Fidel Castro's Cuba

"I own no property other than a modest fisherman's hut somewhere on the coast."   Fidel Castro Say hello to my  leetle  friend, Fidel Castro - the hypocritical, opportunistic, billionaire bastard. Fidel had a great shtick, one that he used to propel himself into power and to later engender cult-like adoration from many Cubans. In public, Fidel spent every waking moment bemoaning the evils of capitalism and wealth. But in reality, Castro adored wealth, luxury, and everything that went with it. Fidel lived an extraordinarily extravagant life that was kept secret from his people. Before he died, he also amassed an enormous personal fortune that made him one of the wealthiest rulers in the world. In 2006, Forbes magazine estimated that Castro had a net worth that exceeded $900 Million. In arriving at this number, the magazine cautioned that this figure was likely only the tip of the iceberg since many of Fidel's potential sources of income were ...

Fidel Castro (age 17) hunting at Las Manacas Fidel Castro, Age 18 As I have noted in prior posts, Fidel Castro's childhood was the classic recipe for disaster. In Part III of my discussion on Fidel I concentrated on his early childhood, a childhood that served as the foundation for Castro's inferiority complex, his growing hatred for the social elite, and his never ending, underlying desire to please a cold, distant father. Part IV will continue my journey through Castro's past by examining his teenage years, which only served to shore up the dysfunctional foundation that was set in place from his earlier childhood. People familiar with Fidel Castro as a teenager have described him as a lying, manipulative young man. For example, while at the Colegio de Dolores , Fidel reportedly went to his school's administration office and claimed to have lost his report card. He hadn't really lost the card but was concerned about what his mother and father would ...

Fidel Castro, age 11 Fidel Castro was a nightmare waiting to happen. His childhood made certain of that. Imagine being an illegitimate bastard and being prohibited from ever going into your father's house, a house that is situated on the very piece of land where you live. Imagine being forced to live in a dirt floor hut with your pregnant, unmarried teenage mother and your other two siblings. Imagine the constant feeling of hatred cast in your direction by your father's wife who spent every waking moment knowing that you were the product of your father's amorous preference for your mother. Fidel (R) at the age of 8, with sister Angelina and brother Ramon in Santiago de Cuba Add to that being uprooted with your siblings and sent to live 80 miles away with another family that is paid by the month to house and feed you. This was Fidel Castro's life during his first four years. To make matters worse, Castro was not baptized nor had he taken his First...

(L to R) My grandmother, Uncle Joe, My grandfather, and my dad I was going to continue my discussion about Fidel Castro in today's post but when I got up this morning I looked at my phone and saw that I had received two voice mails from my cousin Joe. As soon as I saw them I knew why he was calling. When I listened to the first voice mail he confirmed what I already suspected - my Uncle Joe had passed away earlier this morning. Dr. Jose E. Olivella was a physician like his father. He was my dad's older brother. He was always extraordinarily kind and loving towards me and treated me as if I was his son. I loved him very, very much. My dad pre-deceased my uncle by many years so I know what my cousin Joe must be going through right now even though he has had time to prepare for my uncle's passing. Uncle Joe was 93 so we all knew every day was a gift with him and that the gift could be taken from us any day. My uncle came from Cuba, family in tow, shortly after we...

Angel Maria Castro Argiz, Fidel Castro's father Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926, the bastard son of Angel Maria Castro Argiz, an illiterate peasant from Spain who immigrated to Cuba after serving in the Spanish Army during the Spanish American War. Castro Argiz was conscripted into the Spanish Army to fight during the Cuban insurrection that led to the Spanish American War. Castro Argiz was inducted in place of a wealthy Spaniard's son, a common practice in Spain whereby the wealthy would pay to avoid having their sons serve in the Army. During his service in the Spanish army, Castro Argiz took part in summary executions of those rebelling against Spain, the pillaging of villages inhabited by those considered to be separatists, and the massacre of those perceived to be rendering aid to Spain's enemies. These experiences emotionally warped the man who would soon spawn an even more warped, more vicious human being. Angel Castro's immigration ...

You can't have a discussion about Cuba without a lengthy discussion about Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, or as I call him, The Silver Spoon Bastard. I call him this because despite Fidel's lifetime effort to portray himself as the product of humble beginnings he was anything but that. But he was a bastard, and in more ways than one. Fidel at the age of 3 Castro was the illegitimate son of a very wealthy man who fathered several children (including brother Raul) by way of his mistress, a household kitchen maid who he eventually married. Despite his illegitimacy, Fidel enjoyed all of the advantages that his father's wealth offered. But Fidel lacked more important things as a child. He lacked the love of his father, who was cold and distant. He lacked legitimacy, which left him without a sense of truly belonging. Finally, he lacked respect from others, something Fidel desperately craved. Wielding a death blow to Castro's psyche as an adolescent, Fidel's fat...

Before I began this Blog, I posted a video on my Facebook page that dealt with the failed health care system that exists in Cuba. It has now been viewed over 5,000 times and I have received several requests to post it where it can be seen by those who are not registered Facebook members. Here it is. Since posting that video I have done additional research on Cuba's medical care system and I discovered yet another of Cuba's dirty little secrets. Despite what people like Michael Moore would have you believe, Cuba's health care system is not only a huge failure, what is hidden from the world is that Cuba actually has two separate and distinct health care systems. One system is reserved for Cuba's elite - the high ranking members of the communist party, diplomats, and of course tourists. In other words, anyone who matters to the Cuban government. Just like in every other communist country, the government's elite make sure to take good care of their o...

Buying a daily ration of bread - one roll per person In my last post , I introduced you to the food rationing system that has been in place for the Cuban population since the inception of the Castro regime. Essentially each family is allotted only the barest of necessities in the form of a starch-laden food supply that lasts approximately ten days. For tourists, the availability of food is a whole different world. If you are visiting Cuba you needn't worry about food because it is abundant in hotels and restaurants. You see, both are mostly owned and operated by Cuba's military.  In order to guarantee the money-making tourism gravy train the military makes certain that tourists eat well. No shortage of food in restaurants - but for tourists only If you're a local and don't work at the hotel or restaurant you are prohibited from setting foot inside either of these establishments. Even if you could set food inside either of these you couldn't afford to ...