ABSTRACT
Our Man in Havana documents Reade's arrival in Cuba and his contribution to the country's social and cultural reform process. It outlines his participation in the National Literacy Campaign, which taught Cuban peasants how to read and write, and his role in the defence of the Revolution at the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion by US-backed contras. This chapter also focuses on how Reade penetrated Cuban society via his creative work as an editorial cartoonist and as an animation scriptwriter-director. It also outlines his influence on the development of a number of young animators which included the pre-eminent Juan Padrón. By 1969, this dynamic and creative period in animation waned for Reade and he began to show a greater interest in literary practice. This chapter concludes with his return to Australia in 1970. By this time he had ceased all involvement with animation.
