...an Argentine equivalent of "pal") broke off his studies in order to set out with a friend on a transcontinental trip which included motorcycling to Chile, riding a raft on the Amazon, and taking a plane to Florida. He returned to Argentina to resume his studies, graduating with a degree of doctor of medicine and surgery in 1953. Late in 1953 Guevara left Argentina, this time for good. He moved to Guatemala, where he had his first experience of a country at war. He supported the Jacobo Arbenz regime, and when it was overthrown in 1954 Guevara sought asylum in the Argentine embassy, remaining there until he could travel to Mexico. It was here that Guevara met the Castro brothers. At the time Fidel Castro was planning an expedition against Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, and Guevara agreed to go along as a doctor. On Dec. 2, 1956, the expeditionaries landed in eastern Cuba, becoming the nucleus of a guerrilla force which operated in the Sierra Maestra Mountains. The guerrillas contributed to the crumbling of the Batista regime on Dec. 31, 1958. In January 1959 Guevara was one of the first rebel commanders to enter Havana and take control of the capital. He held several posts in the Castro government: commander of La Cabaña fortress, president of the National Bank, and minister of industries. But always, most important of all, he was one of Castro's most influential advisers. Guevara visited Communist countries in the fall of 1960 to build up trade relations with the Soviet bloc...
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...Davis AP US History 31 May, 2012 Bay of Pigs They Bay of Pigs was a failed operation by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with encouragement from the US government, attempting to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The Bay of Pigs took place in Cuba and was launched in April 1961 shortly after John F. Kennedy became president. The defending force were trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the invading exile combatants within three days. In January 1959 counter-revolutionary groups grew, after the success of the Cuban Revolution; the guerrilla continued until 1965. On March 11th 1961, Jesus Carreras and American William Alexander Morgan (a former Castro ally) were executed after a trial. On April 6th 1961, the Hersey Sugar factory in Matanzas was destroyed by sabotage. On April 14th that same year, a Cubana airliner was hijacked and flown to Jacksonville, FL to stage a ‘defection’ of a B-26 and pilot at Miami on April 15th. In 1960, the CIA started hiring Cuban exiles to train them for the upcoming invasion. The Cuban intelligence network knew the invasion was coming and the media estimated conflict throughout the world. Soviet Radio broadcasted a newscast predicting the invasion "in a plot hatched by the CIA" using paid "criminals" within a week. The invasion took place four days later. The well equipped Cuban Armed Forces posed a huge threat to the invaders. On April 15th, the invasion commenced and eight bombers attacked...
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...of World War II until the mid-eighties, most Americans could agree that communism was the enemy. Communism wanted to destroy our way of life and corrupt the freest country in the world. Communism is an economic system in which one person or a group of people are in control. The main purpose of communism is to make the social and economic status of all individuals the same. It abolishes the inequalities in possession of property and distributes wealth equally to all. The main problem with this is that one person who is very wealthy can be stripped of most of his wealth so that another person can have more material goods and be his equal. The main reason for the Bay of Pigs attack on Cuba was the change to communism. On January 1, 1959, Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country for the safety of the Dominican Republic. Fidel Castro and his guerrilla warriors overthrew the old government dictated by Batista. During the next couple of weeks, Castro established a new government and on February 16, he was officially declared premier. The United States accepted this new regime as a relief from the harsh, corrupt, and unpopular government of Batista. Soon after everything settled down, Castro and his men made a rapid move to change...
