On Friday April 25th organizers with Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC), along with over 30 supporters gathered at the Collingwood Neighbourhood House to mark the 37th anniversary of the United Stated failed invasion of the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. The master of ceremonies was Colleen Glynn, an organizer with VCSC and president of the Federal Richmond NDP. Colleen warmly welcomed everyone to the event and introduced 3 short video clips relating to this attack on Cuba. The first was a 10 minute segment from the film “Moments with Fidel” which covered both the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 and the October “Crisis” of 1962. The second was a clip from the Encyclopaedia Britannica which showed condemnatory comments by Che Guevara towards the imperialists after their botched assault on the heroic Cuban people. The third clip was a moving live performance by Cuban singer Silvio Rodriguez of his song “Playa Giron” the name Cubans gave to the Bay of Pigs attack. After those instalments Colleen welcomed the evenings featured speakers, Thomas Davies, an organizer with the Free the Cuban 5 Committee – Vancouver and VCSC, and Tamara Hansen, the coordinator of VCSC and an executive member of the Canadian Network on Cuba. Thomas explained the build-up between the United States government and Cuba from the victory of the 1959 Cuban revolution to 1961 when the mercenaries’ planes flew over Cuban military bases and bombed Cuban air craft. He explained the 66 hours that followed and how Cuba’s organization, discipline, spirit and leadership lead to Cuba’s victory against the world’s strongest imperialist power. Tamara then spoke about how the Cuba’s decisive victory at the Bay of Pigs impacted the United States policy towards Cuba from 1961 to today. She also spoke about how this victory gave great confidence to the people of Cuba and oppressed people around the world that imperialism can be defeated and that a better world is possible and necessary. The discussion after the presentations covered many important issues such as: How was Cuba able to defeat the United States? What lessons can we learn from this great victory today? How is this victory important for us and all people world wide today? The evening wrapped up with a call for everyone to join the Cuban solidarity movement and to continue defending the important gains made by the Cuban revolution.	Report Back US Invasion of the Bay of Pigs, Cuba The First Major Defeat of US Imperialism in Latin America Click on photos to enlarge