Showing posts with label Fidel Castro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fidel Castro. Show all posts

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Bikinis at the Bay of Pigs (Cuba)

Checking out the scene, Playa Larga, Cuba
The US-sponsored invasion Bay of Pigs plays a large role in the history and mythology of the Cuban Revolution.
After reading about how the invading force flubbed up just about everything and how Cuban soldiers under the direction of Fidel Castro rounded up and arrested the demoralized invading force, I expected to see rusting military equipment and debris on the beaches at Playa Larga. Oops, now there are Europeans lounging around in small swim suits enjoying rum mojitos. Yes, I suppose even the Revolution must slowly adapt to the new economic reality.

The little town of Playa Larga, at the northwest tip of the Bahía de Cochinos or Batalla de Girón, was the Red Beach landing site for the CIA-trained paramilitary group Brigade 2506 on April 17, 1961. The beach proved to be floodlit, the boats grounded on coral reefs, and within three days, the Brigade 2506 was defeated by Cuban Army and militia forces. It was a tremendous embarrassment for President Kennedy, although the operation was hatched by the CIA and approved by President Eisenhower long before Kennedy began his term.
Then Playa slumbered, but is slowly transforming itself into a tourist destination. I am not sure if there are any hotels, but there are numerous casas particulares, which means private houses that have been certified to take in tourists. The one we stayed in was really more like a small inn rather than a private house, but someone on the staff did sleep in a tiny interior room. The staff was very courteous, the water was hot, towels clean, and our room faced the sea.
Despite the new tourists, much of Playa Larga looks like a place left in a previous time. The streets are sort-of paved. Local folks walk or take tricycle taxis. The rooster sings every morning (and much of the day and night, as well).
We walked around and came across a shop where the gents were restoring an old car. The next day it was gone, so I assume it ran on its own power. Cuban mechanics are pretty innovative considering the embargo for the last 50 years.
We were surprised that there was not much of a fishing fleet, just small open boats with outboards.
Propaganda in visitor's center at entrance to Playa Larga.
Victory billboard in Bermeyas, near the Bay of Pigs military museum.
Capitalist transportation in Playa Jardin 
Non-Capitalist transport in Playa Jardin
Playa Larga is fun enough, and we had wonderful weather without mosquitos. We were on a birding group, and the Zapata Peninsula is fabulous for bird-watching. But I'm not sure if I would go to Playa for a beach vacation.

These are digital images from a Fuji X-E1 digital camera.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Our Man in Havana 4: Habana Viejo in film

Habana Viejo, or Old Havana, is one of the most amazing displays of architectural and decorative wealth that has slipped into urban decay that you are likely to see anywhere. I rate Havana up there with Rangoon, Detroit, Palermo, and Kathmandu as extreme examples of what happens when you neglect your infrastructure for decades (Republicans in USA: are you paying attention? Do you comprehend?).

Because of the contrasts and ironies, Havana is a visual delight. I highly recommended it for photographers - but do it the real way, use a film camera. For the pictures below, I used my Leica M2 35mm camera with Kodak Tri-X film to simulate a 1950s photojournalist look.
Let's take a semi-random walk through Havana Viejo. We have already briefly looked at the waterfront in a previous article (click the link). The photograph above is the Terminal Sierra Maestre, where cruise ships unload.
This is a block of somewhat rough apartment buildings on the Avenida de Bélgica, across the street from the Estación Central de Ferrocarriles (the central train station). To get there, I took a tricycle rickshaw, pumped by a very friendly driver. One of my maps showed a home of Jose Marti, but I am not sure if it is in the scene or on a side street.
On Teniente Rey, we saw school groups being taken to museums. All through the country, school children wear neat, clean uniforms and are mostly well-behaved. Education has been a high priority for the government.
At the Plaza de San Francisco, plenty of local folks hang out along with tourists.
Near the Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín (an Ecuadorian painter who was a friend of Fidel), there were interesting patterns of light and shadow.
Empedrado is a major road that leads west from the Castillo de la Real Fuerza at the waterfront as far as the Prado. The people-watching is great, and, as you can see, selfies have come to Havana.
Brazil (also known as Teniente Rey) also runs east-west and ends at the neoclassical El Capitolio. These people were waiting for a pharmacy or possibly a clinic.
The Ballet Nacional de Cuba is in a big hulking building on the corner of the Paseo del Prado and Colon. I heard tap dancers through the windows. 
The Paseo del Prado (also shown on maps as the Paseo de Marti) is a tree-shaded boulevard with a broad pedestrian walk in the center. Everyone goes there to be seen and to watch. I saw mothers with their little girls in tutus, nuns, guys on skateboards, chess-players, and musicians. A 10 or 12-piece orchestra was set up on chairs and playing first-rate rhumbas and dance music. Elderly couples were gliding across the paving blocks. The grand architecture that lines the Paseo is a visual treat.

Some hints: Havana appears to be completely safe for walking and exploring. We did not feel any bad vibes. Everyone we met was friendly. Beware of difficult walking conditions on cobblestones and bumpy sidewalks. Watch for holes (sometimes big ones) in the sidewalk or street. I recommend low hiking boots. If you are a tourist, you can use restrooms in the better hotels, and if it is hot, sit and enjoy the air conditioning.

Camera notes: I took these photographs with a Leica M2 rangefinder camera with 35mm and 50mm Summicron lenses using Kodak Tri-X film. I developed the film in Kodak HC-110 developer, dilution H, for 10 min at 68° F. I scanned the negatives with a Plustek 7600i film scanner using SilverFast software.

Movie note: Our Man In Havana is Graham Green's 1958 novel, which was set in Cuba before the Revolution. It is about a vacuum cleaner salesman who may be a British spy, or maybe he isn't. The movie version (directed by Carol Reed of The Third Man fame) was filmed exactly as the revolution was underway. Fidel visited the set, and there is a rumor that he tried to get a date with Maureen O'Hara. He liked American actresses, and apparently many of them liked him.
Maureen O'Hara in Havana during filming of Our Man in Havana in 1959 (from IMDb)

Fidel with the cast of Our Man in Havana