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...Emmanuel Mensah Nathaniel C. Leonard English 144 6 – 3 – 2011 Medea in the Mirror The story Medea in the Mirror was written by Jose Triana in the early 60s during the period of the Cuban revolution. The play clearly explores some thoughts similarly to the Roman edition of Medea myth written by Euripides. Medea in the Mirror furthermore represents Latin American plays base on Greek novels, because they all contain a sequence of similar elements such as, the outline of both plot, the task of the characters and the intrusion of songs. It can therefore observed that Jose Triana wrote Medea in the Mirror to shed light on the racial, gender, social, spiritual and economic disparities during that era of Batista rule. Jose Triana main character known as Maria a black woman of high social class in pre- Revolution Cuba, is posed to accept discrimination imposed by her society, but fights against them with her status within her nuclear family. Maria faced eviction from Perico while her husband Julian was chasing after a newly a white woman as his new bride. All these circumstance in which Maria was going through made her feel alienated. However Maria is able to identify herself via her position within her nuclear family. Maria’s role in her society as well as her household makes her speak in commanding tone of voice to others in her environment making...
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...after her parents had fled from Cuba in 1964 during the Cuban Revolution. Her family having first settled in Los Angeles, California, Menendez could not speak any other language apart from Spanish until she enrolled in Kindergarten. However, she later moved with her family to Florida where she attended high school and thereafter joined Florida International University from where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts in 1992. Her story Traveling Madness basically involves four main characters who are all “dreamers”. The story is based on and highlights the plight and disillusionment visited on the Cuban population by the communist party and the ways in which different people dealt with the economic and social adversities that typified the era of communism in Cuba. Self-aware of the dangers that confronted them, some wished to fly away to the moon; others desired to set sail and vanish; and others actually thought they could drill a hole from Havana to Miami (Delbanco and Cheuse) From the foregoing, while self-awareness is a critical aspect of personal development and self-exploration, it does not always bear positive fruits – sometimes it acts as a source of frustration, conflict and stress. In spite of her age, Menendez has proven herself to be a prolific fiction writer; a fact attested to by her works of fiction such as In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd, Loving Che, and Adios, Happy Homeland. Borrowing from her Cuban heritage, Menendez employs a repertoire of literary tools...
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...poverty, hunger, and disease observed in those countries. This experience inspired him to become a revolutionary. He later joined a group of Cuban revolutionaries with Fidel Castro in Mexico. Even nowadays, he remains the symbol of rebellion and revolution all over the world. However, recent research has proved that he was a murderer. So can we consider Che Guevara as a hero? In order to answer to this question, we will first explain why Che is a hero and then why he was also a villain. First of all, a hero is a person who is admired for his courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. So now I am going to explain why we can consider Che as a hero. Che Guevara was a revolutionary and as I said before he joined a group of Cuban revolutionaries with Fidel Castro. His goal was to fight against the Batista dictatorship (who was a Cuban dictator close from the Americans) and to establish a Marxist regime in Cuba. He proved himself to be both a good soldier and a leader. He was fearless and courageous. By May 1958, Guevara became the second-in-command of the large group of revolutionaries. Castro’s group had grown in size and strength during few months. Using guerrilla tactics, Castro and his men successfully took over town after town. Guevara was very known for is strategies. Finally, on January 1 of 1959, Batista fled Cuba. The Cuban Revolution was now over and Che was seen has a figure for revolutionaries against imperialism oppression all over the world. He is the founder of...
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...Lydia Garcia Professor Raul Rubio November 20, 2014 Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights Directed by: Guy Ferland 1. Set against the corrupt glamour and escalating danger of revolution-eve Cuba, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights follows the blossoming love affair of young couple Katey and Javier against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution in 1958. Katey is an American girl living in Cuba with her parents who meets Javier, a local. Javier takes Katey to a nightclub where he teaches her how to dance dirty Cuban-style. They prepare for the big Latin dance contest, but Castro's revolution is about to change everything. The two grow closer and closer, but when Castro takes over, Katey's parents decide to flee for the U.S., leaving Katey to make the ultimate decision. 2. The story tries to balance youthful flirtation with the serious theme of political revolution. Castro demanded power and tried for a long time to overthrow the Batista’s government. The Cuban Revolution was a turning point in recent history and because of Castro and his status as dictator is highly opposed by many nations because of the violations of human rights practiced under his rule. 3. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights didn’t really didn’t display many scenes that brought the filled tragedy of the revolution but there were two parts that struck out to me the most. The first scene was when Katey and Javier were walking down the street and they stopped to hear and watch a group of men that were singing beautifully...
