a dream into reality for thousands of children and their parents who have witnessed and shared, even if only for a few hours, some degree of happiness and hope with their children.

He is on the board of directors for the “Greater Medley Chamber of Commerce”, he holds a similar position with the C.I.D. (Cuba Independent and Democratic) an organization dedicated to the return of democracy to the Cuban people. He is the founder and president of the organization, “Proyecto Los Plantados”. This entity, close to his heart, is dedicated to compiling the history of Cuban political prisoners who were executed or fell in combat in opposition to Fidel Castro and his regime. At the center of this effort is the history of the “Plantados”, a group of political prisoners in the 1960s and 70s who refused forced labor inside Castro’s prisons. Miguel Sanchez is uniquely placed for this task, his father, captain Nerin Sanchez was one of the three original “Plantados” who led the resistance against Castro. As a child, he began the dangerous task of smuggling letters and declarations out of Castro’s prisons into the hands of family members or others outside the country. From the time he was 12 until the age of 19 he was the exclusive messenger or courier of commander Huber Matos ( the third highest ranking member of Castro’s rebel army), imprisoned by Castro himself for 20 years. Miguel was the first to link the prisons to Commander Mato’s clandestine organization, “Cuba Independent and Democratic” (C.I.D.). He smuggled out part of Huber Mato’s manuscript “Como LLego la Noche” (How Night Arrived) as well as the first book by the internationally acclaimed author, former political prisoner and U.N. Ambassador Armando Valladares, entitled “Desde mi Silla de Ruedas” (From my Wheelchair). He continued this perilous labor and managed to take out several more books and manuscripts including the first portion of the book, “Los Plantados” by his father Nerin Sanchez, “Jardin de Heroes” (Garden of Heroes) by Eduardo de Juan, and a detailed list of the combatants who had fallen in the Escambray mountains, those that had been executed by firing squad and those imprisoned including their charges and sentences. In this manner, Miguel Sanchez has contributed greatly to bringing the truth of life behind Castro’s prisons to the world at large. Miguel, currently working in property management, is writing his fifth book, “Paper bullets” (the messenger). He raises Monarch butterflies, finches, silkie chickens, and grows grapes in his yard. Additionally, he is the owner of two trademarks (TM) Cuentos de Pepito and Bravo Cigars. Above everything else, the most singularly important aspect of his life is his family. sanchezmiguel.com