The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba - Chanel Cleeton Page 0,99

Lôme letter, he’s only become more intent in his desire to force a war between the United States and Spain.

It’s a warm night as I stroll along the water, the air still and heavy, the sky overcast.

Havana is the city of my childhood, and being here has brought back so many memories of what it was like before Mateo. While I have no regrets for the choices I’ve made, I can’t deny a sense of nostalgia.

It’s the second day of Carnival in the city, and even though it is nearly ten o’clock in the evening, there’s a festive energy in the air, so different from life in the camp.

I walk along the harbor, gazing at the giant American warship resting there. The Maine is the largest ship in the water, its presence a stark reminder of America’s might and their complicated relationship with Cuba.

Suddenly, an impossibly loud noise rings out over the city, followed by a bright light shining over the harbor, and then the light disappears, and there is only darkness, and the sound of men’s screams and cries, dust and materials raining from the sky.

Bells ring out over the city, whistles blowing, an alarm sounding.

I run toward the water.

Thirty-Two

Grace

I sit hunched over the typewriter in the newsroom, begging the words to come. The story needs to be filed within the next hour, and for as short of a piece as it is, I shouldn’t be struggling this much. Still, with our comprehensive coverage, sometimes it’s difficult to not feel as though I am simply rehashing a story that has been told over and over again many times.

The de Lôme letter has been a gift to Hearst presented not by the head of the Junta, but by Horatio Rubens, their lawyer. In this matter, it’s clear Tomás Estrada Palma wants to keep his hands as clean as possible. The entirety of the front page of the Journal was devoted to de Lôme’s letter and a call for his dismissal from Washington. While the Junta’s lawyer gave us the facsimile of the original letter, the story is too big for the other newspapers to not run with it as well, and almost instantly, de Lôme resigned from his post and headed back to Spain.

The story has dominated newspapers and public conversation for over a week, spurred on by the unearthing of a book de Lôme published decades ago where he was critical of American women and our American customs.

President McKinley has yet to act, but he has to realize public opinion—including that of Congress—is pushing heavily for war with Spain, and he is a man who cares very much for what the people think.

Whether de Lôme’s letter proves to be the tipping point that thrusts us into war remains to be seen, but at the moment, it’s done much to fire up support for the revolutionaries, and once the letter’s authenticity was confirmed by de Lôme, even the most cautious couldn’t ignore its damning nature.

And while it is de Lôme’s harsh criticism of the president that has drawn the most ire, his letter to Canalejas and the private words contained there have also made it clear that despite Spain extending a limited degree of autonomy and home rule to Cuba in an attempt to end the war, they have no real intention of granting independence, and that the Spanish will cling to their last vestiges of empire until someone wrests them away from them.

“How’s the article going?” Brisbane asks me, gesturing to the typewriter before me.

“Well enough.”

“You’ve done good work lately. Your writing has been particularly sharp after working on the Evangelina story.”

“Thank you.” I can’t help but ask the question that’s been plaguing me for so long now. “Where do you think the end is in all of this? We publish these articles, and people become angry, but little truly changes. It’s been years since the war for independence began.”

“Weyler’s gone, at least. I imagine we have Miss Cisneros partly to thank for that.”

“What have you heard of Weyler’s successor, General Blanco?”

I’d hoped to ask Rafael about his impressions of Blanco, but I haven’t seen him since New Year’s Eve.

“Blanco seems interested in keeping friendly ties with the American press,” Brisbane answers. “I imagine he saw what happened to Weyler and how damaging public opinion was to his career and hoped to learn from his predecessor’s imbroglios. He had Scovel and the wife round for dinner a few months ago.” He winks at me. “Maybe we’ll send you down