doi:10.7916/nyqe-gw45Oral history interview with Ileana Rosa Yarza Paneque, 2022Yarza Paneque, Ileanaoral historiesmixed materialPresidents--Correspondence.--United StatesEconomic sanctions, American--CubaCuba Foreign economic relations United StatesUnited States Foreign economic relations CubaCuba HistoryYarza Paneque, IleanaObama, BarackOrganizaciones Revolucionarias IntegradasPartido Unido de la Revolución Socialista de CubaIleana Yarza Paneque speaks broadly about her life and career in Cuba, and discusses the series of letters she sent to Barack Obama and the letter she received from President Obama in 2016, which was the first piece of direct mail sent between the United States and Cuba in 62 years. Yarza shares memories of her upbringing and education in Havana, and of her experiences during the 1959 revolution, including Fidel Castro's discussions about current affairs and Cuban history with American guests in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel. Yarza describes her involvement with Organizaciones Revolucionarias Integradas (ORI) and Partido Unido de la Revolución Socialista de Cuba (PURSC), recounts her training as an economist, and reflects on her service as an economist and financial advisor for the Cuban government. She outlines the effects of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, and describes her participation in international diplomatic meetings on economic and political issues, with particular emphasis on the U.S. embargo. Yarza also remembers her impressions of Obama around the time of the 2008 election, her motivations for writing to the president on numerous occasions, and her thoughts on the administration's effort to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. Also discussed are Cubans' experience of the normalization process, Yarza's interpretation of Obama's political motivations for replying to her letters, U.S. media coverage of their correspondence, and her disappointment with the limits of the Obama administration's policy toward Cuba