The Cuba Experience - Prepare To Be Surprised I'm obsessed. I can't get Cuba out of my mind. It fills my thoughts during the day and my dreams at night. They're confusing thoughts, as hazy as the smog that hangs over Havana. This dichotomous culture quietly rests 90 miles from our southern border. Vibrant cities full of song & dance. Each with the outward appearance of a ghetto. Highly literate and articulate people in western dress barely getting by.
There's only one thing I'm sure of. I'm going back.
GETTING THERE
You have to sneak in.
NASSAU:
I'm crouched inside a Cubana Air Yak 42 that tilts on the runway like a wounded duck. We're waiting for a storm to pass. Fat pellets of rain splat against the scratched surface of the window
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Tanks, jeeps, something. The only object in sight is an antiquated DC-3. It's dumped in some weeds missing a wing. Next to it a low concrete building solemnly stands guard. I step out onto the rain-soaked tarmac. The stench of gas & oil permeates the moist air. The odor follows me into the building where a guy in a starched uniform glares at my passport, then me. He stamps my entry visa and shoos me away. I pick out my bag and walk between two cafeteria tables. Ahead of me an official chats with a guy in a guyabera shirt. He glances at my satchel and waves me through without halting his conversation. And that's it.
My guide invites me to his home my first hour there. His mother graciously offers me some coffee but discovers she has no matches to light the stove. She's truly disappointed. What I learn later is that she didn't forget to buy matches. She couldn't buy matches. I'm unclear whether she didn't have the money or that they simply weren't available. It's a mute point. No matches, no coffee, no hot food. Not that
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Personally, I think its spite. As long as the US turns its back on the Cuban people, they're left with the Castro brothers. Those two have been in a pissing contest with Uncle Sam for the last 50 years. And guess who it's been raining on? Not Fidel. He wears tailored suits and drives around in a Mercedes. Three of them to be exact. Meanwhile the strain of being Cuban cuts into the handsome features of everyone else like rivulets.
My guide asks me, "Why does America do this? I love America." I try to think of a reasonable answer. When that fails I shrug my shoulders and say, "We're a big country. We make a lot of mistakes. It's simply your turn".
I've heard the argument that if we lift the embargo it won't make any difference. After all, the Government doesn't have cash to buy anything. Perhaps. I think once American tourists rediscover the beauty of the island and its people, they'll come. (Don't think this is lost on the other islands. They pray every night that we'll keep the embargo in place. Cuba used to be the #1 Caribbean tourist destination.)
If the tourists invade, that special uniqueness that is Cuba may be lost. I'd hate to see another culture polluted for the sake of tourism. But I'd pour the first bucketful of concrete on one of their pristine beaches if I thought it'd
They decide to do nothing and the group except for a woman leave when it starts to get warmer outside. The woman left a few hours later. However, the next day she appeared again, with no signs of leaving. A custodian who asked her to leave received a blank stare in response. The patrons’ complaints grew, and another meeting was held.
“To hunt them down, the government responded with scorched-earth campaigns, pacifications programs and paramilitary death squads, often with assistance from the US Special Forces advisers” (137-138). This caused in 1976 more than twenty thousand deaths, also the spread of this to the countryside. The outcome is what the government wanted them to become powerful to produce this sham election. The US went to help the government for politics, but now the relations between the two are very different. Reading some articles I saw that the “US urges citizens not to travel to Cuba, cuts embassy safe and halts visa processing” (Chicagotribune).
The worst part is that people are believing this nonsense! We americans should support Cuba, with their businesses growing in crops like sugarcane. The spanish are pretty much taking it all away. I can see an issue developing, and a war is heading our way- I'm certain of it.
This autobiographical essay will define my experience as a Dominican immigrant living in New York City. Being an American citizen with a Dominican background are extremely relevant to the process of political socialization. My family background is founded on the principles of democratic values, which taught to me by my mother and father. In New York City, I found a “melting pot” of different immigrants that allowed me to feel more accepted as a Dominican living in the United States. More so, these aspects of the socialization process provided a foundation for my belief in democratic values throughout my life.
