Ar C.J. Walsh Technical Blog – Registered Architect, Fire Engineer & Independent Technical/Building Controller …… International Expert on Accessibility (incl. Fire Safety & Evacuation) for ALL + 'Real' Sustainability Implementation ! …… NO ADS & NO AI HERE !!
Media reaction, in Ireland, to this News Release was hysterical and grossly ill-informed !
“A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery ; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.”
So here are some images from the ‘real’ Cuba … or ‘real’ images from Cuba … whichever you prefer …
Fidel Castro was one of the Principal Leaders of the Cuban Revolution. Raul Castro, President of Cuba (and Fidel’s brother), is now the only surviving member of that Group. Click to enlarge. [M-26-7 = Movimiento 26 de Julio. See below.]In 1961, the United States of America attempted a Counter-Revolutionary Invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. This attempt was an embarrassing failure for the USA … but a resolute and consolidating success for Cuba and the Revolution. Photograph by CJ Walsh of a museum exhibit at Playa Giron. 2007-04-13. Click to enlarge.Playa Giron … one of the 1961 Invasion landing areas in the Bay of Pigs. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-13. Click to enlarge.Every group of houses … every street in a community … has its own Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR) … an important cohesive feature in a Socially Resilient Society. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-04. Click to enlarge.
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Hatuey, Indigenous ‘Taino’ Chief … Cuba’s First National Hero … burned at the stake in 1512 by Spanish soldiers … at Yara, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-10. Click to enlarge.Monument dedicated to Perucho Figueredo, who wrote the Cuban National Anthem: ‘La Bayamesa’ … in Bayamo, Cuba. The Anthem was first played in a local church, 1868. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-10. Click to enlarge.Statue of General Antonio Maceo … Plaza de la Revolución … in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-09. Click to enlarge.Mausoleum of José Martí, Santa Ifigenia Cemetery … in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-09. Click to enlarge.
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Moncada Army Barracks (formerly) … now a school and museum … in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. On 26 July 1953, an attempted attack on the Barracks, led by Fidel Castro, failed. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-09. Click to enlarge.The Sierra Maestra Mountains … in Eastern Cuba … birthplace of the second, successful phase of the Cuban Revolution … which began with the landing of the Granma in December 1956. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-10. Click to enlarge.Early photograph of Dr. Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara de la Serna Lynch, in Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh of a museum exhibit in Yara. 2007-04-10. Click to enlarge.1958 Armoured Train Ambush Site & Monument … in Santa Clara, Cuba. The successful ambush, on 29 December, was led by Che Guevara. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-14. Click to enlarge.Bosque de los Héroes … Santiago de Cuba, Cuba … white marble monument in honour of Che Guevara and the comrades who died with him (1967) in Bolivia. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-08. Click to enlarge.
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José Martí Statue, Parque Central … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-03. Click to enlarge.The Capitolio … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-03. Click to enlarge.Statue of the Republic, Capitolio … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-04. Click to enlarge.Salón de los Pasos Perdidos, Capitolio … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-04. Click to enlarge.Gran Teatro de La Habana … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-03. Click to enlarge.El Floridita Bar & Restaurant … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-07. Click to enlarge.Main Staircase, Museo de la Revolución (formerly the Presidential Palace) … in Havana, Cuba. Notice the bullet holes in the marble ! Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-06. Click to enlarge.Salón de los Espejos, Museo de la Revolución (formerly the Presidential Palace) … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-06. Click to enlarge.Paseo del Prado … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-03. Click to enlarge.The Malecón … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-07. Click to enlarge.Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la Revolución … in Havana, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-04. Click to enlarge.
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Mural de la Prehistoria (1959-62, and restored in 1980), by Cuban painter Leovigildo González, in the Valle de Viňales … Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-05. Click to enlarge.Tobacco Harvest … in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-05. Click to enlarge.Statue of Benny Moré (1919-63) … Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter … Paseo del Prado, Cienfuegos, Cuba. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-14. Click to enlarge.
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International Work Brigade (December 2011 – January 2012) at the Campamento Internacional Julio Antonio Mella … in Caimito, Cuba. Click to enlarge.
Update 2020-04-07:‘El Che’ Memorial Stamp – Issued by An Post, Ireland. 2017.
Colour photograph of the ‘El Che’ Memorial Stamp, issued by An Post (Ireland’s National Postal Service), in October 2017 … to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Che Guevara’s Assassination by United States/CIA and Bolivian Soldiers in the remote village of La Higuera, Bolivia. This iconic image of Che is based on a Jim Fitzpatrick Poster which, in turn, was based on a 1960 Photograph* taken by Alberto Korda (Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez). Photograph of stamp by CJ Walsh. 2020-04-07. Click to enlarge.
* On Friday, 4 March, 1960, a ship exploded in Havana Harbour, killing more than a hundred workers and injuring many more, including passers-by who rushed to offer help. The vessel ‘La Coubre’ was loaded with tonnes of weapons which had been bought in Belgium by the Cuban Government and secretly transported to the Caribbean.
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Korda would later recall his magical ‘Che’ shutter experience: “At the foot of a podium decorated in mourning after the tragic explosion, I had my eye to the viewfinder of my old Leica Camera. I was focusing on Fidel and the people around him. Suddenly, through the 90mm lens, Che emerged above me. I was surprised by his gaze. By sheer reflex I shot twice, horizontally and vertically. I didn’t have time to take a third photo as Che stepped back discreetly into the second row. It all happened in a few seconds.”
Korda called this image ‘Guerrillero Heroico’ ; the Che who appeared in it was a human being who was shocked and angry (at such a brazen attack by the United States/CIA in the heart of Havana, so damaging to the Revolution) and mournful (after so many deaths in the explosion).
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2011-10-10: Yesterday, did anyone remember the myth that is … and the man of Latin America that was … Dr. Ernesto ‘EL CHE’ Guevara de la Serna Lynch … assassinated on 9 October 1967, in Bolivia ??
Colour photograph showing a framed head and shoulders of the young Dr. Ernesto ‘CHE’ Guevara de la Serna Lynch in a small museum in the central square of Yara (Plaza Grito de Yara), Cuba. Centuries earlier, nearby, the Indian hero Hatuey was burned at the stake. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-10. Click to enlarge.
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Dr. Che Guevara addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York, 11 December 1964 …
Colour photograph showing the memorial in Plaza de la Revolución, Santa Clara, Cuba … built to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Battle for Santa Clara. Unveiled on 28 December 1988, it was designed by the Architect Jorge Cao Campos and the Sculptor José Delarra. The memorial complex also comprises the mausoleum of Che Guevara and a museum. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-14. Click to enlarge.
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Colour photograph showing the memorial in Plaza de la Revolución, Santa Clara, Cuba … built to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Battle for Santa Clara. Unveiled on 28 December 1988, it was designed by the Architect Jorge Cao Campos and the Sculptor José Delarra. The memorial complex also comprises the mausoleum of Che Guevara and a museum. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-14. Click to enlarge.
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Colour photograph showing the memorial in Plaza de la Revolución, Santa Clara, Cuba. Hasta La Victoria Siempre ! (Ever Onward To Victory !) Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-14. Click to enlarge.
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Colour photograph showing a hoarding on the roof of a building in Cienfuegos, Cuba … which comprises an image of CHE, with the accompanying text: ‘Tu Ejemplo Vive – Tus Ideas Perduran’ (Your Example Lives – Your Ideas Last). Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2007-04-13. Click to enlarge.
