Journalist Clavis Rossi called him "the first daredevil in Latin America". And it is impossible to deny him that he is right. While his countrymen were starving, Fidel Castro was basking in luxury. He ate in the best hotels, drank the most expensive alcohols and devoted himself to carnal pleasures with enthusiasm. According to legend, he had 35,000 lovers. All in the name of the Revolution ...
When Forbes magazine valued Fidel Castro's fortune at $ 900 million in 2006 and placed him on the list of the richest rulers and dictators, the Cuban leader denied everything with holy indignation. He long assured that he lived very modestly and received a salary of only 700 pesos (according to the official conversion rate, it is currently around PLN 130), so he could not have accumulated the fortune that he was "accused of" of having.
According to him, the only luxury he allowed himself as head of state were… women.
Bed conquests
If you believe the stories that circulated on this subject, through Fidel Castro's bed passed - a trifle - 35,000 lovers, whom he "consumed" for "breakfast, lunch and dinner" (one rumor has it that this large group also included the Polish pop music star - Maryla Rodowicz, who was to fall into the dictator's arms in 1978 during his trip to Cuba, and a photo together was the proof of their romance).
Fidel Castro had thousands of lovers
According to Norberto Fuentes, he lost his virtue at the age of 7 with a servant working on Father Castro's estate, a certain Nereida. How much truth is there? Hard to say. Certainly, however, in the later years the dictator did not lack the courage to deal with women. When he was released from prison under an amnesty in 1953, a crowd of admirers literally encircled him. Jules Dubois, correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, concluded:"By the time he got home from prison, his shirt was red with lipstick."
After taking power, he could fully satisfy his sexual appetite. His personal aide, Captain Jesus Maria Yanez Pelletiere, reprimanded him then his next mistresses - journalists, actresses, singers, tourists, prostitutes ... Even when the public began to look askance at his conquests (after all, according to government propaganda, he was a staunch nation leader, living in absolute asceticism) With rape accusations in the opposition press more and more, Castro could always find 20 minutes to relieve "intimate tension". Diane Ducret describes:
When he noticed a woman on the street who caught his eye, he showed her to the head of the escort as if he were selecting a fish at a market stall ; this one was signaling the security guards at the end of the convoy. At this point, the initial verification of the "victim" began. First step:tracking. Once the address was established, the second stage began:establishing whether she was married, and if so - who was her husband (...)
Castro posed as an ascetic, but the reality was completely different
Once my husband was neutralized, it was time for a "routine check" of the Ministry of Health. Under the pretext of the threat of an epidemic, comprehensive blood tests were carried out, x-rays were taken . If the results were satisfactory, she became el Commandante's friend. She didn't have to worry about anything, all her needs and wants were met.
No wonder opposition activists mocked the dictator's mood, for example by spreading caricatures on which naked Fidel paraded happily, proudly displaying his comically enlarged genitals to the world. By the way - perhaps unknowingly - they were hitting a certain embarrassing Castro complex. Namely, he was supposedly convinced that his testicles were… too big. As you can see, however, this did not prevent him from leading a lush intimate life.
When I see sweets…
Contrary to declarations, Castro liked to please himself in other matters as well. He highly appreciated good cuisine and - while his countrymen were on a compulsory diet (as shown by the research of Spanish scientists, the economic policy of the dictator in 1980-2010 and the notorious food shortage associated with it, "slimmed down" Cubans by an average of 9 kilograms). in the best restaurants - and always to your heart's content.
Cheese and milk were an important part of the Cuban leader's diet. He ate meat rather little, but he loved vegetables in all its forms. At the same time, he was quite carefree about the regularity of meals. One of his cooks recalled:“He learned to eat at different times in the guerrilla warfare. Nothing could be planned with him. It is a drama for a cook. You are at work at any time of the day or night. ”
Fidel Castro liked to eat well
According to the second chef who accompanied the dictator every day for breakfast, Fidel liked eggs the most - preferably quail, prepared with beans and rice. He also couldn't deny himself sweetness:
Once they were sitting with Comrade Che at the Nacional Hotel, the two of them, Fidel and Che, and the waiter brought them ice cream, el Comendante loves ice cream, he could eat ten scoops or more with dinner. (...) He can eat fifteen scoops, he can eat twenty, he always wanted every Cuban to buy ice cream every day.
Well, on that last point something clearly went wrong, since in the Special Period (after the collapse of the USSR in 1991) it was not unusual to see men and women rummaging in garbage cans for scraps, and there was a joke in Havana that in the zoo the signs " Do not feed animals "was replaced with a prohibition:" Do not steal food from animals "and later with a more restrictive one:" Do not eat animals "...
Pan Master
Cubans were starving, and Castro had his best. Money from successive lovers allowed him to lead a lavish life. He did not avoid stimulants at the same time. Witold Szabłowski describes:
He always liked good alcohol and cigars. In May 1958, as Batista's offensive began, he wrote a desperate letter from Sierra Maestra to Celia Sánchez:“I have no tobacco, no wine, I have nothing. The bottle of rosé wine, sweet and Spanish, was […] left in the refrigerator. Where is she? ”.
However, even in culinary matters, he showed dictatorial impulses. After all, he saw himself as almost infallible. Szabłowski comments:
El Comendante instructed everyone on all sorts of things at every step. He was convinced that he was best knowledgeable about baseball, politics, irrigation, rice farming, cheese making, history, geography, fishing and all else (...).
Walentina Tereshkova and Fidel Castro, Havana, 1963
Therefore, no one should be surprised that he willingly shared his good advice with professional chefs - incl. at the Habana Libre Hotel, the best hotel in Havana, where he dined frequently as president. Like it or not, the best chefs had to listen to Fidel's tirades on how to prepare red snapper (fish popular in Cuba), lobster or shrimp.
He liked to stand by the pots himself, although as a cook he preferred rather simple recipes. His signature dish for years was ... spaghetti, the art of which he perfected while imprisoned on the Island of Pines. Often, during his famous fishing trips, he personally prepared grilled "prey" for his companions. Were they tasty? Well, none of his guests ever dared to complain…