MIAMI — During his 6 1/2 years in the U.S., Cuban-born jazz musician Arturo Sandoval has won three Grammy Awards, played the White House, the Academy Awards and a Super Bowl, and, while touring the world and growing wealthy, become a full professor at one of the nation's hottest music schools.
But what he cannot do, apparently, is become an American citizen.
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service this week denied the musician's application for citizenship, citing his membership in the Communist Party while still in Cuba. Sandoval defected to the U.S. in 1990 while on a tour of Europe with a band headed by his mentor, the late Dizzy Gillespie.
"This is an injustice, ridiculous," said Sandoval, 47, a trumpet virtuoso whose mastery spans classical, jazz fusion and Afro-Cuban styles. "I don't deserve this."
In his application for citizenship, Sandoval answered "yes" when asked if he had ever been "a member of or affiliated with the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party." He said he joined the Communist Party three months before leaving on an extended European tour with Gillespie's United Nation Orchestra in hopes of enhancing chances that his wife and teenage son could join him.
Although a privileged member of Cuban society--a founder of the seminal band Irakere, and permitted to tour abroad--Sandoval said he had long chafed under the regime of Fidel Castro, and had plotted defection for years.
When his wife and son were permitted to join him, they acted. With Gillespie's help, Sandoval sought asylum in the U.S. Embassy in Rome in July 1990. Days later he and his family were welcomed at the White House by President George Bush, and he was granted permanent residency soon after. As a permanent resident, Sandoval cannot be deported. But without citizenship, he cannot vote or run for public office, hold a U.S. passport or be eligible for some types of federal assistance.
Since settling in Miami, Sandoval's career and his jazz world reputation as a protean performer have soared, first with his American debut album, "Flight to Freedom," and then with his Grammy-winning work with Gillespie on the 1992 album, "Live at Royal Festival Hall," and in 1994 for the best Latin jazz album, "Danzon." He had earlier won a Grammy for his work with Irakere.
