The great survivor: Cuba's Fidel Castro turns 90

Fidel Castro, pictured here in 2006, says he was not born political but his passion for politics seems unwavering

"I wasn't born political" Fidel Castro once wrote. "But from very young I observed things that stuck in my mind, that helped me understand the realities of the world."

He first observed them amid the rural poverty of his birthplace, Biran. Tucked away in the eastern province of Oriente, the main attraction in the town is his former home. Now a museum, it has been painstakingly preserved for tourists and left-wing pilgrims keen to see Castro's roots.

Fidel Castro's home in Biran has become a tourist attraction

Fidel Castro (with glasses) lived through the Cold War and stayed in power despite attempts by the US to overthrow him

Fidel Castro's father, Angel, was an immigrant from the Galicia region in northern Spain. Over time, he became a wealthy landowner.


Official and unofficial Castro biographers alike tend to agree that it was witnessing first-hand the exploitation of Haitian sugarcane workers on the farms that first influenced the young Fidel's fledging worldview.

Formative years

His half-brother, Martin Castro, still lives in Biran and told the BBC a few stories of their youth. "He had a little horse called 'Careto' and would go hunting with a small rifle, that's what he enjoyed most," the 87-year-old Martin Castro recalls.

A picture of a youthful Fidel, rifle on his hip, which hangs in the family home backs up his recollection. "He'd go over to the Haitians' homes and give them vouchers for credit he'd taken from our father's store," he remembers with a chuckle.

That rebellious streak eventually saw Fidel Castro sent to study under the Jesuits, first in the city of Santiago, and then in the Jesuit School of Belen in the capital, Havana. The Jesuit teachings also had a significant bearing on the young Fidel Castro.

"The Jesuit brothers didn't even earn a wage for teaching classes, they tried to be examples of modesty and honesty," says Dolores Guerra, a researcher at the government-run Cuban History Institute.

Under the influence of a priest called Father Llorente, Fidel Castro excelled in certain areas, including sports and outdoor expeditions. At the end of his course in 1944, he was awarded a prize for discipline.

"He liked humanities and languages; Spanish, English and history, Ms Guerra says. "But by his own admission, he wasn't a model student. He would leave everything to the last minute.

"Still, he did recognise the importance of discipline, punctuality and obtaining good grades."