The U.S. saw Fidel Castro as a leader who could not be trusted because of his ties close to communism. The Bay of Pigs was the U.S. government’s way to attempt to control the country of Cuba. When the U.S. backed invasion failed and became a public affair, Kennedy gave a speech on why he thinks it is necessary to act now against the “Dictatorship regime”, he Says, “Secondly, it is clear that this nation, in concert with all the free nations of this hemisphere, must take an even closer and more realistic look at the menace of external Communist intervention and domination in Cuba… The evidence is clear, and the hour is late. We and our Latin friends will have to face the fact that we cannot postpone any longer the real issue of the survival of freedom in this hemisphere”
Cuba’s location in the Pacific was glowing with opportunities for not only business, but also strategic military. The final of the five was the unexpected eradication of the USS Maine, an American battleship, blamed on the Spanish. This medley of conflict erupted into war with the Spanish, speculated to have ended with five core results: the gain of Puerto Rico, Guam, and purchase of the Philippines; the evental annexation of the Philippines; the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands; the assembly of the Panama Canal; and the rise to a world-power status. This was undoubtedly, one of the most impactful wars America has fought.
During the Spanish-American War, more people were becoming Jingoist imperialists who wanted the US to assert its global dominance. Hoping to further US business interests and expand the Navy’s resources, American merchants, businessmen, and imperialists wanted to invest in Hawaii, Samoa, and especially Cuba. Jingoists wanted Cuba because of its vast
The United States would need to slowly cut ties with the island and help it set up a system of democracy that would be
I’m able to resonate with a plethora of things, yet the thing I consider my identity is I’m an adopted, Haitian immigrant. I was born in Haiti in 1998, in a small village in Thomazeau, I moved to Croix-des- Bouquets right after my birth and I lived there until I was 9 years old. My family's financial situation was adequate. My mom was always able to find a way to make ends meet. This cause our neighbor to be envious of us.
Essay One: Imperialism Flies circle great black lumps as the moist air ravages the corpses. Dried blood soaked into the ground after faceless soldiers brutally destroyed its owners’ lives. These were the stories in the newspapers, the movies, and the films. Horrified by these crimes against humanity, the American public was spurred into action against the Spanish oppressors. the United States invaded Cuba in 1898 to pursue humanitarian efforts.
When I was younger, I never felt out of place. I didn't even know what out of place was, I was always just me. When asked where I was from, I would always say America, obviously. I never regarded my Cuban culture and I resented the fact that I didn't look like the blonde, blue-eyed actresses that dominated the media. As I got older I started appreciating my Hispanic roots more, but I still didn't feel like I truly belonged anywhere.
Cubans tend to be fatalistic, and believe that spiritual powers will maintain health, well-being and cure illness. Cubans are accustomed to preventive heath because it is a free service in their country, and they bring that practice to the U.S. They have higher rates of preventive health behaviors, such as annual physical examinations, and
During the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis took place. It was when two superpowers were close to causing a nuclear war. Its main origin was when the United States invaded Cuba, on April 10, 1961; which is also known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. After the invasion, previous Prime Minister; Fidel Castro of Cuba, was ‘paranoid’ because he felt like America was planning another attack. So in order to protect his nation, he sought military and economic help from the Soviet Union.
Children attending school in Cuba start their day with a chant, “¡Seremo como el Che!”, meaning we will be like Che. To this day, revolutionary character is played upon as a central element to Cuba. Ideology, and popular support are the two central factors in any revolutionary government. Castro is no different in needing to establish both in order to gain power. Or is he?
The Storm Lightning crashes overhead as I race back into the house, dripping wet. I was just returning back from an adventure in the woods. The storm was unexpected, even the forecasters had never expected it. Luckily, I managed to make it back inside safely.