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...The bay of pig was supposed to be a full scale breach with one thousand four hundred exiled cuban-american soldiers into Havana. The plan was formulated because of young cuban nationalist Fidel Castro who had pushed his men the guerilla army in to Havana. Fidel successfully drove his army in and overthrew general Fulgencio Batista on january first nineteen fifty nine . Batista was corrupt but he was considered to be pro-American and he was an allie to the american companies. Also very wealthy individuals and corporations had owned almost half of Cubans sugar plantations. Batista was openly against communist. Fidel felt that it was time for his people to take back their island and short after taking over the he took the steps he needed to...
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...opposition to the party. Their identities are strengthened allowing for a better foundation of their ideology (Levitsky and Way, 9). It creates a clear distinction between the ruling party and any of its oppositions. There is also a sense of morality that is created with strong parties. Levitsky and Way comment on how becoming a part of the party of supporting it is the right thing to do (9). This helps provide a powerful sense of unification towards the member, however, with a high cost. Abandoning the ruling party is considered bad and even going as far as considering it as treason. Lastly, Levitsky and Way remarks that revolutionary regimes provide a sense of legitimacy concerning its leaders. It is because the ruling party fought through a revolution, it is seen as right by the masses and deserving its place within government (Levitsky and Way, 9). The reformation of the state by the revolutionary regime helps it become invulnerable to coups. Every aspect of the state is recreated in order to ensure loyalty. The armies are commanded by cardres from the liberation struggle who contain the outlook of the ruling party, instilling their loyalty. With that being said, the ruling party strengthens the discipline with the use of security forces (Levitsky and Way, 10-11). This allows for few defecations within the...
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...It seems most compelling to believe in light of this report that John F. Kennedy did not give authorization to a direct attempt on Fidel Castro’s life, but instead that the CIA exaggerated the scope of Kennedy’s plans for the Castro regime and took matters into their own hands, so to speak. In doing so, the CIA pursued an assassination that, while considered, was thought repeatedly not to be an effective means of upsetting the Cuban political territory. Additionally, it would seem as though the CIA knew they were toeing an unclear line and repeatedly chose not to explicitly discuss their plans. Every involved person seemed to “not recall” being given explicit presidential orders. Should the opportunity have arisen to discuss the potential for these orders, Helms made the case that “nobody wants to embarrass a President of the United States by discussing the assassination of foreign leaders in his presence” (150). The same shaky recollection of no authorization being given comes back over and over again throughout the various testimonies—William Bundy, for example, believes “Castro’s assassination was ‘mentioned from time to time,’ but ‘never that I can recall by the...
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...Many Cubans welcomed Fidel Castro's 1959 overthrow of the dictatorial president Fulgencio Batista, yet the new order on the island just about 100 miles from the US made American officials nervous. Although he had been a corrupt and repressive dictator, he was considered to be pro-american and was an allie to the US companies. At that time American corporations and wealthy individuals owned almost half of Cuba's sugar plantations and the majority of its cattle ranches, mines and utilities. Batista did little to restrict their operations. He was also reliably anti-communist. Castro by contrast, disapproved of the approach that Americans took to their business and interest in Cuba. It was time, he believed, for Cubans to assume more control of their Nation....
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...José Castro was an undocumented factory worker from Mexico, hired by Hoffman Plastic Compounds, located in California. Seven months after he was hired, Castro began participating in union activities, organizing and distributing authorization cards. After his involvement was discovered, Hoffman laid Castro off along with two other workers. Castro later sued Hoffman Plastic Compounds for violating his right to freedom of association (Sensiba and Yavrom 18). The case Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board eventually made it to the Supreme Court, where on March 27, 2002, the Supreme Court decided that Castro was unlawfully fired, but was not to be given back pay. In this case, the National Labor Relations Board found Hoffman Plastic Compounds to be in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. Section 7 states, "Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection” (National Labor Relations Act). The Court found that Castro had the right to participate in union activities; however, they “held that undocumented immigrant workers could not recover back pay for unearned wages as a remedy for discharge in violation of the National Labor Relations Act” (Vu and Schwartz). In general, workers who are illegally fired are granted...
