RUTHFULLY YOURS

Like you, April 15th is “IRS day” or the day that you rush to the post office to get that tax return in the mail.  More recently, it’s the day that we file online.  Or, maybe the day that we renew our call for a “flat tax”.

In baseball terms, April 15th is the day that Jackie Robinson broke what they used to call “the color line” in the major leagues.  He opened the game at first base and made history.  

For Cubans, and especially those of my parents’ generation, April 15th is the day that Fidel Castro visited the US in 1959, a few months after taking power.

Castro’s visit was rather controversial because he faced skepticism from many in the US.  He was asked about the promised elections that were delayed and delayed.  He also heard over and over about communists in the background:

“The trip got off to an inauspicious start when it became clear that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had no intention of meeting with Castro. Instead, Eisenhower went to the golf course to avoid any chance meeting with Castro.

Castro gave a talk to the Council on Foreign Affairs, a New York-based group of private citizens and former government officials interested in U.S. international relations.

Castro was confrontational during the session, indicating that Cuba would not beg the United States for economic assistance.

Angered by some of the questions from the audience, Castro abruptly left the meeting.

Finally, before departing for Cuba, Castro met with Vice President Richard Nixon.

Privately, Nixon hoped that his talk would push Castro “in the right direction,” and away from any radical policies, but he came away from his discussion full of doubt about the possibility of reorienting Castro’s thinking.

Nixon concluded that Castro was “either incredibly naive about communism or under communist discipline-my guess is the former.””

Castro also appeared on Meet the Press and denied that he was a communist.  He even joked about it saying that some people think that Adam & Eve were communists. 

The video is classic:

Castro denied that he was a communist and put people in jail for accusing him of that.  In December 1961, he declared his allegiance to Marxism-Leninism!    None of the people jailed for suggesting communism were released when Castro confirmed that he was a communist.

I think about my parents, my dad’s cousin held as a political prisoner and other things about Cuba that happened that April 15th!

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.