Invitation to Join December 28-January 6 Delegation to Cuba. Visit Santiago, Santa Clara, Havana.

October 15, 2018

Dear Friends:

This special tour and US delegation to Cuba is being organized around the commemorations of the 60^th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959. (See draft itinerary below).

The final costs for the trip and itinerary are being worked out; time is of the essence if you are interested in being part of the group. There are no current direct flights from the US to Santiago de Cuba, the first city this delegation will visit. Therefore, delegation participants will likely be responsible for flight arrangements and expenses from their local area to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale (we are checking on the least expensive flights from either city). From South Florida we will fly to the city of Holguin, where we will travel by air-conditioned chartered bus to Santiago. From Santiago we will visit the Sierra Maestra mountain range and the cities of Santa Clara and Havana.

Outside of air travel expenses, other costs will hopefully be under $2000 per participant, depending on the size of the group. These expenses include all accommodations in hotels or guest houses, two meals every day, including in fine Cuban restaurants and paladares, all transportations costs inside Cuba, as well as visa costs and other fees.

This initial invitation to be part of this delegation and exciting itinerary is being sent out now because final confirmations and deposits will be likely be required around the end of October/beginning of November. In the next few days many details will be finalized.

Ike Nahem

for the December 28-January 6 Cuba 60^th Anniversary Tour Leader

JULY 26 COALITION

Moncada Barracks, Santiago de Cuba

Relive the history and retrace the steps of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution from 1953-1959. From the attack on the Moncada Barracks on July 26, 1953 to the Battle of Santa Clara and collapse of the Fulgencio Batista military regime in late-December 1958, to the popular victory march to the conquest of Havana by the Rebel Army under the Command of Fidel Castro in January 1959.

This People-to-People Educational Tour is in full legal compliance with US government requirements under existing travel sanctions against Cuba. Delegation participants will also experience, observe, and interact directly with the Cuba of today, since the peaceful and constitutional transition from the Fidel Castro and Raul Castro governments to the current Council of State Presidency of Miguel Diaz-Canel and the election of a new National Assembly legislature. Currently across Cuba, there is a mass participatory process, featuring widespread and freewheeling discussion and debate, around the new, updated Cuban Constitution. The tour itinerary will include meetings with Cuban representatives and opportunities to discuss some of these questions. There will also be leisure and free time to explore on your own as well as a scheduled visit to stunning Cuban beaches.

JULY 26 COALITION

Varadero, Cuba

Tour Highlights Will Include:

Santiago de Cuba

Our group will visit the Moncada Barracks, cite of the July 26, 1953 attack led by Fidel Castro, Abel Santamaria, and Jesus Montane (a military failure that sparked a mass political movement and triumphant armed struggle against the US-backed military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista); the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery where Fidel Castro’s ashes are buried near the Mausoleum of Cuban National Hero Jose Marti. In addition to cultural and other activities in this dynamic, beautiful city, our group will be special guests for the official national Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution to be held in Santiago.

From Santiago our group will travel to the Comandancia de la Plata, site of Fidel Castro’s military command headquarters during the 1956-58 revolutionary war, located in the stunning Sierra Maestra mountain range inside the Pico Turquino National Park. The restored Comandanciafeatures a museum, clinic, and radio station among the 16 structures. (This optional day trip will require some hiking (2.5 miles total) with restaurant and other rest stops.)

JULY 26 COALITION

Comandancia de la Plata, Sierra Maestra Mountains

Santa Clara

Visit the city of Santa Clara, Cuba’s third largest, which was where the decisive “Battle of Santa Clara” was fought under the command of Ernesto Che Guevara in December 1958 leading to the collapse of Batista’s army and regime as the dictator escaped the country with his loot. In Santa Clara our group will visit Revolution Square, where the remains of Che and his fighters are interred as part of a museum on Che’s life.

JULY 26 COALITION

Ernesto Che Guevara Revolution Square, Santa Clara

Havana

Our group will visit Abel Santamaria’s Havana Safe House for the Moncadistas in the Vedado Neighborhood; the Museum of the Revolution; the historic Old Havana, the world-class Museo de Bellas Artes, and more.

JULY 26 COALITION

Old Havana

Women and the Cuban Revolution

Vilma Espin, Celia Sanchez, Haydee Santamaria, the Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon: Special Program on the Participation of Women in the Cuban Revolution led by the Federation of Cuban Women.

JULY 26 COALITION

Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon, Havana, May 1960

Our group will be led by Ike Nahem, a long-time activist and veteran leader of people-to-people tours of trade unionists and others to Cuba. Nahem is a retired Amtrak Locomotive Engineer and member of the Teamsters Union. He has written extensively on US, Cuban, and Latin American history and politics. Contact at ikenahem@mindspring.com or phone 917-887-8710

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