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...Cuba Cuba, officially named "Republic of Cuba", is the largest island in the Caribbean. The capital of Cuba is Havana, and its population is 10.8 million. The main language used by most cubans is spanish and the currency used there is a Cuban Peso, which is equal to one U.S. Dollar. Cuba is a communist state and its president, since December 1976, is Fidel Castro Ruz. The main objective of this paper is to talk about the economic and political side of Cuba during the reign of Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926 in Oriente. The schools that he attended were Catholic and located in Havana. He entered the University of Havana in 1945 and graduated with a law degree in 1950. In 1948 he married Mirta Diaz Balart but they were soon divorced in 1954. His son Fidel Castro Diaz Balart became the head of Cuba's atomic energy commision. Castro was a very good vocalist and he brought himself national prominence by leading an attack on Moncada army barracks. Due to this attack he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, which only lasted for 2 years. After being in exhile in Mexico, Castro returned with 81 others, including Che Guevera, to Cuba and launched a successful guerrilla war. Castro became a strong leader and many other countries begun to fear him. In Cuba the state is the head of the economy and controls almost all trade between foreign countries. Many reforms have been undertaken by the government so that the labor incentives would...
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...brand of political struggle as Parisians stormed the Bastille, sparking the French Revolution and beginning a new era in popular government. This Revolution, in addition to reshaping Europe in the nineteenth century, would be the inspiration for many revolutions to follow, including the Russian Revolution. Furthermore, it established a collection of values which many revolutions would aim to uphold: liberty, equality, and fraternity. Chicago Historian Sheila Fitzpatrick, however, argues that these are aims that “almost all victorious revolutionaries inevitably dishonour.”1 By examining the Cuban and Russian Revolutions, this can be seen to be too general a statement. Under Lenin, the Russian Revolution instituted one of the most progressive constitutions yet seen,2 while Cuba, with its unique role in relations between two Cold War superpowers, stayed mostly true to its primary goals of attaining social justice and equality. The objective that tends to be the most fraught by revolutions is liberty, because in order to completely reshape a society, power must be, at least for a time, concentrated in the hands of few. Thus, the Russian Revolution, particularly under Stalin, can be said to have dishonoured the goals of the original revolution, while the Cuban Revolution under Castro, for the most part, did not. The aim of eliminating inequality was central to both the Russian and Cuban Revolutions. Since before its independence, Cuba had been subjected to nepotistic governments...
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...Che Guevara: The Man and The Myth Many will call me an adventurer- and that I am, only one of a different sort; one of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes. ---Che Guevara. Who was Ernesto “Che” Guevara and why did he chose to live the life of a revolutionary when he could have been an affluent doctor in Buenos Aires? Why was he to always be a “foreigner” when he loved his Argentina? What motivated him to leave his opportune life in an aristocratic family to attempt to achieve a better world for others? Che was a man with a lust for battle. No matter what he attempted, he went for it with everything he could possible give. But, what did he accomplish in that life? When his life is examined and his endeavors looked at closely, did he really make a difference in helping others to have a better life? Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara de la Serna was born in Rosario, Argentina on June 14, 1928. His father, Ernesto Guevara Lynch and his mother Celia de la Serna y Llosa were both blue-blooded aristocrats. His father’s family had lived in Argentina for over twelve generations and his mother’s family had land, both signs of money in this land of immigrants. Che’s father was “a cultivated man, very intelligent, he was active in the ranks of the Radical Party” (page 4, Compañero). Che’s mother who with her sister’s influence, would become a”socialist, anticlerical feminist” (page 4, Compañero). This heritage, especially his mother’s influence, was Ernesto’s foundation to his revolutionary...
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