As a Cuban who is your contemporary, I concur with all you said. All my life, other Hispanics have been surprised when I start speaking fluent Spanish because they assume I am Anglo, and in fact my heritage is predominantly Spaniard. I was also raised to be proud of being the granddaughter of two “Gallegos”. Thank you for your kind words!
Viva Cuba libre! Abajo communismo!
Don’t have the Spanish exclamation points on my keyboard, of course. But I think you will appreciate the sentiment.
Interesting you mention your family’s roots in Spanish Galicia. My family’s roots are in Polish Galicia, around Krakow. Kind of confusing having two important regions with the same name in far-distant countries with such different languages.