A Visit to Havana, Cuba: Day 2 Part 1: Visit to Museum of Revolution & a brief Review of Political-Military History of Cuba.
(What I am narrating is the story I have heard from multiple Cubans. If only the stories were ever told by the lions and not hunters, they would tell a different story).
Disclaimer: I am no student of history. I am just a storyteller. 
Cuba was first exposed to an outside invasion when Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1492. This led to Spain colonize Cuba and they appointed Spanish governor generals in Habana. A few failed attempts by different Cubans, including Maximo Gomez in 18th century led to loss of thousands of Cuban lives but not independence. Then in 1898, Spanish-American war drove the Spaniards out of Cuba while US thought they had the moral right to control Cuba.
However in 1902, in just 3 and a half years, Cuba finally gained independence. Post independence the Cuban Republic saw good economic growth but slowly fell into the trap of greedy and corrupt leadership. Last of whom was Military General Flugencio Batista. He ruled from 1940 to 1944. And was them ousted due to corruption. However since he was an US ally, the CIA reinstated him again as a dictator in a military Coup against Scarres 1952. He suspended the 1940 constitution and civil liberties and rights of Cubans to strike or protest.
This irked a young lawyer, Fidel Castro barely 24, and he led protests but since constitution and all rights were suspended, Fidel Castro snd his brother Raul Castro were sent to prison in 1953. However since theirs was a popular protest, Batista was forced to release them and they both left Cuba to Mexico to plan an armed struggle against the dictator.
In Mexico, they were joined by other revolutionaries including Argentine Che Guevara, recieved military training to plan a revolution in Cuba. In November 1956, Fidel and 82 other revolutionaries sailed from Mexico on a cool yatch( yes yes ) called Granma Yacht to land in Cuba. After a lot of travails and tribulations like sea sickness, lack of supplies, leaking overloaded yatch( it could only house 12 people ideally) they landed in Niquero. This is the same place their hero and poet Jose Marti had chose to land almost 60 years before them. The landing instantly did not lead to their success and many of their companions from the yatch were killed by Batista forces. As fate would have it, only 20 out of 82, including Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, Che Guevara, and Camilo Cienfuegos survived and disappeared in the jungles. They then reorganized themselves to continue their guerilla war.
To cut story short, the struggle that started on 26 July 1953 ended in success on Dec 1 1959- 5years snd 5 months later. Batista was ousted and revolutionary govt lead by Fidel Castro was established. Most rich corrupt Cubans fled to Florida. The granma yatch was brought as a mark of revolution to Havana. Ofcourse US was pissed off and it put an embargo against Cuba in 1960 for goods except food and medicines. That embargo was extended to ALL GOODS in 1962.it remains till date. As if this was not all. In 1961 the CIA in coalition with rich corrupt Cubans who had fled to US after Batista was removed planned an air attack on Cuba. Americans concocted the story that these were Cuban pilots who has planned mutiny against Fidel regime. But smart journalists in Miami during a JFK pressor asked hard questions and proved this was not a revolt by Cubans but an attack led by the Americans. So JFK smartly withdrew his story. An American fighter pilot Rudolf Anderson died as his plane B-24 bomber was shot down by Cubans. But since JFK was telling a false story of Cuban revolt, Americans never admitted to his death. As a result his body remained in Cuba for 19 years until in 1979 it was returned to his widow Jane.
The wreckage of his plane is in display in the Museum of Revolution in Habana, along with Granma Yatcht, that we saw today.There is another interesting story I heard today.
In 1962 when the US embargo was total Che Guevara asked Fidel Castro, “how long do you think this will go on?”
Fidel replied, “Until US has a Black President and Rome has a Latino Pope.”
Our Cadillac driver told us, “His prophesy was proven when Pope Francis ( an Argemtinian) visited in 2015 and he worked to get President Barack Obama to visit Cuba in 20q6. That was the best Cuba-US relations have been. But then rich Cubans in Florida worked to get Trump.in power and relations are back to old state.”
2 years after the revolution, Che Guevara left Cuba to work for revolution in Angola and Columbia. He died in Columbia.
The pictures below are from Museum of Revolution. If interested in details do read the plaques too.
Blind to Bounds 
You must be logged in to post a comment.