MIAMI – When Angel Yanes arrived to work, there were several armed officers standing by the gate of his small airport.
Yanes was about to feel the life-changing blow of Fidel Castro's punch of Marxist-Leninist militancy. He could see his agricultural aircraft lined up near the runway behind the fence, but he could no longer touch it.
Under Castro's law 890, the expropriation of industries belonging to Cubans began Oct. 13, 1960. Yanes was one of many private pilots who lost their agricultural aviation operations to the government.
"You can't come in," one officer said. "This now belongs to the Cuban people."
Yanes is now 92 years old and lives in Miami. He said those were some of the toughest words he has had to hear in his life. The uncertainty of the political situation filled him with fear. Suddenly he was one of the many Cuban fathers who could no longer picture what the future of their children would look like.
"None of us knew what Fidel was going to do next. We had to leave it all behind," Yanes said in Spanish. "I sent my wife and kids to the United States first. My eldest son stayed with me, and we left together later."
His teenage son, Serafin Yanes, is now 64 and lives in south Miami-Dade County. He remembers the journey to the United States. The two left Corralillo, a coastal town in the province of Villa Clara, on Aug. 13, 1966. A day later, they arrived to Cay Sal in the Bahamas.
"The Coast Guard picked us up that night," Serafin Yanes said. "We arrived at Key West on Aug. 15."
The Cuban migrants are the proud paternal figures of Cuban-American artist Alejandro "Alex" Yanes, who was born in Miami. The 37-year-old has worked for companies like Vans, Adidas, Neiman Marcus, Kidrobot, Red Bull and Sony. His success has allowed him to help organizations like St. Jude's Hospital and NBA Cares.
"I grew up with the 'do-it-yourself' attitude," Alex Yanes said. "My grandfather always had a project ... My roots are at my grandfather's house."
His "abuelo" said he remembers when his grandson asked him to borrow a jigsaw and he decided to give it to him. It's a red Milwaukee. Although it no longer works, the artist treasures it. It has a special place at the art studio, where he works near the Miami Executive Airport in southwest Miami-Dade County.
"I asked him for his jigsaw, and he didn't think about it twice and gave it to me," Alex Yanes said. "Without that tool and that act of kindness by my grandfather, I would probably be painting on a canvas and not be where I am."
For years, Yanes has used wood, acrylic paint, epoxy resin, spray-enamel and recycled objects to make his work pop out of walls. He has had exhibits in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and Brazil. This summer he was preparing for exhibits in Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
"I think all of their sacrifice paid off," Alex Yanes said. "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be living my dream. I wouldn't have the opportunities that I've had. I am so grateful for them."
He and his dad recently traveled to New York City together. It was his dad's first time in Manhattan, so Yanes gave him the grand tour. It was also his dad's first time traveling with him for an exhibit. The trip was such a success, the two decided they were going to work together. Early next year, his dad plans to retire as a top sales executive for a tools distributor.
"He is a good kid, I mean, man. He is not a kid anymore. He is a good man, a successful man," Serafin Yanes said. "I don't know much about art, but I know it's competitive. I am more of a businessman, and I know there is demand for his work."
In the proud dad's memories, he said the artist selling his work at the gallery in New York City was the 6-year-old who won his first art contest. He was the 10-year-old who built a tree house in the backyard. He was the teen obsessed with building skateboarding ramps.
His son was no longer the Miami Sunset Senior High School student who admired graffiti writers. He was no longer the Miami International University of Art & Design student who grew obsessed with tattoos. His son was now a father to two beautiful little girls -- 1-year-old Soleil and 6-year-old Miley.
"We are so proud of him," Serafin Yanes said, as he wiped a tear. "We have had some difficult times. But we have gone through them and we have come out the other side."
Follow Local10.com reporter Andrea Torres on Twitter @MiamiCrime