Later that morning, the Cuban strongman headed southwest to Baní, birthplace of General Máximo Gómez, the Dominican who helped Cuban José Martí win independence from Spain. There, Castro gave a two-hour speech which climaxed when he lifted the sword of Generalísimo Máximo Gómez. During the improvised talk, Castro reviewed Dominican and Cuban historic ties, committed Cuban financial assistance to complete a polytechnic school promised years back by the Cuban government, and called for the unity of the what he called the three Americas – Central America, the Caribbean and South America – when sitting down to talks with the giant from North America (the United States). He compared this to a meeting of the bull and the elephant.
