Girón

On 15th April 1961 the anti-revolutionary forces bombed the airports of San Antonio de los Baños, Ciudad Libertad, and Santiago de Cuba in an attempt to eliminate the Cuban air force. This incident portended an imminent invasion. On the next day, while the victims of the bombing were being buried, Fidel Castro proclaimed the state of war. On the morning of 17th April mercenaries went ashore at Bay of Pigs, and proceeded to occupy two centrally situated places: Playa Larga and Playa Girón. Meanwhile, paratroopers landed north of this area in order to control the only access roads to these two beaches, which ran through the Zapata swamp. Thus, the occupiers created a centre of force in Bay of Pigs and appointed a provisional government. They intended to take over power by fighting a war of attrition, with the aid of the U.S. The revolutionary troops, commanded by Fidel Castro, forced the mercenaries back to Playa Girón. The air force bombed the occupying fleet, opened combat with enemy planes, shelled enemy territory, and backed up its own land forces. In the afternoon of 19th April the final piece of territory held by the occupiers was regained by the revolutionaries: Playa Girón. Since, this beach has become known as the place of the first historic defeat of the U.S. in Latin America. GIRÓN deals with the period of time between the attack on the Cuban air force and the capture of Playa Girón by the revolutionary forces. The events are shown through interviews, reconstructions, newsreels, and photographs. No doubt, GIRÓN is a war documentary, but it focuses on the individual in times of war. The thread of this film are the stories by different people who really experienced the events told in their anecdotes, and now act them out in front of the camera. Pilots recount their most dangerous missions, or the death of one of their friends. Soldiers tell about the march to Girón along narrow roads, and about the battle in the Zapata swamp. Members of the campaign to eliminate illiteracy recall being taken hostage by the mercenaries. All these men and women not only witnessed a historical moment, they also wrote history. They devoted themselves to building and defending a socialistic society.