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PrintOctober 21, 2024
Cuba's blackouts: I know where I was in '62
Wolfman Jack's "Where were you in '62" was the line in the trailer for "American Graffiti."
Well, I know where I was.
At our home in Cuba, we sat around my father's Philips radio, the one with a shortwave band. It was my father's pride and joy. He bought it because of something called FM or the band with that clear audio sound to listen to his favorite songs.
Eventually, and the arrival of a communist dictatorship that shut down independent radio and TV, "Philip" as my mother called it, became a lifeline to international news. It's amazing how a radio can be a part of your growing up memories. I guess some of you remember Top 40 but for us down in Cuba "Philip" was a source of independent news.
Our place was very close to "El Malecon," the legendary Havana ocean drive promenade. We had a feeling that something was going on because it was full of "milicianos" or Cuban soldiers with anti-aircraft weapons were positioned on the drive where young couples would walk under that legendary Havana moonlight that Dean Martin sang about.
Thanks to Philip's clear audio, we heard Persident Kennedy (translated to Spanish) say that there were missiles in Cuba:
"In a dramatic televised address to the American public, President John F. Kennedy announces that the Soviet Union has placed nuclear weapons in Cuba and, in response, the United States will establish a blockade around the island to prevent any other offensive weapons from entering Castro's state. Kennedy also warned the Soviets that any nuclear attack from Cuba would be construed as an act of war, and that the United States would retaliate in kind."
Looking back, I recall the total shock in my parents' face. My mother told my father something like "if the shooting starts we are cooked" or something like that. Yes, the first missiles would probably drop in Cuba and we’d be cooked.
Looking back now, why didn't President Kennedy tell the Soviets to take Castro out with the missiles? My guess is that the Soviets would have asked: Do we take him out dead or alive? The Soviets were overextended in October 1962. We held all of the cards and should have demanded Castro's exit.
Second, why don't we ever talk about the impact on the people Cuba? The Missile Crisis was followed by more and more repression, brutality against the guerrillas in Escambray and the consolidation of the Castro dictatorship. It was unspeakable repression and shortages of everything.
As someone said: "Se fueron los cohetes pero se quedo Castro!" Or loosely translated to: the missiles left and the communist dictatorship stayed.
As the lights go out in Cuba, and hopefully the end of the dictatorship is near, I see the damage of communism in one island 90 miles away. Please don't let that happen in the U.S.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.
Image: John Georgiou, via Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0
