The Bay of Pigs

     On my second day in Cuba, I participated on a field program with my friend, Shari, to the Bay of Pigs. The Bay of Pigs invasion is a very important part of both American and Cuban histories. The invasion took place in April 1961. Three days before the invasion, American troops painted their planes the color of Cuban Air Force planes and bombed Cuban airfields. They did this to make the Cuban Air Force think that rebels were attacking them, because there was a rebel group during this time that did not agree with the Cuban Revolution. This killed many military men. At their funeral, Fidel Castro gave a declaration of the country being a Socialist country; this was a huge declaration to make.

     The American troops that would later invade at the Bay of Pigs were trained in Guatemala, and they launched from Nicaragua. They did this to make it look like Cubans did this, because Americans would come from the north, as opposed to from the south.  During the invasion, American troops came to the Bay of Pigs area, which is a mixture of ocean and swamp, in the hope to win beachhead and gain support from the local Cuban people; this was not achieved. The invasion lasted 66 hours. The Cuban forces stopped the American troops as soon as they could  because they anticipated if American troops were able to get beachhead, they would have bigger plans.

                                                                

United States and Cuba Relations Before and Beyond the Cold War

     Before the Cold War in the 20th century, Cuba was in the United States’ geopolitical thinking. President Adams called it a “ripe fruit,” where it was just waiting to be picked.  President Jefferson said that Cuba was an “empire for liberty.” While America was going through the Manifest Destiny phase of history, Cuba was on the radar to be acquired. President Polk desired to buy Cuba for 130 million dollars, but Cuba declined because they were finally free from Spain’s reign, and they wanted to be free from the United States as well.

     After the Cuban civil war which got rid of Spanish rule, the United States began to openly show interest to intervene in the Cuban government. Because of this, the United States drew up the Platt Amendment, which gave the United States permission to keep control in Cuba. The United States constructed coaling and naval stations in Cuba. Guantanamo Bay, a prison, is still in Cuba today under American possession. There were three American interventions under the Platt Amendment before 1934, when it was repealed. The 1962 Cuban missile crisis was the true turning point in the America and Cuban relationship.

     The American and Cuban conflict has been very tense for the past fifty years because the United States wants to change the government of Cuba, which is currently communist and socialist. During the Cold War, the United States sought to change all communist governments, like that of the Soviet Union, who was in the Cold War with the United States. America believed this form of government to be “evil,” and wanted to stop any country from becoming communist. Because of this, the Soviet Union (Russia), became allies with Cuba. Russia started to give Cuba weapons and construct many buildings. Today, you can see many Russian designed buildings still in Havana. There is more to the conflict with Cuba than their form of government however, because the United States does not have a conflict with China, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam, all of which have “evil” governments.  The Obama administration has attempted to create a new relationship with Cuba. Because of this attempt, I was able to travel to Cuba to student, which I would not have been able to do a few years ago.

 

Fun Facts About Cuba!

· The country’s motto is “homeland or death.”

· Havana is the capital, and also the largest city.

· Cuba is 93 miles south of the United States.

· Christopher Columbus claimed the land for Spain in 1492.

· It is one of the world’s four claimed Socialist countries.

· It is the largest island in the Caribbean Sea.

· Spanish is the national language.

· Nickel accounts for 21% of the country’s exports.

· It is the third most traveled to island in the Caribbean, behind the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

· The country is prone to hurricanes, most of which come between September and October.

· Around 60% of the country are Christian.

· Cuban food is not served in courses, such as appetizers and then the main course. Rather, they are served at the same time. A typical Cuban meal consists plantains, rice, and beans.

· The average life expectancy is 78 years of age.

· The country has universal healthcare.

· The literacy rate is 99.8%.  It is the largest West Indies Island

· It is larger than Austria, Belgium, and South Korea.

· It is approximately the same size as Pennsylvania.

· It is located 122 miles from the continental United States, and 130 miles from Mexico via the Yucatan Channel.

· In 2008, over $700,000,000 were sent from people in the United States to their families in Cuba.

· The capital building was built between 1926-1928 in the likeness of the US capital.

· It is common to find someone in Cuba with their masters or Ph.D.

· There are three tunnels in the city of Havana.

· On the national highway, there are areas designated for military planes to land.

· The United States brought Coca Cola to Cuba to the restaurant Two Brothers, where they mixed it with Cuban rum. While they were drinking it, they said , “Viva Cuba Libre,” which is how the national drink got its name, Cuba Libre.

· Havana has been restored thanks to its sister cities because they cannot afford it in their budget. People would live in the old decrepit buildings, but the city will not evacuate the people living there to evacuate them, so only the national buildings have been renovated so far.

· The National Hotel is the most famous hotel in Havana. Al Capone came there in 1946 to escape from being jailed in the United States. While he was there, Frank Sinatra was performing at the hotel.

· There are many different license plate colors for all of the cars in Cuba. Blue plates mean that the car belongs to the state, yellow plates mean that the cars are privately owned, black plates mean that it is used by an American Embassy worker, and orange plates mean that the car is used by a worker. The most important thing to look at is the first letter of the plate. P means private and E means embassy.

· The royal palm is the national tree of Cuba, and it does not produce coconuts.

· There are around 100 species of palm trees in Cuba.

· Cuba has a strong cultural tie to African culture, which is due to the slave trade in the 17 and 1800s.