By AMY WESTFELDT, .c The Associated Press
October
27
UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Nearly 2,000 people waved Cuban flags and Yankees caps, chanting ``El Duque'' over and over Tuesday as this Cuban-American community paid tribute to Orlando Hernandez, a hero in both countries they call home.
Hernandez, his wife and the two daughters he left behind in Cuba when he fled for the United States in December rode a float with a giant, rotating baseball in the parade in his honor. It went through West New York and Union City, two working-class towns that are the heart of one of the nation's largest Cuban-American communities.
``I'm not too good with words, but you people have been capable of bringing out my feelings today,'' Hernandez told the crowd in Spanish. ``I am happy to be here today. I am happy to play for the Yankees.''
Mayor Rudy Garcia called the Yankees' World Series championship a fairy tale ending for Hernandez, ``someone yearning for freedom, yearning to play baseball.''
Hernandez, 29, and his wife, Noris Bosch, fled Cuba in a small boat with six others in December. The pitcher signed a contract with the Yankees in March, and became an important player, posting a 12-4 record in the regular season and 2-0 in the posteason, including Game 2 of the World Series.
Last week, Hernandez's ex-wife, mother and daughters Steffi, 3, and Yahumara, 8, were granted State Department permission to come to this county for six months.
His daughters, one wearing a tiara on her head, waved Cuban flags and signed autographs from the float Tuesday, while their father signed caps and placards tossed from the crowd.
The parade was organized by the owners of Mi Bandera, a restaurant Hernandez frequents. Restaurant manager Oscar Silva said Hernandez has become an instant celebrity and given residents a reason to be proud.
``All the immigrants, like me, like everyone else, when you see something that comes from your country,'' he said, ``you feel inside, you are so very proud to be from there.''
AP-NY-10-27-98 1947EST
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press.