Word: batista
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...carabets. As more than one bar-tender told me, it was taboo in recent years to discuss matters of politics in public, for one never knew when his remarks might be overheard by a chivato (informer) and construed as being unfavorable to the ruling dictatorship of Juan Batista. Life was short and the end unpleasant for the few bold Cubans who dared to be so outspoken. But now the carabets are alive with gay music and singing...
...communist sympathizer. Moreover, he sees no real danger of Communism coming into power as results of the recent re-birth of the strength of the labor unions. Although many of his soldiers have confided to me their willingness to attack the Dominican Republic in a two-pronged blow at Batista and Trujillo, Castro himself professes no knowledge of any such plans. His manner, moreover, suggested that Batista's threat to return to Cuba at the head of 10,000 troops need not even be taken seriously...
...Castro's supporters, the strength and foundation of the 26 July movement (so named after Castro's first battle against the Batista forces in 1953) lies in the omnipresent barbudos, the rebel soldiers who roamed the streets while I was in Havana, still armed with the rifles, pistols and knives with which they won their freedom. The name "barbudo" (beard) is derived from the fact that most of these men wore long beards and or curly hair. The beards are currently being retained by most of Castro's followers as a symbol of their identity, at least until they return...
...armament of Castro's army are heterogeneous in the extreme. Most men carry Browning Automatic Rifles, M-l's, or Thompson sub-machine guns purchased through agents in the United States. There are many, however, who carry rifles of Dominican origin. These are weapons which Trujillo originally sold to Batista, but which were later captured in rebel raids upon government arsenals. I asked the bearded owner of one such rifle whether he had a bullet ready for original owner Trujillo, in the event of a Cuban "liberation" expedition to the Dominican Republic. He slowly replied, "No, I have not just...
Some of their stories are almost as interesting as the history of the revolution itself. One young man in his early twenties wrote advertising copy in Chicago until several months ago, when, as he tells it, he "developed an intense dislike for Batista." He lost no time in joining Castro in the hills of the Sierra Maestra. When asked about his future plans, now that the struggle is over, the writer replied nonchalantly, "I think I may go to Israel. I don't like Nasser either...