Cuban-American Poet To Read Poem In Havana

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BETHEL, Maine (CBSMiami/AP) – Cuban-American poet, and South Florida native, Richard Blanco is going to participate in the re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana Friday.

Blanco, who lives in Bethel, Maine, is traveling to the island nation where he was born to read a new poem commemorating the event on Friday.

Blanco, who wrote and delivered the poem "One Today" for President Obama's second inauguration, said he's "humbled, honored, and elated" to participate in the embassy event in Cuba.

Last year, he released a memoir describing his childhood as the son of immigrants in Florida.

Blanco announced his return to Cuba on social media, saying it'll be emotional for him to "not only witness this historic moment but also to be asked to be part of it." Blanco called it a dream come true.

"The metaphor of the poem is the sea. And the sea has always been the thing that has divided Cuba and the rest of the Cubans and the rest of the world," Blanco said.

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