Cuba & Puerto Rico, Loyalty & Rebellion

FLAG OF PUERTO RICO

If you live in the NYC area you should be familiar with the Puerto Rico Flag. If you live the in Miami area you should be familiar with the Cuban Flag.

Cuba and Puerto Rico are what I call 'soul mate' nations. Their pattern matches exactly. They are inverses of each other.

If you ever get them confused don't worry! Here is a trick that will grant you immunity from making such a mistake. Both nations were at one time ruled by the United States. However Puerto Rico has maintained a loyalty to the US, likewise her stripes and star field mirror the US flag. The US and Puerto Rican flags have red stripes and blue star fields.

FLAG OF CUBA

Cuba's flag with respect to the USA Flag has reversed colours. Cuba has blue stripes and a red star field. It is ironic that the twin that looked less like the US flag also has a white star on a field of red & was the 'twin' that turned to Communism!

But here are some neat coincidences. Several US Presidents tired in vain to assassinate Fidel Castro of Cuba. But a US President was almost assassinated ironically by men from Puerto Rico! In 1950 right wing Puerto Rican nationalists Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola tired to kill a US president at the Blair House in D.C., Harry S. Truman.

Both Cuba and Puerto Rico have some of the oldest cities in the Americas, older than anything in US and Mexico. In fact as an 'in-out' part of US, Puerto Rico can claim to have the oldest city in the US, out doing Jamestown VA and St. Augustine FL. The only older 'European Founded' city in the Americas exists in the Dominican Republic, next to Haiti.

FLAG OF OHIO: President McKinley
was from Ohio and acquired
both Cuba and PR during his admin.
Both Cuba and Puerto Rico were gained in the Spanish American War in 1898, during the McKinley Administration. Which oddly, Ohio has a state flag that looks like the flag of Puerto Rico and a lesser extent to Cuba.

Cuba is one of the most beautiful places in the Americas. Forget the image of long lines and wacky Communists. Remember that Cuba sits at nearly the same exact latitude of Hawaii! Thus the tropic beauty is astounding!


The US maintains military bases on both Cuba and Puerto Rican soil. The Cuban Base is by far the more popular or rather infamous base with Guantanamo Bay. Less famous is Fort Buchannon in Puerto Rico.

The US military presence on these islands are rather controversial. Most famously Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has been a flash point for the perpetual holding of terror subjects. While in Puerto Rico the island of Vieques is a sore spot for Puerto Ricans. Vieques is a rather large island off the south eastern coast, you can think of it as a transitional island next to the US Virgin Islands. Vieques has been used by the US Navy for weapons testing and bombing practice. This has adversely effected the land and some of the population, and caused the death of several innocent Puerto Ricans. The Naval Weapons testing ending in 2003, much to the relief of most Puerto Ricans. But by this time, 'international protest' switched from Puerto Rico to Cuba.

During the Cold War, Cuba has been the proverbial angry kitty towards the US and has scratched her eyes out, while Puerto Rico has been the proverbial loyal puppy standing by her master's side, except when it comes to assassination attempts!

So there you have it Cuba and Puerto Rico, Spanish speaking isles in the Caribbean nestled between North & South America. Another uncanny balance between nations.