Trumpeter Sandoval is granted citizenship

MARIA A. MORALES
Herald Staff Writer

Cuban jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval is no longer playing the immigration blues.

After years of rejection because he was once a member of the Cuban Communist Party, Sandoval has been granted U.S. citizenship.

The 49-year-old famed musician will be sworn in by Immigration and Naturalization Service officials in Miami on Dec. 7.

``I always believed this would happen, always believed in justice,'' said Sandoval on Monday from his Miami Springs home. ``I never lost hope in justice.''

Sandoval defected to the United States in May 1990, while on a European concert tour with his mentor, jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. He was granted permanent residence in July 1990 and petitioned for citizenship in 1995 -- only to be denied twice.

The agency turned down his petition for citizenship on the basis of a federal statute that says anyone who ``is or was a member of, or was affiliated with, the Communist Party'' in the 10 years before submitting a petition is not entitled to U.S. citizenship.

In his original petition, Sandoval checked off the ``Yes'' box next to the question about Communist Party affiliation.

It's unclear why INS reversed its previous decisions on the Sandoval case. Immigration officials in Washington, D.C., did not return calls for comment Monday from The Herald.

Sandoval, who has lived in South Florida since 1990, has always maintained he agreed to join the Communist Party three months before he defected from Cuba so he would not draw attention to his escape with wife Marianela and son Arturo Jr.

He has also said he never received any official document from the party; he assumed that the official who extended the invitation was just complimenting him.

In Cuba, honorary membership in the party is considered to be a status symbol.

In the United States, Sandoval has amplified his status as one of the best in American music.

A gifted jazz musician, Sandoval has won three Grammy Awards, played at the Oscars and the White House, the Super Bowl and numerous concerts worldwide. He is also a tenured professor at Florida International University.

Though he could have remained in the United States as a permanent legal resident for the rest of his life, Sandoval said Monday he needed to become an American citizen.

``I don't like to do things halfway. When I left the nation I was born in and came to the United States, it was an irrevocable decision, something done with body and soul,'' Sandoval said. ``It just wasn't fair to come here, remake my life, pay a great deal of taxes, give scholarships to American students and not be a citizen. It wasn't logical.

``Also, like everyone else, I wanted the right to vote,'' he added. ``I was never given that right before. This will be my first time.''