It’s always valuable to get a different
perspective on history, particularly when it’s one so radically different from
Americans’ view. Playa Giron, one of the
Bay of Pigs’ landing sites, is just such a place. Today, the beach is peaceful, with a rundown
hotel, beach palapas and swimmers enjoying the warm, shallow water. The museum shows Cuba’s view of the ill-fated
landing that embarrassed the United States and infuriated the Cubans.
Che and Fidel marching with victorious army |
During the last years of the Eisenhower administration,
Cuban exiles, mostly in Florida, were enraged over Fidel Castro’s
nationalization of their businesses and property. A group of them persuaded the administration
that, with US support, they could foment an uprising of the Cuban people
against Castro and return the island to an anti-communist bulwark in the
Caribbean. Given the fear of Communism
in the U.S., and particularly, the ardent anti-communism of Secretary of State,
John Foster Dulles, and his brother, Alan Dulles, head of the CIA, both the
Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations supported what turned out to be a
hare-brained idea.
Cuban plane used during Bay of Pigs invasion |
Trained in Central America, the Cuban exile commandos
expected to land at the Bay of Pigs (Playa Giron) and Play Largo, farther up
the south coast of Cuba, and set up an alternative government that would
encourage the people to rise up against Castro and gain the recognition of the
U.S. government. They also expected
American air support, which didn’t materialize as President Kennedy got cold
feet and decided to reduce the U.S. exposure to this plan. If the idea were to have been secret, that
soon got lost in a series of leaks from the CIA and aerial bombing of Cuban
airfields and towns. Fidel Castro was well-prepared,
the Cuban people did, indeed, rise up, but against the exile commandos and for Castro and the
entire debacle lasted only a few days.
Russian tank at Giron museum |
From the Cuban perspective, as laid out in photos in the
museum, the Cuban-Americans were invaders bent on overthrowing a regime that
had lifted Cubans out of desperate poverty, redistributed land to poor farmers
from rich landowners, and created a society of equals. The Cubans triumphantly captured over 1100 of
the commandos, killed several hundred, and imprisoned their POW’s until they
were freed months later in a trade for food and medical goods.
Part of the museum shows photos of the
swamp dwellers, truly desperate people who lived in the swamps between the
Caribbean and higher ground miles inland, who survived by making charcoal. Photos of naked, horribly malnourished
children—and adults—and the filthy hovels where they lived provide the “before”
of this particular revolutionary story.
The “after” is children going to school, families using new government
health centers and collective farms taking over some of the swampland (though
plenty still exists).
Fidel celebrating vistory |
The Cubans are very proud of stopping the American invasion
and besting their huge neighbor and former colonial master.