Today is Independence Day in Cuba. Also known as the Anniversary of the beginning of the War of Independence, the “Dia de la Independencia” marks the start of Cuba’s struggle for independence from Spain in 1868.
At the start of the nineteenth century, the Peninsular Wars in Europe resulted in Napoleon’s brother Joseph becoming King of Spain. Feeling no loyalty to this new regime, these events galvanized the independence movement in many Spanish colonies in South America and Central America.
Cuba remained loyal to Spain, but as the century progressed, the enthusiasm for independence didn’t wane and there was an increasing resentment against the Spanish administration that was felt to be corrupt and repressive.
On October 10th 1868, a wealthy sugar mill owner, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, and his followers proclaimed independence. This became known as the Grito de Yara (“Cry of Yara”) and marked the start of the Ten Year’s War.
Though this first war of independence ended with surrender to the Spanish in May 1878, in the longer term it proved to be a key event in Cuba’s struggle for independence from Spain, which finally came in December 1898. The events of October 1868 are also seen as leading directly to the abolition of slavery in Cuba in 1886.
and I was never asked to bring cookies to the church social again…
Might be a while…
What we learn from the movies (Thanks, Bluebird!)
❧ Loft-style apartments in New York City are within the price range of most people whether they’re employed or not.
❧ Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at that precise moment.
❧ It’s perfectly possible for a woman to get out of bed in the morning with perfect hair, flawless makeup, and no under-eye bags.
❧ The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.
❧ Laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communications system of any invading alien society.
❧ If you’re outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts, your enemies will wait to attack you one at a time, dancing around in a menacing manner until you have knocked out their predecessors.
❧ When you turn out the light and go to bed, everything in your bedroom will still be clearly visible, just slightly bluish.
❧ Rather than wasting bullets, maniacs prefer to kill their victims using complicated machinery involving fuses, pulley systems, deadly gasses, lasers, and man-eating sharks, which will allow their captives time to escape.
❧ During all police investigations, it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once.
❧ A female spy or secret agent wearing stilettos can still outrun a bad guy wearing running shoes.
❧ Anyone can land an airplane as long as there’s someone in the control tower to talk them down.
❧ The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. No one will ever think to look for you there, and you can get to any other part of the building without difficulty.
❧ You’re likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
❧ A real man will remain stoical while taking the most ferocious beating, but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
❧ All bombs have electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they’re going to go off.
❧ A detective can only solve a case once he’s been suspended from duty.
❧ If you start dancing in the street, everyone you encounter will know all the steps.
Today is the birthday, in 1955, of American rock vocalist, songwriter David Lee Roth who with Van Halen had the 1984 US No.1 & UK No.7 single ‘Jump’ and the solo, 1988 hit single ‘Just Like Paradise’. Van Halen’s 1978 debut album has sold more than twelve million copies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwYN7mTi6HM
