Jad Abumrad / Chad (Radiolab host; primarily Jad Abumrad)

And when he's coming... On his head?

Your father hid when he saw him coming with the American flag on his head.

You can see video of Papo because Vladimir shot a documentary in 1994 where he interviewed Papo and some of the other frikis.

And in that documentary, Papo talks about growing up poor.

Father is an alcoholic.

Mother abandoned.

By age 14, he's in the streets.

And a few years later, he makes a decision that's really at the heart of this story.

What happened was that in 1989, I think, or 1990... Somewhere around there, the Cuban government is fighting in Angola.

It's backing a leftist liberation movement, and it's kind of a proxy war with the United States.

And in the late 80s, Cuban soldiers start coming back home.

And some soldiers from the Cuban army that were in Africa, they came with HIV.

HIV positive.

And because of that, the government has all the people in Cuba tested with HIV.

If you belong to a high-risk group, you were tested.

They went to your place of work.

They went to your apartment.

They went to the school.

They went to everybody.

I remember.