Fifty years ago today this yacht el Granma (since restored, but then leaky and knackered) grounded on a reef south of Playa Las Coronadas and discharged a motley and badly prepared crew of eighty-two revolutionaries, including Fidel Castro.
After being shot to shit for a bit by US backed dictator Batista's army and air force, the survivors headed up into the Sierra Maestra to meet their waiting comrades.
So started the Cuban Revolution.
Che, Raul and Fidel; three splendid examples of the revolutionary moustacheFor most of the following fifty years, the US has done its utmost to wreck the lives of the Cuban people and tried many hundreds of times to murder their leader.
The Revolution has outlived nine US presidents and hopefully, his health permitting, Fidel will cling on into double figures.
I had intended to write a long and probably unreadably boring polemic on the subject, but instead I will restrict myself to four words.
"Fuck America. Let's Party!"
!Hasta La Victoria Siempre!
8 comments:
"Fuck America?" You wound me, Dive. If this quote comes back to haunt me, I swear...
I took Spanish in high school for two years, and my teacher was a Cuban immigrant--Dr. Jose Obejas. Dr. Obejas was more likely to rant about his previous life in Cuba than to teach the language. According to his tales, he grew up with Fidel and followed him through all of the ups and downs of reestablishing what they believed to be the right kind of government. Was high up in the intelligence department, but things turned sour. His possessions were "taken" and the government because what he saw was the antithesis of their original intent. He managed to escape, became my Spanish teacher, and went to Miami every year to help bring out desparate escapees. I'm just sayin...
gosh, my comment has a couple of mistypes--figure it out from the context.
I know, Robyn.
I regularly read a couple of blogs from Miami's Cuban exiles to try to keep myself balanced, but a lifetime of committment to the cause tends to tip the scales.
And I left a typo on your comments page just now … oops!
And your comment shall not come back to haunt you as you are quoting me direct.
And I was merely quoting the two word motto of the Republican Party (sorry - Mister Ranty just peeked his head out for a moment).
Republican Motto--funny. I went to your friend Lynn's site this morning to read her novel, and decided that it would just mess up my head until I get my own story written. Which I will get to work on right this minute.
I do like her style, though, and I plan on going back to read later on. She's good.
Both of you are totally brilliant.
I feel a bit guilty now. I'm off to party down for the Revolution and you're sweating over a hot novel.
Actually, the novel's so good my guilt has disappeared … So get yourself in front of that computer and WRITE!
Yes, Castro is America's big cosmic joke, it seems. No matter what the government has done to try to stop it, it keeps on ticking.
I have to admit that I have some mixed feelings about the Cuban government. I read a story about the persecution of gays and intellectuals there, and I didn't lke it. Still, I have friends who have been there, and they say that it is a great place to be (and the cigars are great).
I'd dearly love to have seen how the country got on without the US embargo.
And Cuba is slowly coming round to gay rights - more quickly than a lot of areas in the States.
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