Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. On this day seventy years ago, a young Cuban attorney, Fidel Castro, and a group of rebels attacked el Cuartel Moncada (Moncada Barracks) in Santiago de Cuba. Although the attack failed, it was the beginning of Fidel Castro's history, the birth of the Cuban Revolution, and the beginning of the Cuban people's love affair with the young Castro.
On this 70th anniversary and 53 years after I left Cuba on April 20, 1970, I signed my retirement papers and signed up for Medicare and Social Security.
Below is an excerpt from what Cubans saw as a glorious day of better days to come.
Fidel selected July 26, 1953, to assault Moncada because July 25 was the feast of Santiago's patron saint. It was carnival time in a city that produced the world's best rum. With rum selling for a nickel, Fidel thought everyone would be drunk, including the army.
If you want to know how it all came about, and you have a sincere desire to experience Cuba before and after the revolution, I invite you to read Lights Out: A Cuban Memoir of Betrayal and Survival. It won't disappoint. The Spanish edition is also available on Amazon.
