Wednesday, January 1, 2020

10 Surprises About Fidel Castro's Extravagant Life

208,863 viewsNov 26, 2016, 10:46am

10 Surprises About Fidel Castro's Extravagant Life

Keith FlamerSenior Contributor

Writer, pop culture virtuoso and luxury lunatic

Fidel Castro, Cuba’s communist dictator, former president and divisive world figure, died on November 25 at 90 years old—53 years and three days after his nemesis U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Despite their adversarial status, both men were born into wealth via extremely ambitious fathers, both loved sports, both had a mistress weakness, and both fought for their country to oust dictators. That’s where the similarities end.

Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba's 1959 revolution.

JFK died young and Castro lived a long, well-heeled life. Castro survived 11 U.S. presidents. Although he didn't live in a palace and streets weren't named for him, Castro still lived more extravagantly and hypocritically than he wanted the world to know. Cuba’s revolution leader wasn’t as modest as he led on. A decade ago, Forbes estimated Fidel Castro’s personal net worth at $900 million. That's a lot of socialist rationing for one person. Luxurious living arrangements were especially appealing to Castro. But for security reasons (after hundreds of assassination attempts), Castro's paranoid personal life and residences were top secret. Even Cuban citizens didn't know where he resided.

Fidel Castro, one of the longest-serving world leaders, died November 25 at 90 years old. (Photo by... [+]

Today In: Lifestyle Old

Here are 10 surprising nuggets about Fidel Castro’s lifestyle and ancestral homes (that is, the main two residences we know about).

1. Fidel Castro was born on his father Ángel Castro’s prosperous 25,000-acre, 400-employee sugar plantation (called Las Manacas farm) in small town Birán, Cuba—about 500 miles from Havana on the eastern end of the island. The property now serves as a Castro museum.

Fidel Castro was born on this sugar plantation in 1926. (Photo by Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images)

2. Founded by their wealthy landowner father in 1915, Fidel and younger brother Raul Castro’s childhood home in Birán burnt down in 1954 but a replica was erected in its place in 1974.

Cuban President Fidel Castro examines photos of his relatives at his native house in Birán, Cuba.... [+]

A picture of Cuban leader Fidel Castro in his ancestral home which is now a museum. (Photo by Joe... [+]

3. Fidel and Raul’s parents, Ángel Castro and Lina Ruz González, are laid to rest at the Birán plantation. Castro’s privileged background (although non-bourgeois) contradicted his message, so to give himself street cred, he touted his grandparent’s background as “exploited Galician peasants” from Spain.

The burial site of Cuban leaders Fidel and Raul Castro's parents on the grounds of their childhood... [+]

4. Like JFK, Castro’s father sent him to boarding school where he received a quality education (despite mediocre grades). Baseball, reading, and politics were among his interests. At 14 (though he claimed he was 12), he even penned a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt congratulating him on his re-election while brazenly asking for $10 American cash (sounds like a secret capitalist).

As a 14-year old, Fidel Castro congratulated FDR on his re-election in 1940.

As a 14-year old (not 12 as he claimed), Fidel Castro congratulated FDR on his re-election in 1940.... [+]

5. The Birán estate was more than a working sugar plantation. Prominent landowner Ángel Castro also established a primary school, hotel, pub, post office, a market store, and a ring for cockfighting (again, it sounds like a capitalist venture).

A building that served as a guest house on the Birán sugar plantation, founded by Fidel Castro's... [+]

6. Castro ruled Cuba for 49 paranoid years. He moved frequently due to an estimated 600 assassination attempts by the CIA and other foes. The failed plots are infamous—exploding cigars and poison milkshakes included. Castro eventually ceded power to his brother Raul and retired to the gated community “Punto Cero” (Point Zero), his top-secret 75-acre suburban Havana home which resembled a vast military compound.

Fidel Castro meets with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his brother President Raul... [+]

7. Punto Cero, a pre-revolution golf course property, was reportedly set up by Castro in the 1970s. According to Castro’s former bodyguard, the estate complex includes orange, lemon, mandarin, grapefruit and banana trees, as well as cows and six greenhouses to grow food.

Castro's compound is on the former grounds of the Havana Biltmore Yacht and Country Club.

Castro's compound is reportedly on the former grounds of the Havana Biltmore Yacht and Country Club.

8. Punto Cero was far from the “fisherman’s cottage” Castro publicly claimed as his main asset. The luxurious complex in the Jaimanitas neighborhood (15 miles outside Havana proper) served as Castro’s summer residence near the capital city’s embassy district. According to Castro's former bodyguard (as reported by InCuba Today), he also owned a residences in Cayo Piedra (a stones throw from the Bay of Pigs), La Caleta del Rosario, which featured a private marina; and La Deseada, a chalet in Pinar del Río—reportedly one of Castro's favorite duck hunting spots.

Fidel Castro in Pinar del Río after the 1959 Cuban revolution. Castro frequently visited and took up... [+]

9. Retired Fidel Castro met foreign leaders, dignitaries and Popes at Punto Cero, including Pope John Paul II in 1998, Pope Benedict in 2012, and Pope Francis in 2015. Despite his Jesuit background, Castro was an atheist. Yet he still reveled meeting Popes, even exchanging religious books with them.

