Alina Fernández Revuelta (born 19 March 1956, Cuba) is a Cuban anti-communist activist. She is the daughter of Fidel Castro and Natalia Revuelta Clews. She is one of the best known Cuban critics of the

government of Cuba Cuba has had a socialist political system since 1959 based on the "one state – one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a Marxist–Leninist state. The present Constitution of Cuba, which was passed in a 2019 referendum, also ...

and her father's and

uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an uncle is an aunt, and the reciprocal rela ...

's rule, where she lived until 1993.

Biography

Fernández lived with her mother, Natalia "Naty" Revuelta Clews, who was born in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in 1925 and stepfather, Orlando Fernández. In Cuba, she worked as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of a Cuban fashion company, according to the University Program Board. In 1993, at age 37, she left Cuba for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

using false papers and a wig. Elena Díaz-Verson Amos, a Cuban immigrant, and wife to John Amos (an

Aflac Aflac Inc. (American Family Life Assurance Company) is an American insurance company and is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States. The company was founded in 1955 and is based in Columbus, Georgia. In the U.S., A ...

, Inc. founder) helped Fernández leave Cuba. Fernández lived in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

, with Díaz-Verson for several years. Fernández has one daughter. In an interview in 2008 with ''Foreign Policy'' magazine, she said she had been closer to her uncle, Raúl Castro, than she was to her father. She said Raúl Castro, who succeeded her father as the Cuban president, had helped her on several occasions. "He was the person to whom you could go to and ask for help every time you had a practical problem. I personally asked for his help a couple of times, and he always helped me immediately. In the family he was the only help you could find. On these kinds of issues, Fidel was totally unhelpful."

Lawsuit

Fernández's aunt, Juanita Castro, sued Alina Fernández for libel and defamation over passages in her autobiography about Juanita and Fidel's parents, Ángel Castro and Lina Ruz. In 2005, a Spanish court ordered Fernández and Plaza & Janes, the Barcelona

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publisher, to pay US$45,000 to Juanita Castro, who said the book defamed her family: "People who were eating off Fidel's plate yesterday come here and want money and power, so they say whatever they want, even if it's not true... Part of my family was responsible for a lot of suffering in Cuba — you can't change that," she said. "But nobody has the right to offend Fidel's family. Insult Fidel — there's plenty to say." An English version, published under the title ''Castro's Daughter: An Exile's Memoir of Cuba'', omits the offending passages.

References

External links

Castro's Daughter Pleads for Her Own
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''.

Book and autobiography

* ''Havana Dreams, a Story of Cuba'' by Wendy Gimbel (Alfred A. Knopf, 1998) * ''Castro's Daughter, An Exile's Memoir of Cuba'' by Alina Fernández (St. Martin's Press, 1997) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Alina 1956 births Living people Cuban anti-communists Cuban emigrants to the United States Fidel Castro family Opposition to Fidel Castro People from Havana Cuban exiles Children of national leaders