CAB to host April 13 talk by Castro's daughter

Alina Fernandez, estranged daughter of Fidel Castro, will share her first-person, intimate account of growing up in Cuba at 7 p.m., April 13, in York College’s Collegiate Performing Arts Center.  The event, sponsored by the Campus Activities Board, is open to the public free of charge.

Through her insight as one of the Cuban elite, Fernandez will guide audience members through her life in Cuba and describe the surrounding political environment during the 1960s and ‘70s. Weaving in her unique sense of style and humor, she reveals exciting and suspenseful anecdotes, snapshots of Cuban society, her inside scoop on Cuban politics, and a detailed view of her father.

Born as a result of Castro's summer affair with his comrade, Natalia Revuelta, Fernandez was just a toddler when Castro overthrew the Batista government during the 1959 Cuban Revolution.  She saw Fidel Castro on the television screen and then in her living room, as Castro would frequently visit her at night. Fernandez played tirelessly with him until dawn. Then he would disappear for months at a time.

As Fernandez grew up and opened her eyes to the political climate in Cuba, she became rebellious, and in the ‘80s became part of the political dissident movement on the island. By 1993 she was forced to flee Cuba, armed with false papers and disguised as a Spanish tourist.

As Fernandez grew up and opened her eyes to the political climate in Cuba, she became rebellious, and in the ‘80s became part of the political dissident movement on the island. By 1993 she was forced to flee Cuba, armed with false papers and disguised as a Spanish tourist.

Fernandez resides in the United States today. In 1998 St. Martin's Press published her story, “Castro's Daughter: An Exile's Memoir of Cuba.”