CUBAN TRANSITIONS

Playa Giron, located on the inlet where the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion took place, is famous for its long white sand beaches (Playa larga) and its location in one of the largest wetlands in the world. However, in the United States we only associate this area with our failed attempt to overthrow Castro’s newly formed socialist government in the early 1960s, an embarrassing blow to the United States’ fight against communism and one incident in a long line of interactions with the island that ultimately ended with the embargo that is now half a century old.

When our group visited Playa Giron and stayed there for the night, we got a bit of a different story. The Playa Giron museum was conveniently located right next to our resort, so we were able to visit it and get a first hand view of the Cuban interpretation of the Bay of Pigs invasion that happened in 1961.

What we found in the museum was different from the stories we’ve been spoon-fed about the invasion in the United States from a very young age. I was struck by this museum simply because it showed a perspective of this important conflict that I had never been exposed to before.

What we found in that museum was a tale of bravery, of national pride and unity, of the youthful ideals of revolution and independence triumphing over the evil imperialistic hand of a nation that overstepped its boundaries in an attempt to trample upon the sovereignty of the newly formed government on the island. To the Cubans, their triumph at the Bay of Pigs was due to military ingenuity, skilled leadership, and the brave men who gave their lives to support the revolution. Yes, the flaws and missteps of the United States’ invasion helped to thwart its success, but the real focus in this museum was on Cuba and its strength and unity during this time.

While in the US, the failed attempt to overthrow Castro with the Bay of Pigs invasion is a small blemish on the face of the anti-communist front of the post WWII era, in Cuba the incident is looked upon with much national pride. Victory for this small island nation meant victory for the revolution and a victory for small nations everywhere against the hand of imperialism.

Everywhere we went in Cuba, from the Giron Museum to the Museum of the Revolution in Havana, to Che Guevara’s memorial plaza and museum, this national sentiment and faith in the revolution was alive and well in the government-created exhibits. Whether these sentiments resonate with the Cuban people of today or not, I was struck by the differences I found, both positive and negative, when looking at the revolution not in a US history textbook, but through the eyes of Cubans.