Page 32 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2018

PEOPLE seeing stars and stripes
story by Lynn Lofton photos by Donn Hupp
I
All Americans should be as proud of their citizenship as Sasha Ferreria is of his. A U.S. citizen since May 8, 2013, he was born in the Soviet Union and reared in Cuba. His Cuban father and Russian mother met while his father — a concert violinist — was studying in Ukraine. They returned to Cuba with their only child. Russian was his first language but he soon learned Spanish and as an adult learned English.
“I grew up in Communism
and realized my parents lived a double life,” Ferreria, 42, said. “Outside the home you have to put on a front, and you’re afraid to share your feelings because in every block there’s a member of the Committee for Defense of the Revolution. They report activities to a bigger committee who in turn report to a still bigger committee. You have to live that double standard just to get by.”
Following in his father’s footsteps, Ferreria began studying the violin at age seven. “Just like the Soviet model, the arts are
tops in Cuba and involve intense training,” he explains. “You are tested along the way, and if you don’t make it, they’ll get you out.”
In 1991, the family moved to Lima, Peru, where Ferreria studied at the music conservatory and his father taught. But there were hoops to jump through before they were allowed to leave Cuba. “We had two advantages,” Ferreria recalls. “Musicians have a little more freedom, and my Mom was not a
Cuban citizen. Still, you have to ask the government for permission to leave and have to give part of your salary to the government.”
After the move to Peru, the Soviet Union collapsed, erasing the support that had been provided for Cuba. The family saw no point in returning to Cuba. Ferreria’s parents still live in Peru, but he decided to emigrate to the United States when a friend studying
at the University of Southern Mississippi contacted him about the music performance program there. “To come here, I had to wipe out everything I knew like erasing a computer’s hard drive,” he says. “I left family and friends and moved to Hattiesburg in 2007.”
Not speaking English was a challenge for Ferreria but he learned through USM’s English Language Institute. In addition to his studies, he played in
the university’s orchestra and completed a Master’s degree in violin performance in one year.
“I think the first thing you do when you move to a country is
TOP: Sasha Ferreria uses his phone to show the large American flag hanging in his home.
BOTTOM: A flag sticker on his car leaves no doubt about this American’s loyalty.
32 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • July 2018 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
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