The New York City launching of Armando Rodríguez’s astounding story of his days as a computer whiz professor in Cuba.
The absence of a “Dr.” preceding an author’s name might look strange. However, Armando has even become proud of his degree-less name, for he lost his doctorate and tenure at Havana University in 1981 for such things like praising UC Berkeley or Richard Feynman textbooks over “philosophically correct” choices. In his classes, he also favored using examples from the real world, but these highlighted scientific and technological achievements in the free world, and that was unacceptable under a communist regime.
Though this event marked the end of his academic career, and eventually forced him into exile, Armando continued pouring his heart and soul into his passion. Five years later, from a dark warehouse on the outskirts of Havana, under the name of EICISOFT, Armando Rodríguez (pictured right) was able to gather brilliant 
minds who, like him, had been politically discarded by the system. Using their personal computers, this group was able to develop electronic design; medical software; robotics; video effects; digital telephony; 3D image processing and aerospace technology. They were so successful that Fidel Castro got wind of it. The next phase would lead him to carefully plan his defection, and a series of close calls and mishaps—spanning from the comedic to the tragic—would give invaluable substance to this entertaining and unique memoir.
Cuban composer, musician, and writer Paquito D’Rivera, who has called Armando’s trials and tribulations with EICISOFT “a must-read”, will be introducing the author.
This presentation will be in Spanish, and the book will be availble for sale.
BARUCH COLLEGE
25th Street, bet. Lexington and Third Aves., NYC
6th FLOOR: CONFERENCE ROOM 6-210
SPACE IS LIMITED
Free Admission
RSVP at: cccofny@aol.com
Presented with the promotional support of Diario de Cuba
