Maybe Elvis would have made Viva Havana instead

By Silvio Canto, Jr.

By this time in 1956, my Uncle Jose, my father's youngest brother, was starting his career in Cuba. "Tio Pepe," as the kids called him, graduated as an architect, practiced a bit in Cuba, married Tia Carmen, a law student who caught his eye quickly walking around the university grounds. There were many pretty ladies in that campus but aunt had to be in the top 1% and I've got the photos to prove it. Eventually they ended up in Puerto Rico where he had a firm and two of their four children were born. He passed away in 2008 and she died in 2018. Over the years, my uncle was a huge source of Cuban stories, especially the non-political ones.

Back this week in 1956, my uncle and his friends started listening to Elvis and rock n’ roll. He told me that Elvis was very popular, along with Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, and some of the others.

Elvis Presley's international career began on this day in 1956 with the release of "Heartbreak Hotel" on RCA Records. Elvis had recorded for Sam Phillips and Sun Records in 1954-55.

"Heartbreak Hotel" became his first # 1 on Billboard USA and introduced the world to the man we call the "King of Rock n’ Roll." The B-side "I was the one" got some airplay, too.

Elvis never made it to Cuba because of the events of 1959. I'm sure that his manager probably told him that some sales were coming from the island but a political crisis got in the way. By the way, I've had other Cubans of that generation relate stories about listening and dancing to Elvis.

What if or everyone's favorite game of playing alternative history? What if the Bay of Pigs had turned out differently or if the Kennedy administration had insisted that Fidel leave with the missiles in '62?

Wonder if Elvis would have made a movie called Viva Havana if things had turned out differently? My guess is yes, because the market was there and the hotels were enchanting! Can you imagine Ann Margaret doing "la conga" with the King in Havana?

It's worth a few minutes of imagination as we keep up posting about President Trump in week two.

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