From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1959 November
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 436
Image Count:
2
Description:
Taken in the esplanade before the Presidential Palace or along the adjacent street of El Prado, these images document the spontaneous street celebrations and outpourings of joy that followed in the wake of the Revolutionary Armed Forces' false announcement that the beloved Commander Camilo Cienfuegos, who disappeared on the 28th of October on his way back to Havana from Camagüey in an alleged airplane crash, had been found alive. It took another several hours for the government to confirm that this news was false. Neither Camilo Cienfuegos' body, that of his co-pilot, nor any plane wreckage was ever found. In these images, the identical posters of Camilo that the Cuban government officially distributed to the revelers at the time of the false announcement are clearly visible. See also Prints 61 and 72.
From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1959 October
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 437
Image Count:
1
Description:
Images documenting curious Cuban on-lookers and police as they inspect damage done to a window, probably by a counterrevolutionary saboteur, who appears to have thrown a brick or other projectile through the glass. These images were most likely taken in mid-to-late October 1959 when Havana experienced the first consistent wave of counterrevolutionary violence following the resignation from his military command and subsequent arrest of Commander Huber Matos. See also Prints 35, 45, 63, 69 and 71.
From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1959 October
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 438
Image Count:
1
Description:
Images of protestors blocking traffic on Calle Línea in el Vedado (frames 28-30, 31-33, 35-36) and the Malecón of Havana (frames 19-24, 16-18, 25-27) in response to the Cuban government's announcement that Pedro Díaz Lanz, the head of Cuba's revolutionary Air Force who had defected to Miami in June of 1959, had carried out a leafletting air raid over Havana and that subsequent encounters with Cuban jets resulted in damage to buildings below, allegedly by bombs dropped from his plane. Díaz Lanz eventually landed again at a base in Florida. The Cuban government called this incursion on their airspace for terroristic purposes, "Havana's Pearl Harbor." Frames 4-9 show a private car with a sign on the windshield that reads "Partieron de Estados Unidos los aviones." The air raid took place on October 20, the same day that Commander Huber Matos was arrested for treason, so these pictures were probably later that same day or the following day. See also Prints 29, 45, 63, 68 and 71.
From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1959 October
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 439
Image Count:
1
Description:
Images taken from the balcony of the Presidential Palace as Fidel Castro addresses a mass rally on October 26, 1959, that was organized by government-affiliated labor unions to express support for Fidel Castro's decision to arrest Commander Huber Matos for resigning his military post and to charge him with treason and attempting to conspire against the revolutionary government. Matos was later sentenced to twenty years in prison. The rally was also called in order to show popular support for the recommissioning of Revolutionary Tribunals to try internal enemies of Cuba for counterrevolution and to protest recent air raids by counterrevolutionary exile groups, largely comprised of batistianos, based in Florida. See also Prints 35, 36, 37, 38, 43, 44, 47, 46, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 and 66.
From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1959 October
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 440
Image Count:
1
Description:
Top rows of frames show Raúl and Fidel Castro addressing a massive rally organized by Cuba's government-affiliated labor unions to show support for the recent arrest of Commander Huber Matos, denunciations of the exile-led counterrevolutionary violence in Havana that coincided, and leaders' recent decision to re-open Revolutionary Tribunals. This rally was held before the Presidential Palace in the evening and night of October 26, 1959. Bottom rows of images show a woman and small boy looking up at a sign protesting United States complicity with acts of aggression carried out by planes based in Florida and directed by former batistianos and their allies in Miami. The sign reads (in grammatically poor English): "Till when will USA permit the bomber to Cuba?" In the background of the photograph stands the United States Embassy. Notes: See also Prints 44, 46, 47, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 66 and 70.
From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1959 November
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 441
Image Count:
1
Description:
These images document the spontaneous street celebrations and outpourings of joy that followed in the wake of the Revolutionary Armed Forces' false announcement that the beloved Commander Camilo Cienfuegos, who disappeared on the 28th of October on his way back to Havana from Camagüey in an alleged airplane crash, had been found alive. It took another several hours for the government to confirm that this news was false. Neither Camilo Cienfuegos' body, that of his co-pilot nor any plane wreckage was ever found. See also Prints 61 and 67.
From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1959 October
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 442
Image Count:
1
Description:
Top rows of images show Fidel Castro giving a televised address to the nation on October 19, 1959, in which he denounced Commander Huber Matos of treason and of being a puppet of counterrevolutionaries for attempting to resign his post in protest over the increasing authoritarianism and influence of Communists within the new government. Audience members in the studio include (frames 9-12), Raúl Castro and Che Guevara, apparently present to lend moral force to the speech. Bottom rows of images were taken early that day, before the submission of Matos' resignation, when United States Ambassador Philip W. Bonsal (frames 16, 17, 13, 14, 15) and President Osvaldo Dorticós addressed participants in the annual convention of the American Society of Travel Agents, being held in Havana. Premier Fidel Castro also spoke at the inaugural session that morning. See also Prints 26, 27, 28, 34, 45, 51, 65, 66 and 74.
From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1959 October
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 443
Image Count:
1
Description:
Top two rows show Fidel Castro as he waits to be introduced and then addresses delegates as the opening speaker for inaugural morning session of the annual convention of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), held in Havana beginning October 19, 1959. The bottom row of frames shows delegates and speakers, including United States Ambassador Philip W. Bonsal (frame 5 and 6) at the end of the inaugural session. Row three, frames 18-22, depict Fidel Castro giving a televised address to the nation on October 19, 1959, in which he denounced Commander Huber Matos of treason and of being a puppet of counterrevolutionaries for attempting to resign his post in protest over the increasing authoritarianism and influence of Communists within the new government. See also Prints 26, 27, 28, 34, 41, 45, 51, 65 and 74.
From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1960
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 377
Image Count:
1
Description:
Images documenting a workers' parade held in Havana's Civic Plaza (later called the Plaza de la Revolución) celebrating labor unions, peasants, militias and the Revolutionary Armed Forces' unconditional support for the government. Frames 25, 26 27, 28 show peasants holding their machetes in the air as a symbol of their willingness to fight for the Revolution. The top, penultimate and last rows of frames show different branches of the military, including a group of young men wearing T-shirts that read "Cuerpo de Defensa Nacional" (National Defense Corps). The signs on vehicles following the march of helmeted soldiers read "El Ejército Rebelde Vigila Construye Educa" (The Rebel Army surveils, constructs and educates). See also Prints 9 and 11.
From the Collection: Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
Published / Created:
1960
Call Number:
MS 650
Container / Volume:
Box 4, folder 378
Image Count:
1
Description:
Images documenting a workers' parade held in Havana's Civic Plaza (later called the Plaza de la Revolución) celebrating labor unions, peasants, militias and the Revolutionary Armed Forces' unconditional support for the government. In frames 28 and 29 of the third row from the top, the union of barbers and manicurists demands a military takeover of the administration of the establishments where they work. Frame 13 of the fourth row and frame 12 show marchers holding a banner that demands "adiestramiento military de la clase obrera" in general; the banner is signed "Delegación de los Panaderos de Marianao." Frames 14 and 15 of the same row show a workers' militia. Frames 30-31 of the third row and frames 33-37 of the bottom row show women dressed in identical dresses matched to the color stripes of the Cuban flag; behind them a banner reads "Comité Ejecutivo FNOEC." The women appear to be singing. In front of them, clearly visible in frame 31, is a mulatta woman dressed entirely like the Cuban flag with a French liberator's cap on her head; from her wrists hang broken chains that are symbolic of Cuba's liberation from slavery. See also Prints 8 and 11.
