Castro’s daughter talks about growing up

Alina Fernandez, daughter of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, spoke to a standing room-only crowd in the Whittenberger Auditorium on Wednesday night about growing up in Cuba and eventually making the decision to flee the country to escape her father’s rule.

Fernandez, who now lives in Miami, has not spoken to her father since she left in 1993, when she had to disguise herself as a Spanish tourist to get into America.

She began her lecture by describing her early life with her mother, and Castro, who she did not know was her father until she was 10 years old.

“I already knew Castro would never be a regular father,” she said. “And one year later I was an adolescent trying to escape this identity.”

Fernandez said after she witnessed the execution of a Cuban man during a riot, her life went from white to black, and the helplessness she felt when people would approach her with problems was too overwhelming.

“So many people would come to me with their problems and hope I can be their messenger, but you can’t do anything to help,” she said. “I wasted a big part of my early years trying to escape social control, and I never succeeded.”

By 1993, Cuba was destroyed, with businesses closed, families broken apart and thousands of children separated from their parents to live in foster homes in America, she said.

Fernandez planned to flee the country, but she had to disguise herself as a Spanish tourist to make it to Miami, where soon after her daughter joined her.

“If I wouldn’t have left Cuba, I don’t think I would have made it,” Fernandez said. “Everybody can go to jail because everything in Cuba is illegal, with the worst thing to do is to think differently.”

Fernandez is now a human rights activist and travels the country to raise awareness about Cuba. The lecture was sponsored by the Union Board and La Casa as part of International Week.

IU freshman and La Casa staff member Dalia Ramirez thought of the idea to invite Fernandez. “I’m from Miami, and I think she brought a really interesting perspective,” Ramirez said.

La Casa graduate assistant Juan Berumen said he was pleased with the turnout of the lecture.

“I hope students can walk away from this not completely convinced one way or another but that they want to pursue more questions about the country,” he said.

Freshman Pedro Villarruel said he thought the lecture was insightful.

“It really opened up my eyes to a lot of the issues going on in Cuba and some of the issues in the Cuban government,” he said.

Fernandez said her first visit to Bloomington was a success and she was pleasantly surprised by the knowledge IU students had about Cuba.

“People were pretty well informed,” she said. “It’s very rewarding when you get to a place and the people already know a little about it.”