Fernandez, daughter of Fidel Castro, delivers Hispanic Heritage Month keynote speech


k6a9275

Hispanic Keynote Speaker Alina Fernandez,  gives a speech to CMU Students on HHM MAC Scholar Event, in UC Rounda, on Sep 28.

Alina Fernandez grew up in Cuba during the reign of her father, Fidel Castro. 

She fled the country in December 1993 with her daughter and a falsified passport to begin a new life in America.

“Freedom is something you cannot explain," Fernandez said. "You just feel it.”

Fernandez served as the Hispanic Heritage Month keynote speaker last week at the Bovee University Center Rotunda, sharing the story of her life in Cuba.

D'Wayne Jenkins, assistant director of Multicultural Academic Student Services, booked Fernandez in May so she could story and her opposition to the Cuban government her father once led.

“When I’m picking speakers, I always look for speakers who have interesting stories," Jenkins said. "When I was presented with the option to bring her to campus, I thought it would be really good and compelling.”

Fernandez is the daughter of Castro and Natalia Revuelta Clews, who were never married. During her life in Cuba, she lived with Clews family and Alina's first husband, Orlando Fernandez.

Her parents met during their political opposition to the Cuban government. After Castro was arrested for an attack on Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, he began to write love letters to her from jail. Castro’s wife found one of the letters after being mistakenly sent to her and discovered he loved someone else, ending their marriage. 

Clews gave birth to Fernandez in 1956. Three years later, Fernandez would watch her father on television as Castro overthrew Batista. Fernandez didn’t discover Castro was her father until she was 10 years old.

She was opposed to the government her father was running, adding "life was so hectic at the beginning of the revolution." 

He banned the ability to leave Cuba, eliminated freedom of speech and expression, employed a committee for the defense of the revolution, executed any opposition and formulated the term "hate to America."

Fernandez embraced her last name being different from her biological father's as she attempted to hide her family history. She gave birth to a daughter in 1977, and in part because of the poor education system in Cuba, they fled to the United States.

Fernandez didn’t return to Cuba until two years ago. 

Beal City junior Anna Reihl said Fernandez’s speech helped her better understand the political situation in Cuba.

“I like how she brought (jokes) into it to keep the crowd engaged," Reihl said. "I liked how she gave her background story because it’s coming from her experience of the things she went through.”

The event finished with a question and answer session before attendees were able to meet and take pictures with Fernandez.

Shelby Township junior Dan Duong said he was intrigued by Fernandez’s story.

“I wasn’t expecting some detailed story. I was just expecting an overview of the major takeaways from her experience," Duong said.

Fernandez, who resides in Miami, said she was excited to see students interested in knowing her home country’s history and about the regulations imposed by her father.

“It’s an honor (to give speeches)," she said. "I feel overwhelmed. It’s scary at the same time, but I really enjoyed the interest because I don’t think it’s on me. I think it’s on the country.”

Fernandez said one thing she wants students to take away from her speech is to stay curious, which she said is a privilege.

“(In Cuba) students never had the opportunity to relate to people from the outside," Fernandez said. "The more you relate, the more you’re going help then to think, to hope and to know what to desire.”

Jenkins said he was pleased with the show’s success, specifically the engagement during the question and answer session at the end.

“(Fernandez) remarkable and different type of story," he said. "To to be able to hear her story and kind of see how she’s overcome the things she went through as a child is really remarkable."

Duong said Fernandez helped him realize how lucky the younger generation of Americans are to not have been in that type of situation.

“Let’s just experience the privilege that we have, especially growing in the United States where we have everything," he said. "Other (countries) don’t get this opportunity.”

Share: 

About Evan Sasiela

Evan Sasiela is the University Editor at Central Michigan Life and a senior at Central Michigan ...

View Posts by Evan Sasiela →