Thousands of Cuban immigrants arrived in the United States seeking shelter from Castro. Many of these immigrants were familiar with the United States because they had visited for business of vacation before the Cuban Revolution. Some of the immigrants has existing business or personal connections in the Southern Cuban communities, and they adjusted to the American way of life with ease. Cuban culture was Americanized under Batista, which proved to be a benefit in the situation. South Florida remained the center for Cuban community, and exiles waiting for Castro to be overthrown bonded with exiles who had arrived earlier. The Cuban American citizens advised the new exiles on ways to guarantee rights and privileges in the United States by obtaining social security cards and educating children, and by helping them find jobs and places to live. The Cuban community in South Florida became close knit because of shared culture and heritage, but they also intertwined with American values and became part of the fabric making up the United States.
Castro made ever more vicious attacks on the United States and on enemies of the revolution. In a 1960 speech given at the funeral of a rebel general and titled “The Enemies of the Revolution will be Annihilated” Castro proclaimed, “the government of the United States is the prime culprit […] The men who have sold out their fatherland are guilty here! The traitors are guilty! The big privileged groups of yesterday are responsible for this, the holders of privilege who refuse to resign themselves to the reality and justice of the revolution!”[1] The United States supported the Cuban immigrants who fled for exile and opposed Castro’s regime, and Castro’s attacks united the groups further in the fight for freedom.
Under President Eisenhower and President Kennedy the United States sought to offer federally funded support to Cuban immigrants through the Cuban Refugee Program, which provided a range of services from free medical care to food. The program also helped Cubans who realized the permanence of their situation to relocate to other areas in the United States. According to one statistic, “by 1962 between 1500 and 2000 Cubans were arriving weekly”, and South Florida was not strong enough to continue supporting the bulk of immigrants.[2] The second wave of Cuban immigration saw the expansion of Cuban communities to the rest of the Southern United States. Tampa and Miami remained strong centers for Cuban American life and culture, but other similar communities established all over the South, expanding the impact of Cuban culture on the Southern United States.
Pérez, Louis A.. 2002. “Fear and Loathing of Fidel Castro: Sources of US Policy Toward Cuba”. Journal of Latin American Studies 34 (2). Cambridge University Press: 227–54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3875788.
[1] http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/castro/db/1960/19601201-1.html
[2] http://proust.library.miami.edu/findingaids/?p=creators/creator&id=51
Castro made ever more vicious attacks on the United States and on enemies of the revolution. In a 1960 speech given at the funeral of a rebel general and titled “The Enemies of the Revolution will be Annihilated” Castro proclaimed, “the government of the United States is the prime culprit […] The men who have sold out their fatherland are guilty here! The traitors are guilty! The big privileged groups of yesterday are responsible for this, the holders of privilege who refuse to resign themselves to the reality and justice of the revolution!”[1] The United States supported the Cuban immigrants who fled for exile and opposed Castro’s regime, and Castro’s attacks united the groups further in the fight for freedom.
Under President Eisenhower and President Kennedy the United States sought to offer federally funded support to Cuban immigrants through the Cuban Refugee Program, which provided a range of services from free medical care to food. The program also helped Cubans who realized the permanence of their situation to relocate to other areas in the United States. According to one statistic, “by 1962 between 1500 and 2000 Cubans were arriving weekly”, and South Florida was not strong enough to continue supporting the bulk of immigrants.[2] The second wave of Cuban immigration saw the expansion of Cuban communities to the rest of the Southern United States. Tampa and Miami remained strong centers for Cuban American life and culture, but other similar communities established all over the South, expanding the impact of Cuban culture on the Southern United States.
Pérez, Louis A.. 2002. “Fear and Loathing of Fidel Castro: Sources of US Policy Toward Cuba”. Journal of Latin American Studies 34 (2). Cambridge University Press: 227–54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3875788.
[1] http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/castro/db/1960/19601201-1.html
[2] http://proust.library.miami.edu/findingaids/?p=creators/creator&id=51
https://www.floridamemory.com/onlineclassroom/cuban-revolution/photos/photos2.php