Once upon a time there was a very prosperous nation where peace, justice, and harmony prevailed. Its people were happy. It was a down to earth, friendly country. It was third in this Hemisphere in per capita income and the second in distributed per capita income.
It was a country of hard working people and a large and strong middle class; a country that after only 56 years of achieving its independence had obtained outstanding economic and social achievements.
Once upon a time there was a country where its inhabitants knew how to balance hard work and responsibility with leisure and good humor. A country of immigrants, not emigrants. A country still in search of a permanent political democratic system; perhaps still politically immature, but always searching for freedom and justice. A country with no external debt, and with a free enterprise system where the dollar and the peso had equal values.
It was a country with flourishing tourism, where agricultural and animal husbandry were modern and plentiful, with enough food production to feed its own people and then export some. The light industry was growing, and both foreign and domestic investments were large because there was faith and hope in the future of the country.
Once upon a time there was a country with a telecommunications industry only second in this Continent. This country was a maker of artists and an exporter of music, with a brave and brilliant press and arts and culture second to none. This country had tropical fruits, rum, artifacts, sea, sun, and beautiful cities full of soul and life.
Once upon a time there was a country with Christian values, traditions. and religious fervor, where education and good quality medicine were available to everyone, and with health plans not achieved in this hemisphere by any other nation even today.
This was a country of physicians, engineers, architects, dentists, lawyers, physicists, mathematicians, educators, writers, reporters, newsmen, entrepreneurs, businessmen, industrialists, salesmen, workers, farmers, students, and above all, friendly, humane, happy, loyal, and merciful people.
Once upon a time there was a country that was the friend of all the other countries in this hemisphere. Artists, newsmen, writers, professionals, and businessmen from all the other Latin American countries and from the United States visited this country, and they were all welcomed like brothers. This country was a friend of the United States, its system, and its people.
This country was Cuba....