Ah my FRiend from the RGV. I was there in 1957 when hubby was stationed at Harlingen AFB. My son was born in Valley Baptist Hospital. Even then, I really didn’t like Mexico. Still don’t.
I went to Havana with friends in 2000. At the time, you could just buy a ticket and go, no law against it. The law was against spending money in Cuba, which supported the enemy. We got around it by purchasing the entire trip including good hotel from an American travel agent who claimed he knew Castro.
1958 - 2000, what an incredible difference in Havana. It was falling down, people were dirt poor, there was exactly NOTHING for a tourist to buy. Not a single coffee shop or restaurant except in tourist hotels. Party bigwigs driving around in Mercedes, regular people in 1957 rattletrap cars.
And my favorite example: a wonderful ice-cream shop right on the Malecon overlooking the ocean. Best ice cream ever. Castro let it stay open because he liked the stuff...but only party bigwigs could go there. Ordinary people had no money...and if they did, they’d be shot.
Yum Yum, Fidel.
AS we flew back from Havana, I wondered about the poor people in the water below trying to escape from that hellhole to America.
And sure enough....in the water at exactly that time was a boat carrying little Elian Gonzalez and his poor mother who died. Terrible brouhaha about Elian’s arrival on his own and finally Clinton sent him back to Castro. Castro was a sadistic monster with billions in offshore banks while Cubans literally starved.
I visited the Cuban section of University of Miami library and read actual newspapers from the week before Castro rode in. Advertisements for all kinds of nice Christmas presents and lovely dinners at good restaurants, society pages announcing parties, everyone was in a terrific mood.
No papers for a couple of days, then WHA, nothing but Casgtro this Castro that...the savior.....who shut down everything and everyone. Poor poor people. Sigh. Democrats of course always loved Castro.