Bay of Pigs, Cuba

Monday | November 13, 2017

Welcome to Cuba! This is a bucket list trip, for sure.

We sailed into Cuba early this morning and I could not contain my excitement. There is so much to say and write about this fabled country that had been inhabited by various Mesoamerican cultures prior to the arrival of the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492.

After being governed by the Spanish, British and Untied States, Cuba gained its independence around 1902. As children, we knew it as the Soviet outpost 90 miles from Key West. We learned about the overthrow of the dictator Fulgencio Batista by the 26th of July Movement led by Fidel and Raúl Castro during the 1953–59 Cuban Revolution. We heard and read about the failed Bay of Pigs invasion (whose site I will visit later today) and the famous missile crisis, a highlight of the Kennedy presidency.

So here I am in Cienfuegos. Located in the southern part of Cuba, Cienfuegos was lovingly nicknamed in colonial times the “Pearl of the South.” A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the capital of the province, Cienfuegos city, is one of the most beautiful villages in Cuba and the only town in Cuba with strong French historical roots and architectural influences.

Although the city’s name means “100 Fires,” it was actually named for Don Jose Cienfuegos, the Spanish Captain General who, in 1817, approved a plan to settle French emigrants from Bordeaux and Louisiana in the area. Located 151 mi / 244 km from Havana, the city prospered as a port for sugar and cattle. Today, the city forms two contrasting zones: the colonnaded central zone with its stately Paso del Prado and graceful park; and Punta Gorda, with its beautiful villas and palaces built by the moneyed classes in the 1920s.

History buffs like me and people older than me will no doubt recall the ill-fated 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion by over 1,000 Cuban exiles. Hoping to incite an overthrow of the recently installed Castro regime, the CIA and Cosa Nostra-backed covert assault failed for a variety of reasons. But imagine that – the CIA worked hand in hand with the Cosa Nostra (Mafia). Only JFK could put together those two groups of cohorts!

I began the day with a bus ride to the Bay of Pigs today, but none of the three groups contained more than eight people. Surprisingly, the buses were large, new, luxurious coaches, so that made for a pleasant surprise. Oh, and I had to change my currency into Cuban currency, and I’ll talk about that a little later. But changing from Euros had no mark up, while changing from US dollars required a 12% (Trump revenge?) fee. Needless to say, I delved into my stash of Euros.

Our tour guide is from Cienfuegos and was very proud of her city with its population of about 150,000 people. Cienfuegos is located in the center of Cuba and was founded by the French during their occupancy of this island. A statue of Benny More graces the town square. He was one of the greatest Cuban singers and band leaders of all time, performing mumbo, and cha-cha cha.

Our tour guide brags that Benny was the founder of salsa – which may or may not be the case.

She was also very proud of the university in Cienfuegos. She explained that they graduate approximately 6000 graduate students each year. I wish I had taken a picture of this university because it was so dilapidated I would be scared to even walk into the building. Education is free in Cuba, as is medical care. But I am not sure why one would want to pursue higher education here, when employment in the tourism ministry would result in income that is exponentially higher, as explained in more detail below. On the other hand, Cuba is sometimes compared to Sweden as being among the best in the world when it comes to its educational system.

The Cuban economy may be the most remarkable in the world. The average salary – which is paid to everyone – is $30 a month USD. Medical doctors make $40/month. On the other hand, people engaged in the tourism industry make a lot of money via tips, as one might expect. The average waiter, taxi driver, Air BNB host, or tour guide, may make $40 a day in tips – or about 30 times what the average worker makes. So professionals, whether they be accountants, lawyers, or anyone else, will sometimes braid hair or perform some trivial tasks for a dollar a day, effectively doubling their monthly income.

In order to create some equality, the government constructed a two-tier currency system where the CUC is the tourist dollar and currency nationale is the currency for the locals. Until recently, the CUC dollar was valued at 1/30th of the currency nationale and Cubans could only trade in the currency nationale. That was until this year. Now, the currencies are equally accepted. That means the people employed in the tourism industry will have much greater buying power than anyone else in the country.

Currently, prices in Cuba are ridiculously low. A one liter bottle of excellent quality rum sells for two dollars. For less than a dollar, a Cuban citizen can get a pillowcase of rice, a pillow case of beans, and six sausages. Cigars are $5/dozen.

As we all know, baseball is the national pastime of Cuba. But not only that – it is a hobby that everyone plays. Even our tour guide knew what was meant by “catcher’s interference,” something many Americans might not even know. We did drive by a field with a group of adults playing baseball and again, I wish I had taken a picture. What struck me most was that the ball was not white at all, but dark brown from overuse. The gloves did not appear to be fresh leather or crisp. But hey, for thirty dollars a month in income, what could one really expect? There were no Sports Authority stores to be seen.

We discussed religion and I was quite shocked at what our tour guide told me. The most prevalent religion in Cuba in Santaria (which we all know involves slaughtering chickens, etc.) That is because most Cubans consider themselves Afro-Cuban. Before today, I had suspected Catholicism to be widespread, if not ubiquitous. But our guide told us many Cubans do not believe in the sanctity of marriage, and they freely engage in birth control, contrary to the teachings of the Catholic church, of course.

