> C.N.Gomersall :
> Does "Cuba libre", as the name of a drink, mean that ...
....
Sorry to be suspicious, but... was there a hidden implication with this
question? Let's assume the answer is no.
While being in Madrid some years ago, I heard among a group of
'antifranquist' people, also committed to the Cuban revolution, the
following explanation:
When the Castrists took power, one of the first measures to be
implemented was the nationalisation of multinational corporations.
Some of them, beacuse of their heavy symbolic nature, were practically
'invaded' by people. U.S.' Coca-Cola was among those 'symbolic' ones,
and people, over some weeks, were able to take Coca-Cola for free.
Obviously, almost naturally, people mixed it with their *very Cuban* ron.
As this new 'drink' (Coca-Cola + Ron) was popularized simultaneously
with the spontaneous celebrations -on the street- of the victory
against imperialism, it was common to see people with a glass of
(Coca-Cola + Ron) in hand, singing up "Cuba Libre!!". In this way
the 'new drink' was baptized.
Who knows whether this is the real 'truth', but I must say that I felt
it was a sympathetic story.
Of course, Ron or not Ron, for me the most important thing is that Cuba
is still free ("libre") of many -if not most of- capitalist
disgraces which increasingly generate misery in the rest of Latin
America.
Alex Izurieta
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Institute of Social Studies
P.O. Box 29776
2502 LT The Hague
Tel. 31-70-4260480
Fax. 31-70-4260755