Pope Francis meets Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba in 2015. The Vatican described the meeting at... [+]

10. According to President Raul Castro who announced his brother's death, Fidel will be cremated and given a state funeral—perhaps with a final resting place near his parents on the Birán plantation. Although, in Fidel fashion, that is still a secret.

A man looks at a newspaper's front page the morning after Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro died at age 90. (Photo by Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images)

Keith Flamer

I’m the über curious type. I’ve photographed Stockholm’s chromatic doors, been ripped off in Athens, and survived an overnight stay in the real Friday the 13th cabin (thankfully on Thursday the 12th). Rustic isn’t my first choice but I promise to share a variety of curiosities with you—as I did for Robb Report, Town & Country, Haute Living, Veranda, Uptown and Luxury magazine readers.

These 6 New Laws Take Effect in New York Wednesday

NEW LAWS

These 6 New Laws Take Effect in New York Wednesday

What to Know

New York Legislature passed over 900 bills this year, a marked increase from typical years
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has approved roughly 750 bills and vetoed 168 as of Monday
Some new laws taking place in January include bail reform, farmworker rights and minimum wage increase

The newly Democratic-controlled Legislature passed 935 bills this year - a marked increase from typical years. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has approved 747 bills and vetoed 168 as of Monday, when about 20 bills remained.

The pile of new laws marks a victory for Democrats who had long lacked control of the Senate. Some bills taking effect in January include:

BAIL REFORM

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New York's bail law eliminates pretrial detention and money bail for the vast majority of misdemeanor and nonviolent felony cases. The law also requires release for certain violent felonies - second-degree burglary and second-degree robbery.

The law would still require cash bail for major drug trafficking offenses, sex offenses, criminal contempt in a domestic violence case, witness tampering or intimidation and certain offenses against children.

Cuomo estimates the new law will keep about 90% of defendants out of jail at least until their case gets resolved.

FARMWORKER RIGHTS

Another new law taking effect Jan. 1 gives farmworkers the right to organize, collect overtime and get a day off.

Under current law, farm laborers do not have the right to organize. The new law ensures that farmworkers earn overtime if they work more than 60 hours a week. They would also be guaranteed one day of rest each week.

Supporters - including many farm laborers, their advocates and groups including the Roman Catholic Church - say the workers deserve the same rights and benefits as others. Many farm owners had warned that the measure could dramatically increase farm labor costs.

MINIMUM WAGE

The minimum wage is rising to $15 an hour for all workers in New York City, as of Dec. 31.

Workers elsewhere in the state will make less: $13 in the city's near suburbs and $11.80 upstate.

In 2013, New York raised the minimum wage to $9 from $7.25 for nontipped workers.

A 2016 law called for the state to eventually raise its minimum wage to $15 but phased it in at different rates for New York City, the suburbs and upstate. The law also gave small New York City employers with 10 or fewer employees an extra year to make it to $15.

Cuomo's administration has until fall 2020 to decide when the minimum wage should reach $15 in Hudson Valley and upstate communities facing struggling economies.

ADOPTION CERTIFICATES

Adoptees can soon obtain a certified birth certificate under a new law effective Jan. 15.

Under the current law, adoptees must go before a judge to request access to their birth certificate. Advocates who have fought for 20 years for New York's law say that access isn't always guaranteed.

New York's new law allows adult adoptees, their descendants or legal representative to obtain a certified copy of their original birth certificate.

The National Conference of State Legislatures says about half of states still require a court order. Some critics worry about privacy rights of birth parents.

TEENS PREREGISTERING TO VOTE

It's about to become easier for teens to get ready to vote once they're of age.

Starting Jan. 1, New York is allowing individuals 16 years or older to preregister to vote.

Once those individuals turn 18, the Board of Elections will automatically register them to vote.

PUBLIC CAMPAIGN FINANCE

Lawmakers missed a December deadline to block a politically appointed commission's plan to use public money to fund campaigns in New York.

The plan has drawn scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats alike who are expected to fine-tune the plan's details next year. And lawmakers will have time to make changes. Commissioners delayed the program four years for state legislative races and six years for statewide races.

New Yorkers who give $250 or less would see their donations matched with public funds 6 to 1 for statewide office candidates such as governor. So a $100 donation would be worth $700 to a candidate.

Donations to local candidates would also be matched: 12 to 1 for the first $50, 9 to 1 for the next $100 and 8 to 1 for the final $100.

Candidates will face limits of $5,000 per donor for Assembly races and $10,000 for Senate races, down from roughly $9,000 and $19,000. New York's campaign finance limits are the highest in the country, and federal presidential candidates can raise $5,600 from a single donor.

Voting rights groups have called New York's plan a big step forward but said lawmakers should lower limits political contributions and ensure independent oversight of the system.

HORN OF JUSTICE (Trompa de Justicia)

Wednesday, January 1, 2020