Cuba, here I come!

In 1938, Marie-Victorin was authorized by his new superior to go to Cuba ? especially since he'd be paying for the trip himself, from the inheritance his father left him.

On December 14, he wrote to Brother Paulin to thank him:
I'll be in Havana at Christmas. That night, I'll think of you.

For his first trip to Cuba, Marie-Victorin asked his driver, Lucien Charbonneau, to take him to Miami. From there they headed to Havana. It didn't cost much to fill your tank in those days!

Brothers Marie-Victorin and L?on in Havana.

UdeM: E0118Album1LaHavane

Photo: Michel Tremblay, JBM

G?ographie universelle, Paris, 1922 ; private collection.
His dream destination: the "Pearl of the Antilles".

On the book: Bands worn by the Brothers of the Christian Schools ? the community to which Marie-Victorin and L?on belonged. Archives des Fr?res des ?coles chr?tiennes du Canada francophone (F?CCF), Laval.

Passport belonging to Marie-Victorin (born Conrad Kirouac), stamped by the Cuban and American authorities, and his application for a nonimmigrant visa to allow him to travel to Cuba and the West Indies.

Archives de l'UdeM / Photo: Michel Tremblay, JBM

Under the Cuban Sun with Marie-Victorin [Jardin botanique de Montréal]