One Man’s Victory is Another Man’s Defeat

As we embarked on the Intrepid tour, “Hola Cuba: Person to Person for US Citizens”, we were reminded that as American’s we weren’t going to be experiencing a luxurious and relaxing vacation while in Cuba. As a requirement by the U.S. State Department, our tour was required to be an engaging cultural experience filled with personal interaction with the Cuban people and their society. This type of tourism allowed us to become immersed in the Cuban culture and the tension between our two countries became palpable at times. None more so than during a guided tour of the Museo de la Revolucion, Revolutionary Museum, in Old Havana. The museum is dedicated to the historic Cuban Revolution of 1969 in which the U.S. backed Cuban government was overthrown and President Fulgencio Batista was ousted from power. Since that time the Revolution has served as a symbolic victory over the United States and represents Cuba’s defiance against the most powerful nation in the world. That defiance permeates throughout the Cuban psyche and appears to be a strong focus of the current political regime. The museum is not only filled with historical relics and propaganda from the Revolution, but also from other significant U.S. Cuban conflicts. The grounds were littered with retired machines of war like antique tanks and fighter planes from the U.S. defeat at the Bay of Pigs

and remnants of a U.S. U-2 spy plane that was shot down during the Cuban missile crisis. To top it off was the infamous “Rincon de los Cretinos” or the Corner of Cretins which mocks three former U.S. presidents in demining fashion including depicting George W. Bush as a Nazi. This encounter was an invaluable part of the Hola Cuba Tour and provided a truly cultural experience that allowed us, as Americans, to get a better understanding of how the policies of the U.S. government are viewed among those that don’t consider us allies.