Finding Mañana

Finding Mañana details life in Cuba in the decades following the Cuban Revolution, but the shadow of the revolution looms large over the text. The text focuses more on the impact of the revolution on Cuba and its people than on the conflict itself, but understanding the Cuban Revolution is critical to understanding both the text and the historical period that it details.

Castro successfully took control of Cuba in 1959, but the seeds of the revolution were planted many years prior. Pre-revolutionary Cuba was characterized by inequality and Cuba’s quasi-colonial relationship with the United States. The two countries’ histories were inextricably interwoven, and the United States was heavily involved in Cuba’s economy and political affairs. In 1903, the United States ratified the Platt Amendment, a treaty with Cuba that sought to protect Cuba’s independence and prevent foreign interests from taking hold on the island. The Platt Amendment legalized extensive US involvement in Cuba and it solidified the dominance of US-based companies who owned and operated various firms, businesses, and plantations on Cuban soil. American investment in the island grew exponentially in the years following the Platt Amendment, and although many Americans became wealthy as a result of their Cuban investments, the economy of Cuba remained stagnant.