Fidel Castro’s Most Wanted

In 1962 Cuba a 23 year old man risked his life to give me mine. As a light house keeper in the Navy my grandfather was in charge of the closest point in Cuba to the US, a tiny speck of land called Cayo Piedras del Norte. He was allowed only a barge with a top speed of 5 knots so that in the case he tried to escape with it, the nearby outpost could easily overtake him. You see, two previous lighthouse keepers had already tried that very thing. Both were captured. Both were executed. He needed to do things differently.

The problem was, he was supposed to light the lighthouse every night and if he didn’t, the outpost would notice and call him on the radio. If he didn't answer, they would assume he had fled and would catch him. So one night he purposely failed to light the light house but remained by the radio. When the outpost called, he explained that he could not get it to light (it ran on kerosene) and would call for a repair man the following morning. Second night he didn’t light the lighthouse but again stayed by the radio. When the call inevitably came, he explained that the technician told him he would need to order a part and that it would take several days to get in. On the third night, January 17th, 1962, he loaded up his wife and son (my father) and a group of close friends on the barge and fled under cover of darkness hoping the outpost would not call since they were not expecting the lighthouse to come on for several days. By that time, they would have made landfall at Marathon Key in Florida.

Anytime someone fled Cuba and came to The States they were branded a traitor and all of their possessions were confiscated by the government. In order to deny them that pleasure, my grandfather had slowly started distributing whatever he had to distant friends and family. By the time the government came to take his belongings, he had left nothing of value behind. He, Pedro, had effectively screwed over Fidel Castro. And he would do it again and again over the next 15+ years earning himself a 5 out of 5 “dangerous threat” score on Castro’s most wanted list. First in the Cuban Navy, then the US Army, CIA, and finally as a civilian living in the USA making private runs with a group of friends to the island on his 23 foot fishing boat armed with .50 and .30 caliber machine guns.

Life As A First Generation American

I grew up hearing these stories every time we’d visit my family in Miami, FL. As a first generation American you are taught from the day you are born that the freedoms you have in the US are never to be taken for granted, that rights and responsibilities are to be exercised and practiced wholeheartedly, and that opportunity is in front of you if you simply work— opportunity that your ancestors risked their lives to give you. So I worked. Hard.

At age 12 I was waking up at 5:30 every morning to practice my guitar. I would clock about 3 hours a day already. Most parents discipline their kids for not practicing enough. I was grounded for practicing too much. My family had a small farm with goats, chickens and a garden so my sisters and I would be doing chores when we weren’t being homeschooled. Our life felt like one giant field trip as everything we studied and learned turned into a hands on project in which my parents were just as involved in the learning process as we were. I had so many interests and passions I wanted to pursue but I managed to narrow them down to music and Military/LE. Military is in my blood, but I am a creative at heart.

Fast forward to 2020 and I again found myself at a crossroads. Injury had forced me out of music and I had discovered filmmaking which was going quite well. But when that was put on hold due to covid lockdown and our country was in turmoil with riots and an upcoming election, joining the military was my first thought. Until I heard my grandfather tell another story; one I hadn’t heard before and which got my creative heart pumping that military rich blood.

Nicaraguan Advisor to Civilian Filmmaker

After the CIA and private runs to Cuba, Pedro became an “Advisor” to Nicaraguan rebels where he trained civilian recruits in weapon handling, small unit tactics, and physical fitness. That’s when everything made sense. I didn’t need to serve in the military or law enforcement to serve my country. I didn’t need to fight oversees to fight for freedom. I didn’t need to turn to the government to be trained in weapon handling, tactics, physical fitness, or any other skills required of a well equipped and prepared citizen. All I needed was the belief that as a US citizen and as a man, it is not only my right to be armed and prepared, it is my responsibility to be so. From owning a handgun for self defense, to owning body armor, night vision, and a suppressed AR-15, I believe it is every civilian’s personal responsibility to protect and defend their life and way of life. Filmmaking then, my creative side, took all of these passions and beliefs and gave them a voice.

My Mission - What is Peter Ildefonsa

My primary mission is to Make Guns Mainstream. Not the guns themselves, but the actual lifestyle of owning a gun for protective and strength purposes, and training with it regularly to know how to use it well. My secondary mission is to Put the Man Back in Gentleman. I am training to be strong and dangerous in all capacities and be controlled and disciplined in that strength. I hope to inspire other men to do the same. Societies rise and fall on the strength and weakness of their men.
 
My approach is simple: Make content that combines value AND aesthetics portraying gun ownership as a normal, everyday lifestyle. I want to put in the work and share the process and what I learn as I go.
 
The name Ildefonsa literally means “battle ready.” It came from my grandmother on my mom’s side whose family would flee Cuba several year’s after my dad’s. A story for another time. But that’s exactly what this is about, being ready for battle.