Friends For The Journey

The AHA has been around for 123 years and is the primary professional association in the United States for historians. I presented my paper on Cuba this afternoon on a panel discussing the Cuban Revolution. Debbie came along as my faithful admirer, constructive critic and photographer (and best buddy).

If you are interested in reading the paper, it is posted on-line on the University of Texas web site:

http://74.125.47.132/u/universityoftexas?q=cache:OlcBoXxOBXYJ:lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/ilassa/2008/holbrook.pdf+Joseph+Holbrook&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&ie=UTF-8

The paper deals with the ambivalence of the Catholic Church in Cuba between the dictatorial regime of Fulgencio Batista and the Revolutionary movement of Fidel Castro. Some young priests and Catholic activists fought with Castro because of the deplorable conditions of poor Cubans – the bishops and Cardinal Arteaga tried to keep a foot in the door with the dictator while attempting to stay neutral.