In 1962, Cuba pointed Russian missiles at the US and caused a stand off that led to the embargo. We, meaning the US, stared the Russians down, they blinked and took out the missiles. JFK was the hero Castro was the bad guy and Cuba lost lots of tourism. Way over simplified but too boring to go into detail. The subject here is what it did to over 50 years to tourism in Cuba. Simply put, it killed it much like you see happening in Mexico today. If you like danger free resort travel, Mexico is not for you. There is always a new place, like the Dominican Republic. Funny how these things happen, does anyone go to Aruba anymore? Islands and resorts are a dime a dozen and look pretty much the same but tourism is big business for trouble free zones. After 50 years in the cooler, very few young adventure prone travelers put Cuba on their list of 'must have an umbrella drink there' destinations.
Many geezers are still angry at Castro for pointing those missiles at us. If you didn't live through that danger period, it's just a hazy history lesson and some pretty good movies about the incident. As a full fledged geezer I was there and I remember the crazy things we did to combat fear. During the crises in October 1962, while others dug shelters in their back yards and enterprising salesmen sold those shelters, I flew to Mexico City in order to be in a place I really loved in case it was the end, you know, a toast with a well made Daiquiri and good bye world. Sounds a bit melodramatic but we were that close to being blown away and we knew it. I met the man I eventually married on that trip. Thanks Fidel, you are a real pain in the ass and so was my husband but I am thankful for the 3 sons I had by that man.
So what now? Like some hippy sentimentalist said, 'let's give peace a chance,' and have a Cuba Libre on the Malacon in Havana, dance a couple of salsas and enjoy what's left of this life.
Si, si!
ReplyDelete