Birthday: Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (1901-1973). General, dictator of Cuba, overthrown in 1958 by revolution led by Fidel Castro. For more, see Frank Argote-Freyre, Fulgencio Batista: Volume 1, From Revolutionary to Strongman (2006). Raoul Roberto Garcia-Cantero y Batista (now Raoul G. Cantero III, b. 1960), Batista's grandson, was appointed to serve on the Florida Supreme Court by Governor Jeb Bush in 2002. Hmmmm.
Meyer Lansky (1902-1983), mobster and casino king in Cuba and the USA. One of Batista's "associates." For more, see Robert Lacey. Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life (1991).
Those were the days, indeed: Fulgencio Batista with Dick "I am not a crook" Nixon before the Cuban Revolution. Fifty years and still counting . . . and Castro lives . . .
Radical chic and good gender balance. A contemporary Latin American guerrilla. . . . . of the variety labelled "communist" during the Cold War, conveniently re-labelled "terrorist" during the "War on Terror." Orwell, anyone?
Today's Rune: Partnership.
3 comments:
I sometimes wonder what's going to happen when Castro dies...
I don't know enough about Cuban history, especially since it's such a close neighbor. Martin Cruz Smith's Havana Bay is one interesting look at Cuba and Castro and the climate etc. but I haven't read much non-fiction about Cuba today.
Enjoy your posts Erik. Sorry for not commenting on regular basis. I am hoping Hillary gets elected and a new diection can be had for America. Keep up the good work. MW
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