Interestingly, our guide referred to “our brother country” of Venezuela. It is surprising it indeed to hear such a flattering term used with reference to a country that virtually destroyed that Cuban economy in the 1990s.

After Fidel Castro successfully overthrew Batista and led the government of Cuba in 1958, Cuba’s economy was inextricably entwined with the economy of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union bought Cuban products at above market prices and sold its own products to Cuba at below market prices, thus propping up the Cuban economy in artificial way. That was fine until the US-imposed embargo of 1991 and the collapse of the Soviet Union. With the onset of the US embargo, Cuba was more dependent than ever on the Soviet Union, but, as we all know, the Soviet Union collapsed. Whereas the US dollar had been the currency of choice in Cuba until that time, that is when the new currency system was instituted. That is also the period when the Cuban government granted people the right to own land. As a result, Cuba entered into the “special period” that some would say still exists today. Its economy totally collapsed; store shelves were empty and people could barely buy a bar of soap. China donated 1 million bicycles to Cuba. Fidel referred to terrorism as the “necessary evil” and allowed it.

So – the city of Cienfuegos. It is a sterling example of what happens to a country when maintenance is ignored for 60 years. Bricks are calving off the buildings. Apparently, every time there is a decent sized storm, a building or two collapse. There are raw electrical wires running from poles into buildings.

The “pedestrian malls” are as basic as one can imagine.

People stand around the streets with no apparent purpose.

In some parts of the world, we have seen rickshaws powered by men on bicycles. Here, they are powered by aging horses. This mode of transportation was just introduced to Cuba in the late 1990s.

There are roving packs of dogs in the streets.

Laundry hangs from every balcony.

To my surprise, there were a few “high-rise” buildings that may have been more than 20 stories high.

Just outside the city, the houses are often built of cinderblocks and look very plain.

Some of the people have vegetable gardens, which is refreshing to see. But throughout the landscape, one can see horses, cows, and chickens everywhere.

We were treated to the famous Cuban cars, but I expect to see many more in Havana.

As we drove two hours, what became very noticeable to me is that where crops once stood, or should have stood, they are just weeds and overbrush. Throughout the world, we have seen farming everywhere but not very much here in Cuba.

On a more upbeat note, I can report that there are attractive murals painted on many of the buildings throughout the city.

Finally, we arrived at the Zapata Peninsula, made infamous to all Americans as the site of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. But before touring, we had lunch. And I guess this is as good time as any to talk about restaurants in Cuba.

Cuba does not have private restaurants in the way we know private restaurants. Instead, all the restaurants are in people’s homes and those restaurants are called paladares.

We were served pinapple juice and beer – not together, obviously.

After soup, the meal consisted of pork, chicken, a seafood/rice concotion and vegetables. Overall, it wasn’t that tasty, but it sure was authentic. Dessert was dried pineapple and mozzarella cheese.

We even had musical entertainment.

Then, we met with two veterans of the Bay of Pigs invasion.

They spoke for a little while about the “war” that lasted only 72 hours, and all of it had to go through the translator. It didn’t seem to me like these two people played a very big role in the uprising, but they are in their early 80s and I don’t know how many other folks from that uprising are still alive.

They joined the movement to resist invaders, not actually speculating that those invaders would come from United States. Even this is a little self-serving because all Cubans serve mandatory two year military conscription once they reach 18 years of age. (If they are enrolled in college, the period of conscription would be only one year, and only if they are in graduate school, do they not have to serve.)

One of the interesting stories we learned is that a man fell out of their truck as it was going down the road during the attack. The man depicted in this photograph jumped out of the truck to pick up his friend and a plane flew overhead and blew the truck into smithereens, killing the remaining six men who were in the truck. This soldier then became a carpenter, and eventually a crocodile farmer. But this is what he looked like at the time.

The invasion occurred on April 15, 1961. 156 Cubans were killed and 96 invaders were also killed. The invading force, which was allegedly comprised of members of the Cosa Nostra and Batista loyalists, were trained by the CIA in Costa Rica. Interestingly, the area they attacked was one of Fidel Castro’s favorite areas because he liked to swim off the coast of that part of the country. The invaders actually managed to get 12 kilometers inland before being defeated.

On the bus, we were shown a black and white video, made at the time, that depicted the “horrific and violent American imperialists” as they invaded the Bay of Pigs. When I was in Vietnam a few years ago, I was shown a propaganda film about the war that was almost comical. Surprisingly, this film was even worse.

At the end of the battle, 1,200 men from the US forces were captured and, two years later, were traded back to the United States in exchange for $35 million dollars in cash.

The area has been turned into a “resort” but I’m fairly certain this is not the kind of resort I would not want to visit.

This pool, for example, is not too inviting.

Also, there was a museum that told the story of the invasion.

The urban legend goes that Fidel showed up on the last day, filed one missile, and sank a US ship.

Of course, there was a wall naming all the Cubans killed in the attack.

Outside were artifacts from the day.

And finally, we walked to the beach where the actual invasion forces came ashore.

The bus ride home exposed us to more Cuban poverty.