Tag Archives: Cuba
Ode to the Sixth Battalion: The Last Stand of Girón
This is the last installment of my series of blog posts in honor of my late father, Francisco Guerra, a veteran of Brigade 2506, Sixth Battalion. “The last battle had an epic quality all the more tragic because it was … Continue reading
Ode to the Sixth Battalion: The Road with No Name
This is the penultimate or next-to-last installment of my series of blog posts in honor of my late father, Francisco Guerra, a veteran of Brigade 2506, Sixth Battalion. Tuesday, 18 April (D-Day +1) The brave men of the Brigade were … Continue reading
Ode to the Sixth Battalion: The Battle of the Rotunda
This is part 3 of my series of blog posts in honor of my late father, Francisco Guerra, a veteran of Brigade 2506, Sixth Battalion. End of Invasion Day (Night of 17 April) and Start of Invasion Day Two (Late … Continue reading
Ode to the Sixth Battalion: The Beachhead
This is part 2 of my series of blog posts in honor of my late father, Francisco Guerra, a veteran of Brigade 2506, Sixth Battalion. Invasion Day, Afternoon of 17 April As I mentioned in my previous post, the Sixth … Continue reading
Ode to the Sixth Battalion: Pre-invasion Preparations and Landing at Playa Girón
As I have mentioned previously, I recently discovered that my late father, Francisco Guerra, was a veteran of the legendary Brigada de Asalto 2506. He joined the Brigade in early 1961 at the age of 18, was assigned serial number … Continue reading
Who betrayed the men of Brigade 2506?
“As time went by …, the exile community realized that the one true chance they had to overthrow the dictator and ensure democracy in Cuba had been on the beaches of the Bay of Pigs in April 1961. The image … Continue reading
A little piece of Cuba has died
Yesterday, I posted a brief eulogy in honor of my father, Don Francisco Guerra, who died at the age of 80 earlier this week. Today, I began writing up a more formal obituary in his honor; below is what I … Continue reading
Cuba libre?
Our Cuba was an imperial Spanish colony until 1898 and a prosperous quasi-colony of the United States until 1959. Now, it’s an impoverished military dictatorship. When will our Cuba be free? (Image of the “Cuba Libre board game” below courtesy of … Continue reading
El 20 de mayo …
Today (May 20th) is a holiday in many countries around the world, like Cameroon (National Day), East Timor (Independence Day), Indonesia (National Awakening Day), and Cambodia (Day of Remembrance). It’s also Cuban Independence Day (or used to be, see below), for on this day in 1902 … Continue reading
Cuban Economics
In the United States, we have a minimum wage; Cuba has a maximum wage—$20 a month for almost every job in the country. (Professionals such as doctors and lawyers can make a whopping $10 extra a month.) Sure, Cubans get “free” health … Continue reading

