Fidel Castro appears to be listening
to a speech by an American tourist,
who probably had a few too many.
Early in 1959, my parents happened to be in Havana when Fidel Castro came to town. My parents were attending the convention of the company my dad happened to be working for at the time. It was a very small company and my dad was good friends with the company's owner, Owen M., the American tourist who is giving a speech in the picture.
Here's my dad in the middle of
a group of Castro's "campesinos."
My parents didn't know what to make of Castro, but they had a good time in Cuba. A handsome Cuban, a friend of Owen M., asked Mom to have a drink with him in the hotel lobby. Mom noticed a nearby potted palm quivering suspiciously. My dad was hiding behind it to keep an eye on Mom.
After they got home, my dad said, "I think Castro is probably OK." Mom said, "I don't know about that. I saw machine guns on top of some of the buildings."
