"An American Flag in Cuba"

"As a crowd of a few hundred Cubans and Americans assembled inside the Embassy grounds, a larger crowd of Cubans, carefully organized and watched over by Cuban security forces, gathered outside as the official onlookers. They included a number of Cubans who, incongruously, waved miniature American flags as well as Cuban ones, while a series of gigantic Cuban flags hung from the façades of adjacent apartment buildings. The Cubans outside the American diplomatic legation periodically let out a cheer, especially when someone who appeared to be American approached."

"At a social gathering in Havana yesterday, a Cuban who has a close relative in one of the adjacent buildings told me that residents there had been visited by Cuban security officials, who informed them that they were expected to appear on the street today and to “be enthusiastic” in their slogans, cheers, and applause. Above all, they were expected to overwhelm and, if possible, drown out any anti-American or anti-imperialist shouts. The Cuban said that his relative had waggishly asked whether the anti-imperialist Cubans were now the “new enemy,” since, for many years, he had been expected to publicly condemn the Americans. In any event, all I heard outside the Embassy today were joyful noises, sincere or not."