From the Bay of Pigs to the capture of Maduro: Over half a century of waiting for the fall of Castroism

"they won't sit with novices or enthusiastic tourists visiting Calle Ocho, the heart of the disapora in Miami, to admire the nostalgic murals of Cuban exile, but rather be able to play one-on-one with their own kind, those who know Little Havana, people who left Cuba and helped build a city on the swamp that was Miami, who spend long hours thinking about what a return would be like and who never stop talking about politics."

"No way, the worst moment is now with Maduro, and if Mexico cuts off their oil, Cuba will be finished in five days. A third player remains silent, but a fourth, Raimundo Escarras, an 82-year-old former merchant, believes that if the Cuban government ever falls, none of them will be alive to see it. In the end, the United States has never wanted to bring it down, and both at the Bay of Pigs and now, the Cuban people have always been with the Castros."

Domino Park players follow long-standing rules: speak softly, avoid alcohol and flip-flops, and be Miami residents aged 55 or older. The group comprises Cuban exiles who know Little Havana and spend hours reminiscing, debating politics, and imagining return to Cuba. After Nicolas Maduro's capture, players argued over when the Cuban regime came closest to collapse, offering competing moments from the fall of the Socialist Bloc to contemporaneous oil cuts. Some predict immediate collapse if oil stops; others doubt they will live to see a fall. Conversations invoke the Bay of Pigs, Trump, and deep-rooted loyalty and nostalgia.

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