Fidel Castro's daughter speaks out
Greg Geistkemper
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: News
On Nov 14 Alina Fernandez presented her first hand accounts of living under and with former dictator of Cuba, Fidel Castro. The uniqueness of her story unlike others who tell similar stories of Fidel and his regime is her close connection with the former dictator of Cuba. In fact her connection is closer then most because she is the illegitimate daughter of Fidel Castro.
Fernandez's 45 minute speech consisted of two very unique viewpoints; the first viewpoint consisted of her father-daughter relationship with the man that she knew as her father from the age of 10. Fernandez spoke of Castro as her only true father figure growing up on account of her stepfather fleeing Cuba to escape persecution under Castro's regime very early in her life.
"I remember my mother taking me from my crib late at night, and setting me on the rug in our living room which was filled with thick dark smoke and out of the fog seeing the man that was on television with his dark full beard, I remember he gave me a doll of himself dressed in his military uniform," said Fernandez.
Fernandez's second viewpoint consisted of her opposition of her father political policies and agendas. The development of her second viewpoint began to originate at a very early age.
"As I sat watching television one night, I witnessed a man standing in front of a wall. He was wearing a blindfold and a white shirt that had dark spots on it. It took me two years to make sense of what I have seen," said Fernandez.
Fernandez through out her childhood began to experience more and more the toll that her fathers regime had on the people of Cuba. At age ten when the truth about her relation to Fidel Castro was made public, her relatively normal life became significantly more complex due to her immediate fame.
"I had grown men and women approaching me with there stories of hardships. These men and women hoped that I, a 10 year old girl, could relay the message of their struggles to my father," said Fernandez.
As time passed and Fernandez's fame grew her relationship with her father grew weak. Her distain for her father's political platform began to boil up within her and as she entered her teen years she found herself involved in protests and sit ins. Yet her fame followed her everywhere she went about her life in Cuba with remorse and distain, knowing that her father had caused so much pain and hardships through actions such as systematic purging and the implementation of ration booklets.
On December 31,1993 her daughter reached the United States safely as well. Fernandez left behind her beloved mother, who is still active in the communist party in Cuba till this day.
Fernandez's closing quote summed up her opinion about her fathers ruling dictatorship well.
"The revolution becomes a dictatorship when the government took over your life and when you try to do something about it that very same government threw you in jail," Fernandez said.
Fernandez's 45 minute speech consisted of two very unique viewpoints; the first viewpoint consisted of her father-daughter relationship with the man that she knew as her father from the age of 10. Fernandez spoke of Castro as her only true father figure growing up on account of her stepfather fleeing Cuba to escape persecution under Castro's regime very early in her life.
"I remember my mother taking me from my crib late at night, and setting me on the rug in our living room which was filled with thick dark smoke and out of the fog seeing the man that was on television with his dark full beard, I remember he gave me a doll of himself dressed in his military uniform," said Fernandez.
Fernandez's second viewpoint consisted of her opposition of her father political policies and agendas. The development of her second viewpoint began to originate at a very early age.
"As I sat watching television one night, I witnessed a man standing in front of a wall. He was wearing a blindfold and a white shirt that had dark spots on it. It took me two years to make sense of what I have seen," said Fernandez.
Fernandez through out her childhood began to experience more and more the toll that her fathers regime had on the people of Cuba. At age ten when the truth about her relation to Fidel Castro was made public, her relatively normal life became significantly more complex due to her immediate fame.
"I had grown men and women approaching me with there stories of hardships. These men and women hoped that I, a 10 year old girl, could relay the message of their struggles to my father," said Fernandez.
As time passed and Fernandez's fame grew her relationship with her father grew weak. Her distain for her father's political platform began to boil up within her and as she entered her teen years she found herself involved in protests and sit ins. Yet her fame followed her everywhere she went about her life in Cuba with remorse and distain, knowing that her father had caused so much pain and hardships through actions such as systematic purging and the implementation of ration booklets.
On December 31,1993 her daughter reached the United States safely as well. Fernandez left behind her beloved mother, who is still active in the communist party in Cuba till this day.
Fernandez's closing quote summed up her opinion about her fathers ruling dictatorship well.
"The revolution becomes a dictatorship when the government took over your life and when you try to do something about it that very same government threw you in jail," Fernandez said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
JMummery
posted 7/29/09 @ 7:53 PM CST
Well. It's interesting to know that she can remember all that, but one question: Could she be held responsible for anything she was a witness to?
Des Moines Movers
posted 10/28/09 @ 1:59 PM CST
It would be very interesting to hear more about her viewpoints, since she was so close to Castro and at the same time opposed his policies. It was also quite daring of her to go to protests against her own father's regime. (Continued…)
Post a Comment