El Dichoso Navarrito

Jorge's grandfather, Jose "Pepe" Navarro, aka El Dichoso, worked for 9 Cuban presidential administrations. He was all of 16 years in 1921, when a man who'd just been appointed as President Alfredo Zayas' Secretario de la Presidencia hired the teenager as a stenographer (ostensibly ... in actuality and initially, Navarrito was a go-between for politicians, bookies, casinos and loansharks). By 1933, after a near-revolution undid the Machado presidency, Pepe Navarro was appointed by the newly-suspiciously elected Ramón Grau to serve as El Secretario himself. Jorge's grandfather served in that capacity -- essentially a Presidential Cabinet Chief of Staff, for Cuba's next 7 presidents, from Grau all the way up to the early morning hours of January 1, 1959, when Fulgencio Batista fled the island by plane with no shame and suitcases stuffed with cash. 29 years as a key member of pre-Castro Cuba's crazed political cesspool is no mean feat. His longevity took a heady mix of guile, moxie and connections throughout Havana's sprawling, criminal underworld. Listen as Rita shares her memories of the man and his time in- and out of office. Oh, and apologies in advance for Jorge's profanity!