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Oscar Hijuelos' "Mambo Kings."

Writer Oscar Hijuelos (E-Whell-Los). His recent novel, "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love," just won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It's the story of Cuban immigrant brothers who work by day at grimy, exhausting jobs in a meat-packing house, but by night, in silk suits and lace ties, play the mambo, the vibrant, footloose music of Cuba. Surrounded by musicians wearing vests decorated with sequined palm trees, the Castillo brothers try to secure their own version of the American Dream. Their lives climax when they appear on the "I Love Lucy Show." Hijuelos' first novel, "Our House In the Last World," was a largely autobiographical account of the Cuban immigrant experience. (Repeat. Originally broadcast 8/28/89).

11:24
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Other segments from the episode on April 16, 1990

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, April 16, 1990: Interview with Lawrence Weschler; Review of Ornette Coleman's albums "New York is Now" and "Love Call"; Interview with Oscar Hijuelos; Review of the…
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22:10

How Do You Settle Accounts with Torturers?

Reporter Lawrence Weschler. Weschler is a staff writer for the "New Yorker," where he writes on human rights, political, and cultural issues. Weschler's new book, "A Miracle, A Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers," (published by Pantheon) looks at how victims of torture in Brazil and Uruguay worked to bring their captors activities to light (portions of the book ran as a five-part series in the New Yorker). Weschler's earlier books include "The Passion of Poland," and "Shapinsky's Karma."

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Ornette Coleman's 60s' Work Finally Reissued.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a couple of Ornette Coleman reissues from 1968: "New York is Now," and "Love Call." (Both on the Blue Note label). They include some alternate takes of tunes never before released in the U.S.

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Oscar Hijuelos' "Mambo Kings."

Writer Oscar Hijuelos. His new novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, is the story of Cuban immigrant brothers who work by day at grimy, exhausting jobs in a meat-packing house, but by night, in silk suits and lace ties, play the mambo, the vibrant, footloose music of Cuba. Surrounded by musicians wearing vests decorated with sequined palm trees, the Castillo brothers try to secure their own version of the American Dream. Their lives climax when they appear on the "I Love Lucy Show,".

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The History of Freshman T.V. Shows.

Television Critic David Bianculli discusses the progress of the new shows and the history of how television's top programs fared in their first year.

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Carlos Eire: A Cuban-American Searches For Roots

In 1962, 11-year-old Carlos Eire was one of thousands of children airlifted out of Cuba and sent to Florida to escape Fidel Castro's regime. His parents thought he'd return when Castro was deposed — but he never went home again. Eire recounts the experience in a new memoir.

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