Castro: The revolutionary beard

Ramonet asks him why he attends international events in a suit and tie, but in Cuba is almost always dressed in his trademark olive-green uniform.

The answer is vintage Castro, “Because, with the uniform, I don’t have to put on a tie everyday. It avoids the problem of what suit to wear, what shirt, what socks... so everything goes together. I put on suits only for very special circumstances, some international conferences, or when the Pope came, or a meeting with some head of state, although even that protocol has been simplified here in Cuba.”

He thinks the first time he appeared dressed in civilian cloths was at the Ibero-American Summit in Cartagena de las Indias in 1994, because the Colombian hosts asked all participating heads of state and government to wear a guayabera (a men’s shirt popular in Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the West Indies).

“Since then, I’ve worn civilian cloths to other international meetings, but also for special occasions here in Cuba. But this uniform which I’ve always worn since the Sierra, is what I ordinarily wear. I’m used to it and feel perfectly comfortable in it. It’s not a sophisticated uniform. It’s very simple, almost like the one I wore in the war. We’ve just made a few modifications to it.

“I also have a uniform for receptions that I wear for some occasions, with a shirt and tie, a little more formal. But the one I feel most comfortable in, is this one.”

Castro was born on August 13 1926, on his father’s farm in Biran, Cuba.

His father, Angel Castro Argiz, had migrated from Galicia in Spain and later became a wealthy landowner.

He died on October 21, 1956 in Biian.

His wife Lina Ruz, who was Cuban-born and bore him seven children, died in 1980.

“Where I was born, I lived with people of the most humble origins. I remember the illiterate unemployed men who would stand in line near the cane fields, with nobody to bring them a drop of water, or lunch, or give them shelter, or transport. And I can’t forget those children going barefoot...” Castro recalls.

In October 1948, Castro married Mirta Diaz-Balart, daughter of a wealthy, politically influential Cuban family (they divorced in 1955).

His first child Fidel Felix Castro Diaz-Balart, “Fidelito” was born on September 1, 1949.

Nothing is included in the book on his wife — about whom there is said to be considerable mystery — and children.

As Ramonet states: “It never crossed my mind that we should speak about Castro’s private life, his wife or his children.”

In school, Castro was outstanding in basketball, football, baseball — almost all the sport.