You're invited to an evening with award-winning graphic novelist Andre Frattino as he discusses his heartbreaking new graphic novel, We Are Pan, with poet and musician Tian Sanchez-Ballado.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Family or freedom? Discover the astonishing history of the mass evacuation of Cuban children, leaving communism—and their loved ones—behind.
We Are Pan is based on the true story of Operación Pedro Pan, a joint effort between the U.S. government and the Catholic Welfare Bureau to evacuate 14,000 children from Cuba to the U.S. between 1960 and 1962. With the rise of communism following Fidel Castro’s revolution, parents feared for their children’s future and, through this secret operation, secured passage for them to America. These children (later referred to as “Pedro Pans”) would be distributed across the U.S., mostly living in foster homes. In many cases, these children never saw their families again, and their lives would be changed forever. This is their story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andre Frattino is an award-winning graphic novelist born and raised in the wilds of North Florida. He holds degrees from both the Savannah College of Art and Design and the University of Florida, the latter of which he served as a staff cartoonist for The Independent Florida Alligator, on the popular “Son of a Gator” comic strip. Other works include his graphic adaptation of Patrick Smith's beloved Florida classic A Land Remembered, the WWII biography Tokyo Rose: Zero Hour, Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Shapeshifter anthology and John Carpenter's Tales for a HalloweeNight Vol. 11. A self-appointed paranormal enthusiast and lover of historical fiction and nonfiction alike, Andre is a proponent of using the graphic novel form to share stories of the past to inspire the next generation. He currently resides in Savannah, Georgia, with his wife, daughter, a scruffy mutt and a half-dozen ravenous koi fish. Florida is never far from his heart.
We Are Pan is the culmination of years of research and interviews conducted in and around Miami with members of the Pedro Pan community. In this novel, Andre seeks to spotlight the experiences these children had coming from Cuba to Miami, and from there to all parts across the United States. This exodus profoundly changed their lives, and We Are Pan serves as an acknowledgement of their courage and resilience.
ABOUT TIAN SANCHEZ-BALLADO
Tian Sanchez-Ballado (b. 1989) is a CubaRican-American poet and author of Baby Back Bitch (2025) and Every Fig Has a Wasp Inside (2025). His poetry has been featured in The Acentos Review, Voicemail Poems, and Kirkus Magazine, and he was a finalist for the 2025 Button Poetry First Book Contest. Future work will be featured in Glass. Sanchez-Ballado is also a classically trained musician and music educator. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his husband Arman and their very fluffy cat, Mika.
