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Scenes from sessions of the first conference on Latin American literature organized by sectors of the revolutionary government. Present are Vilma Espín, Raúl Castro's wife and president of the soon-to-be founded Federación de Mujeres Cubanas, and Nicolás Guillén, Cuba's future poet laureate and a longtime member of the Communist Party (known as the Partido Socialista Popular from the 1930s through the early 1960s). Speakers include Miguel Angel Asturias, the Guatemalan writer who would win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967, as well as Pablo Neruda, the great Chilean poet, also a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1971. The conference was organized, in part, by Carlos Franqui and other contributing editors of Lunes, a literary and cultural supplement to the official state newspaper, Revolución. Lunes was later eliminated in 1961 for taking positions on the role and nature of cultural freedoms contrary to those espoused by government leaders, especially Fidel Castro. This sheet features closeup shots of various impassioned writers as they address the audience. The top three rows show an unidentified older woman speaking with another woman, possibly a translator at her side. See also Prints 15, 24, 28, 43-52 and 55.

Scenes from sessions of the first conference on Latin American literature organized by sectors of the revolutionary government. Present are Vilma Espín, Raúl Castro's wife and president of the soon-to-be founded Federación de Mujeres Cubanas and Nicolás Guillén, Cuba's future poet laureate and a longtime member of the Communist Party (known as the Partido Socialista Popular from the 1930s through the early 1960s). Speakers include Miguel Angel Asturias, the Guatemalan writer who would win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967, as well as Pablo Neruda, the great Chilean poet, also a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1971. The conference was organized, in part, by Carlos Franqui and other contributing editors of Lunes, a literary and cultural supplement to the official state newspaper, Revolución. Lunes was later eliminated in 1961 for taking positions on the role and nature of cultural freedoms contrary to those espoused by government leaders, especially Fidel Castro. Top frames of this sheet feature closeup shots of an unidentified Asian man speaking through an interpreter; Vilma Espín dozes off in the audience in frames 11-13. See also Prints 5, 15, 23, 28, 43-52 and 55.

Contains two sheets and two strips. Honeymooners featured in St. George'sTime magazine story highlighting the decline of foreign tourism in Cuba. Phyllis and Marvin Minoff embark on a deep-sea fishing trip and take a small plane there. The plane is empty of all passengers except for the Minoffs and photographer. It is likely that the fishing trip took place near the Ciénaga de Zapata, a mangrove-lined swamp famous for its fishing and crocodiles in south-central Cuba. Frames 3-6 of the second sheet show Marvin Minoff holding a rifle off the edge of a boat and shooting at something, most likely a crocodile. See also Prints 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 37, 41, 42 and 94.

Top four frames show Phyllis and Marvin Minoff lounging on a seaside dock at Varadero beach. Bottom two rows feature images of foreign tourists arriving at Havana international airport where they are greeted by a trio of musicians and a woman offering a yarey hat. For more images of the Minoffs, see also Prints 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 27, 29, 30, 37, 41 and 42; for more images of tourists arriving at the Havana airport, see Prints also 4 and 31.

This print shows Phyllis and Marvin Minoff enjoying Carnival in Havana and a meal at an opulent restaurant. The absence of tourists, as well as all other diners, is striking, as the entire wait staff of the restaurant dotes on the one occupied table. See also Prints 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, 37, 41, 42 and 94.

Scenes from the first literary conference organized by the revolutionary government. The conference was organized, in part, by Carlos Franqui and other contributing editors of Lunes, a literary and cultural supplement to the official state newspaper, Revolución. Lunes was later eliminated in 1961 for taking positions on the role and nature of cultural freedoms contrary to those espoused by government leaders, especially Fidel Castro. Top rows feature images of an unidentified United States writer, answering reporters' questions, as well as the impassioned addresses of two speakers, one of whom is Latin American and the other Asian, at the conference itself. See also Prints 5, 23, 24, 28, 43-52 and 55.

Contains one sheet and one strip. Images here are from three separate events. Top images (frames 4-14) show Vice Premier Anastas Mikoyan's helicopter as it returns to Havana from a trip to the provinces during his official visit to Cuba that began on February 4, 1960. Frames 15-21 show the exterior of the Museo de Bellas Artes, site of the Soviet Union's famous culture and trade show, which Mikoyan inaugurated in Havana in early February 1960. Bottom two rows show Phyllis and Marvin Minoff on an otherwise empty plane as they take an excursion to the provinces during the course of their honeymoon stay. For more images of the Minoffs, see also Prints 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 30, 31, 37, 41, 42 and 94. For other images of Mikoyan's visit, see Prints 29, 41, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 61-67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 80, 83, 92, 93, 101, 102, 106, and Contact Book VIII.

Contains two full sheets of prints. Images of children during morning assembly at the newly constructed school at Camp Columbia, the famous military base originally founded by the U.S. military during the first U.S. occupation of Cuba (1898-1902). Camp Columbia had been the site of the Sergeants' Revolt, led by Fulgencio Batista, against army superiors. This action, taken in favor of the revolutionary movement against the dictator Machado, made Batista an instant national hero until his rupture with Cuba's short-lived revolutionary government in 1933. Thereafter and until 1959, Camp Columbia had been the principal military operations and intelligence depot for the dictator Fulgencio Batista's national army. For this reason, Fidel Castro chose the base as the site from which to make his first speech of triumph to the nation upon his troops' arrival in Havana on the night of January 8, 1959. Camp Columbia was renamed Ciudad Libertad after the founding of the school and it became the first of many army barracks and bases that the government re-crafted as schools in the next several years. Ironically, as the images show, the system of education and cultural values instilled by school programs (such as daily assembly) was highly militarized. See also Prints 6, 9, 32, 33, 34, and 36.

Contains two sheets. Images of Phyllis and Marvin Minoff as they board a plane to Varadero beach from Havana. Bottom set of images shows the empty lobby at the hotel in Varadero and the honeymooners enjoying their food at a cafeteria, probably located at the airport. See also Prints 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 29, 31, 37, 41, 42 and 94.

Contains one full and one half sheet. Top frames show foreign tourists being greeted by official, singing greeters as they descend the stairs of a plane upon arrival in Havana. Images in bottom four rows show the Minoffs lounging poolside at the Hotel Caprí, in el Vedado, Havana. For more images of the Minoffs, see also Prints 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, 37, 41 and 42; for images of tourists being greeted at the airport, see also Prints 4 and 26.