BRIGADE 2506 MEMORIAL

The Brigade 2506 Memorial is the most authentic expression of Cuban culture in the United States. The Memorial is in honor of the Cuban exiles who lost their lives in the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961. These men had set out from the USA with the aim of overthrowing Fidel Castro, the leader then in power. Certain of US air cover and the help of the local population, they landed in the Bahía de Cochinos armed with old-fashioned rifles and dressed in t-shirts and tennis shoes. The help they had hoped for never materialized, and Fidel Castro made short work of them as he smoked a cigar; the few that survived were sentenced to 30 years in prison.