"On January 18, 1934, as he walked into El Escambrón, Albizu noticed many US Navy officers, several local businessmen, two members of the Puerto Rican Senate, and Fay Wray, the Canadian American actress most famous for playing the female lead in 1933’s King Kong. Riggs sat at a corner table in military regalia: a white tunic with gold buttons, large epaulets, and a splash of medals on his chest. He shook Albizu’s hand heartily. In a flurry of busboys, waiters, and sommeliers, they ate a splendid lunch and discussed the Golden Gate Bridge, the Spanish Civil War, Noel Coward’s Design for Living, and Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak—everything but the sugar strike. Their waiter spoke English and listened attentively. Finally Riggs came to the point. He asked Albizu what he thought of Luis Muñoz Marín, to whom the Nationalist had recently lost the Senate election. Then he offered to donate $150,000 to the Nationalist Party, to ensure that Albizu won the Senate seat that year or in 1936, and to make Albizu governor of Puerto Rico within ten years’ time. [...] Albizu rose slowly, thanked Riggs for lunch, and told him Puerto Rico was not for sale, at least not by him."
This timespace is inspired by the 7th chapter of the book How to Hide an Empire, by Daniel Immerwahr. It tells the life of Puerto Rican nationalist Pedro Albizu Campos in the context of other nationalist movements and U.S. interventions in Latin America.
