To form the database, Barry and Rosenblatt worked with a massive U.S. government list of all Cuban exiles who arrived in Key West during the Mariel boatlift. More than 130,000 landed there between April and September 1980. They matched that list against the 1,600 boats used during the exodus. The list was compiled from long-forgotten U.S. Coast Guard records and supplemented by an arrival log maintained by Key West exile Arturo Cobo.
Barry and Rosenblatt blended the lists into one, in effect creating a Mariel community for those refugees -- a place where they can create a passenger list for each boat, connect with each other and share photos of their lives in exile.
The database can be found at http://www.miamiherald.com/cgi-bin/mariel
You can read more about the Mariel Boatlift at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariel_Boatlift
You can read more about the new database at: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/21/1640544/miami-herald-unveils-original.html#ixzz0onYCF8Oo
My thanks to Peter D Stuebing for telling me about this new database.
