Elizardo Sanchez

The Bay of Pigs invasion 40 years ago this month was, as historian Theodore Draper famously observed, "a perfect failure." Washington's attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro by sending 1,400 Cuban expatriates ashore to spark a popular insurrection proved not only ineffective; it was also premised on a profound misunderstanding of Cuba by U.S. policymakers that persists to this day.

Angel Miguel, a 41-year-old Cuban with three children to feed, lives at the edge of the water and the edge of the law. Every few weeks, the police raid his modest seaside home to confiscate the shoes he makes for sale on the unofficial market. He pays a fine and starts over. "That makes me a delinquent," he says with a shrug.

The salty sea air disintegrates the muffler on your 1950 Buick 8 and there are no spare parts in the stores, but never mind. Hammer out a new muffler from a soda can. Todo se resuelve. Anything can be resolved. You've run out of shampoo and can't find a bottle anywhere, so make your own. The recipe: water, laundry soap, perfume, lime and a touch of egg to soften the brew. Todo se resuelve.