Museum, History: Museum of the Revolution

The museum’s location is nothing short of spectacular. Located just a short distance from the ocean at the foot of Havana's most scenic boulevard (Paseo Del Prado) in what was, for most of its history, the presidential palace. Before the revolution, Cuba was not a poor country. As one would expect, its president would live in a structure that reflects the status of his society, or better. The building does not disappoint.  From the outside. Inside, most of the rooms are pretty nondescript. Emptied of whatever might have been in them when the dictator Batista's government fell, today they are just the shell in which the artifacts and narrative of Cuba's revolution are displayed.

The revolution is arguably the biggest moment in Cuban history. Whether you like its results or not, it is certainly a watershed. The current powers that be are entirely vested in its significance. So you would expect that this would be a pretty impressive museum. That expectation is reinforced by the fee they charge for admission (6 CUC) and the extra charge if you want to take pictures (2 CUC). About $10 to visit a political museum in a communist country? Must be pretty good.

It's not. As I said,  for the Cubans currently running the country, the revolution was a big deal. In the grand scheme of things (global) it wasn't really. A bunch of young revolutionaries confronted and overtook a widely unpopular dictator. Batista did not collapse like Mubarak, in days, but it did not take Fidel's small band (20 in 1957?) long to grow into a force large enough to break the will of Batista's defenders. They went from disaster (the landing of the Granma) to victory, in about two years.

The museum chronicles this struggle, displaying the fatigues they wore, the guitar they played to amuse themselves, the guns they used to seize power. It kind of had the feel of a revolutionary secondhand store. The display cases were worn and dated, much like the building itself. It was not terribly impressive. Kind of like, we have this exhibit because it's expected.  We charge what we charge, because you'll pay it.  But it did not seem like their heart was in it. Nothing seemed like it had been updated for decades.

They were not even keeping up appearances. The elevator was in long-standing disrepair. The bathroom downstairs, though clean, did not even have a place to supply toilet paper. It would seem the museum should be the pride of Cuba - or of it's government. It seems more like a place to suck a few CUCs away from tourists. A big disappointment.

An interesting side note: At its inception there was an affinity between American ideals and the ideals of Fidel.  In the Museum you can find traces of that link.  Sharing the foyer with José Marti is the bust of Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator.  The rallying cry of the revolutionaries?  Libertad o Muerte, Patrick Henry’s Liberty or Death.  Sadly, today that has morphed into ‘Patria o Muerte’. I guess Liberty is not so important anymore.