Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba. Fidel Castro makes an appearance before the Pan-American Youth Congress in Havana. He announcers the seizure of three quarters of a billion dollars of U.S. property in Cuba. People hold banners of 'Havana' and 'Venezuela'. The crowd cheers.
Vintage slate states that the scenes are from San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, it opens with pre-hurricane views not of San Juan, but of Havana, Cuba, as seen from its harbor. Buildings of Havana Cuba seen, including El Capitolio, the National Capitol Building in Havana. Seen shifts to a covered market area filled with people (possibly still Havana, or possibly now in Puerto Rico. Aerial view of homes and buildings in the city of San Juan in 1932. Scene changes to view of hurricane winds blowing palm trees at 120 mile speed during San Ciprian hurricane. Palm trees on shore blown by wind. Sea water floods city. View after storm of wreckage of houses. People combing through the ruins. Cloth spread on ruins. Women and children walk among ruins. View again of storm in progress with water flooding the area and hurricane force winds.
Soviet Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan visits Havana, Cuba. Mikoyan waves from Cubana airstair. A sign outside the Russian trade fair or Soviet Exposition in Havana, Cuba. Cuban leader Fidel Castro with other officials, walks into a hall during the Soviet Exposition. Fidel Castro inspects a Soviet microscope. A party goes on, Castro drinks. Photographers taking photos. Anastas Mikoyan wearing a straw hat with “CUBA” written in front. Che Guevara and Anastas Mikoyan signing Cuban-Soviet trade agreements. A Russian ship in sea. Cubans receive Russian guns. Cuban men inspecting Soviet guns and artillery. Soviet T-55 tanks move on the road in Havana. A huge gathering around the road is seen. Fidel Castro observes the parade.
Press conferences in Havana, Cuba. Officials and dignitaries arrive to attend Havana Press Conference on August 2, 1968 and Havana Libre Hotel Press Conference on August 6, 1968. The officials and dignitaries seated at a table for the press conference. Trinidadian-American Black Activist Stokely Carmichael at the Havana Press Conference. Stokely Carmichael talks about the struggle of Blacks (African Americans) in the U.S. in order to attain liberation and get equal civil rights, and states that American Blacks will not fight in Vietnam. Stokely Carmichael talks about the constant aggression faced by the Black population, and gives a brief explanation of Black Power. Local reporters and foreign correspondents make notes during the conference. A newsman speaks.
(Sound present only at end of clip beginning around 3:10 mark). Scenes of Ward Line ship, the SS Morro Castle engulfed in fire during its return to New York from Havana, Cuba. Coast guard boats, fishing smacks, big liners stand by to rescue travelers. Local citizens and police assembled on the coastline to retrieve the dead and nurse the wounded. Scenes of grief stricken and shocked survivors including men, women, and children. Some scenes from rescue ships which included the SS Andrea F. Luckenbach, the SS Monarch of Bermuda, and the SS City of Savannah. Three survivors recount their stories (sound is present at this point in the clip, starting around 3:10 mark).
Communist leader Fidel Castro and Prime Minister Jose Miro Cardona with others in Havana, Cuba. Women and nurses in dresses marching in a parade. Fidel Castro watches the parade. Argentinian Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara is also seen with Castro. Fidel Castro attends the first Congreso Latinoamericano de Juventudes at the Cerro stadium (Estadio Latinoamericano, 4J9F+FJ6, La Habana, Cuba) in Havana. Castro comes on stage. Castro announces the decision to nationalize North American companies in Cuba as a response to United States’ economic sanctions. Fidel Castro sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba. People carry banners in a procession.