Excerpt from "An Unusual Memoir"

A Cuban Vacation

by Ken Roy

It was December 1958 and I was living on Long Island and working at my first job out of college. It seemed, however, that the company was in a bit of trouble and told everyone they were closing for business until after the New Year. Although quite minor, for me the problem was with all this free time, and where to have a party. Fate was about to knock on the door.

I had returned home to spend the holidays with my parents in upstate New York when my roommate, Tom, called and suggested we drive down to Key West and fly over to Cuba. Of course we now had the time, the beautiful weather was an attraction and Havana was known to have a very lively nightlife. I drove to Baltimore and met Tom, jumped in his car, and off we went. It was Sunday, December 28, 1958 and we had the radio on, listening to the Baltimore Colts- NY Giants NFL championship game*. I was a fan but Tom was a total Colts nut. You can imagine his hysteria when the Colts won in sudden death overtime. To this day, the only time this has ever happened in the NFL championship. This game was the highlight of the drive to Florida as we talked of little else the rest of the trip.*

Stopping only for gas, beer and relief we arrived in Key West early the next day. We quickly parked the car at the airport and headed for the terminal. Going to Cuba in those days was a breeze, buy a ticket and go. A short time later we’re exiting the plane in Havana, without the foggiest idea where to go next. The biggest shock was being instantly surrounded by a new language. Neither of us spoke a word of Spanish or had even been out of the US before. Luckily many of the locals spoke a version of broken English and for this I am forever grateful. After a few questions it was suggested we go downtown to the Prado area, which was pretty low-rent and had plenty of tourist attractions.

Rather than jumping into a cab, we took the local bus service downtown. Although cheap, you generally get what you pay for and this was no exception. We arrived at a hotel, at most a 2+star, and quickly checked in. So far every thing was going quite smoothly and I might add, this was much more than I expected. The next step was a no-brainer; let’s get some liquid refreshment and take a closer look at Havana.

Directly across the very narrow street was a dive-looking bar, but it was close, so in we went. As is often the case, it was quite dark on entering, and I’ll never forget, the jukebox was blasting a Frank Sinatra song, All the Way. As my eyes adjusted to the dark it was clear that a couple on the dance floor were “behaving in a friendly manner“. I couldn’t believe my eyes, the guy part of this couple was Freddie, a buddy we worked with back on Long Island. Seems he had the same thought - why not spend the vaca in Havana. He was famous for outrageous behavior and it started shortly after landing on the island. The first night was a succession of sleazy bars, too many Cuba Libras‘, and very loud music. It was non-stop party from this point forward.

The following morning was a rather slow start but we were now eagerly ready to explore Havana and its many delights. Little did I imagine how different this vacation was going to be. A revolution was brewing and we hadn’t a clue.

* Footnote: Often billed as the “Greatest Game Ever Played”, (17 of the players/coaches involved are now in the Hall of Fame), it later seemed as a marked beginning to football fever in the USA. A year later the AFL was established.