The Bay Of Pigs

American Cultures

The Bay of Pigs

Characters:

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, as the president of the United States, was a main character in the story of The Bay of Pigs. He entered during the beginning of the book and was a major influence in the actions taken towards the Cubans and Fidel Castro during the invasion of communist Cuba.

Pep San Romana was the leader of Cuban Brigade 2506, given its name in honor of the first Cuban man lost from the brigade, Carlos Santana. At first, Pep San Romana resigned his place but was forced to retake his position by the American government.

“Frank” was one of the military leaders for the United States. He was a trainer at the Trax Base in Guatemala. “Frank” was the contact to the US for Pepe and Olivia.

“Olivia” was another Cuban leader for Brigade 2506, at second in command. He was placed there by Pepe to help win the confidence of the rest of the brigade. Olivia had a strong sense of leadership, and was put in the position to increase morale.

Settings:

This story takes place in Central America, Southern North America, and Cuba. The United States has bases in Guatemala, and San Jose for staging and training areas for the Cuban refugees. Some of the refugees from Miami have volunteered to work underground in Cuba. This book takes place during the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War, 1961. This time was critical for Cuba. Cuba is torn between Democracy and Communism.

Culture:

Culture has not changed in most aspects since 30 years ago, the religions and foods that people eat are all still the same. Americans still use military force to help other countries and their people. They still use methods of spying to gather information purposes, however those methods are very different now. The use of computers and information satellites has vastly increased the ability to spy on other countries or places within the US. Still the best spy is a friend on the inside.

The Cubans have had many more changes than the Americans have since that time. Fidel Castro is still in a leadership position in Cuba, and Cubans are still fleeing to the United States. However, these people come for different reasons now. The Cubans from the past came to seek sanctuary until the conflict passed over, now they come to escapee Castro permanently. Cuba is still in a state of vast poverty and is in a trade embargo with the United States. This embargo was set up to try to hinder Castro’s plan for Communism.

Other cultural aspects such as language were the same in both Cuba and The United States then as they are now. Certain things have changed in the dialects in certain areas, such as the introduction of certain slang words. Other than minor pronunciation changes the language spoken in both areas has stayed the same between the two times.

Title: The Bay of Pigs, The Leaders Story of Brigade 2506

Author: Haynes Johnson

Publisher: George J McLeon Limited 1964

Characters: Chapters 1-4 Pages 23-88

Settings: Chapter 1, And Pages 330-334