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This Happened

This Happened—January 1: The Cuban Revolution Ends

On January 1, 1959, Cuba’s military dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country and the rebels, led by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, celebrated in Havana, ending the Cuban Revolution.

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Why did the Cuban Revolution take place?

The U.S. had been a major force in Cuba since the early 1900s. Much of the country’s business was owned by the U.S., including its main export, sugar. The Batista regime was unpopular with the Cuban people. However, he supported U.S. interests, so Washington in turn supported him.

Castro wanted to remove the chokehold the U.S. had over the Cuban economy and launch a Communist Revolution in the process.

How did the Cuban Revolution happen?

In November 1956, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara gathered 80 guerrilla fighters and sailed from Mexico on a small yacht. Batista learned of the attack and ambushed the group, but 20 men escaped, including Fidel and Raul Castro and Guevara. The group found refuge in the mountains, attracted new members, and started guerrilla warfare against Batista’s better-armed regime.

For the next two years, Cuba experienced civil war. In December 1958, Guevara’s forces defeated a larger army in the Battle of Santa Clara, where they captured a train full of arms and ammunition. By January 1, 1959, the rebels had reached the capital, Havana, and Batista fled.

What was the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution?

Batista lived in exile in Portugal until his death in 1973. Fidel Castro reached Havana on January 9 to take charge. Many Batista supporters were tried and executed. Although Castro had promised elections, he postponed them once he came to power.

The U.S. initially recognized the Castro government, but relations quickly broke down when Castro implemented a Communist regime. The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Havana in 1961. Tensions further increased in the following years, culminating in the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Fidel Castro remained in power until 2008, when he chose his brother Raul as successor.

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Society

This Argentine Couple Turned A Road Trip Into A Way Of Life, 20 Years And Counting

After years of exploring the continent in a van, a couple from Buenos Aires asks: Should they ever go back to "normal" life?

Photo of the traveling family sitting on the back of the minibus in Tepoztlan, Mexico

The "amunches" family in Tepoztlán, Mexico

Penélope Canónico

BUENOS AIRES — Patricia Fehr and Germán de Córdova, a young Argentine couple, began exploring the American continent by van in 2003. They set out from San Nicolás de los Arroyos, near Buenos Aires, with plans to drive from southern Argentina to northern Alaska in a year.

That year turned into five years, and now, with Patricia, 48, and Germán, 56, they're still at it, currently in Mexico.
This modern Odyssey was driven in part by the couple's love of photography and their fascination with indigenous American cultures. Their trip has become an educational adventure for themselves and their now 14-year-old daughter, who has grown up her entire young life on the road.

The couple describe themselves as digital nomads and freelancers, and specifically amunches, which means traveler in Mapuche, an indigenous language in what is now Chile and Argentina. Their daughter is named Inti, which means sun in the indigenous Quechua language.

More than once, they told Clarín, they have parked their "house on wheels" near settlements where, they say, they "faced the problem of communication and were struck by the marginal status ... of people who were the original settlers and guardians of woods and rivers."

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