I love Cuba, and had a great two weeks there a few years back. What struck me about the country, and particularly the capital, Havana, was its friendliness, the 1950s and 1960's gas-guzzling cars, the rum and cigars, and the love of all things American. Many people from the States used Cuba as a sort of mega-holiday Island, and gangsters like Al Capone had villas there. The Cuban Revolution featuring Che Guevara and Fidel Castro and the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962 put an end to the love affair, and it's still illegal for US Citizens to visit there, without a risk of them losing their US Citizenship.

I had no difficulty while I was there finding all number of American pursuits flourishing, including bingo! There were a number of government-run gambling venues in Havana where you could play Craps, Roulette, Poker and Bingo. I had a game of Bingo, but never stood a chance of winning because my understanding of Spanish was so poor, that I couldn't understand the numbers called, and resorted to watching closely the people either side of me crossing off their numbers to see what the numbers were! All very well if they had the same numbers on their cards as I did- which of course they didn't!

But after the game I managed to have a word with the Bingo caller, who spoke good English, and he said that the money that was made in these games went to the Government, to be spent on projects such as building new hospitals and providing opportunities for surgeons to stay in Cuba rather than emigrate overseas 9where they can normally earn a lot more money).  After a few tots of Havana Club, he told me something I didn't know and that I looked up when I got home to confirm. The United States, in the height of their cold war antagonism towards Cuba, had a number of covert operations planned against Cuba, including one called Operation Bingo. This has now been released in declassified US archives. The idea was to fake an attack on the US base Guantanamo Bay so as to provide an excuse for politically defensible excuse for invading Cuba!

Just as interesting, there is a web-site aimed mainly for the personnel in the Guantanamo base, telling them about the different clubs, bars and entertainment venues in Guantanamo. Here's an extract from one that mentions Bingo:

Windjammer Ballroom

The Windjammer Ballroom is a multi-purpose facility used for bingo nights, dancing, family events and all formal events. This facility offers a full bar, full catering menu, big screen projector and satellite TV, pools tables and an outdoor patio. Friday is Latin night and features everything from Salsa to Reggeton and even dance instructors for those who want to learn. Saturday is hip hop night and has DJs spinning the latest in heart-pumping hip hop, dance all and R&B. Both events are from 8:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. ‘The Jammer' hosts Bingo tournaments on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Run like a true bingo hall, patrons can win cash prizes as much as $5,000. Every Monday night, the Windjammer also hosts family dinner and a movie night. Families can enjoy a free ‘G' rated movie and can order dinner from the Windjammer Café menu starting at 5:30 p.m.

So it seems that both native Cubans, and Americans on the island's US base (plus all the tourists like me who go there) love Bingo!

Bingo por favor Senor y Senorita!