Fidel Castro – the fiery and controversial leader of the Cuban Communist Revolution – has died at the age of 90.
Who was Castro’s wife?
Castro was married at least once (the above photo is of Castro and first wife Mirta Diaz-Balart), was divorced, and, many reports say, married a second woman. He had children with both women. He was also reported to be a womanizer who sired as many as 10 children, telling one interviewer they formed a “tribe.”
Castro’s brother Raul took over the reins of power in 2008, said BBC.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Castro Married His First Wife in 1949 & They Had a Child Together
Fidel ‘Fidelito’ Castro Diaz-Balart, son of Cuban revoloutionary leader Fidel Castro, stands near Paris Hilton (L) as they attend the closing gala night for the week-long International Habano Cigar Festival on February 27, 2015 in Havana, Cuba. (Getty)
According to the UK Telegraph, Castro’s first wife was named Mirta (sometimes given as Myrta) Diaz-Balart and he had one child with her, a boy named Fidelito (or Little Fidel.) She met Castro in college, said The Independent.
According to Biography.com, Diaz-Balart “was from a wealthy political family in Cuba…The marriage exposed Castro to a wealthier lifestyle and political connections.”
She was described as “the daughter of a general, and her brother was to become one of Batista’s officers.”
The Independent called Diaz-Balart the “only woman” Castro ever married. In 2006, she returned to Cuba for the first time in 40 years to see her son and possibly Castro, who was already ill, the news site said.
2. Castro’s Wife Married a Political Rival
Picture taken 01 May, 2006 during a political rally in Havana of several members of Cuban President Fidel Castro’s family. Identified by their respective numbers in the below picture, they are: #1: Alejandro Castro, son, computer expert; #2: Antonio Castro, son, orthopedist, Cuban baseball team doctor; #3: (no name available), grandson, son of Angel Castro; #4: Angel Castro, son; #5: Dalia Soto del Valle, wife and family administrator, teacher; #6: Mirta Castro, granddaughter, daughter of Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart; #7: Alexis Castro, son, mechanic, Mercedes-Benz specialist. The reamining people are friends and bodyguards. (Getty)
The Independent says that Castro’s first wife divorced him because he cheated on her and then “married one of his sworn political enemies,” a man named Emilio Nuñez Blanco, living with him in Madrid.
Her second husband was “a supporter of the Cuban dictator Fulgenico Batista, who was later deposed by forces led by Mr. Castro,” said The Independent.
Cuban state media reported the death of Fidel Castro on November 25, although details about it were scant on November 25.
3. Castro Was Rumored to Have Secretly Married Another Woman in 1980
Still grab from a video taken on January 8, 2014 of former Cuban president Fidel Castro (C) and Dalia Soto (L) during the inauguration of the nonprofit cultural centre Kcho Romerillo, Laboratory for Art in Havana. (Getty)
The Telegraph said Castro had five boys “between 1962 and 1974 with Dalia Soto del Valle, a little-seen companion whom he is said to have secretly married in 1980.”
Del Valle was a teacher, said The New York Post. Cubans were not told of Del Valle for decades, said The Post.
Some biographies of Castro don’t even mention her. She was his “companion since 1961,” reports The UK Daily Mail.
4. Castro Had Children With Women He Didn’t Marry
Alina Fernandez Revuelta (L), daughter of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and her daughter Alina-Maria Salgado-Fernandez (R) toast the New Year with champagne, after being reunited in the United States after Alina-Maria left Havana early 31 December 1993 for Miami. Alina Fernandez Revuelta defected from Cuba last week. (Getty)
Castro had a daughter named Alina with Natalia Revuelta, his mistress who “has been living in exile since December of 1993,” reported the blog TheRealCuba.com.
5. Castro Cheated on His Wives, a Book on His Life Reported
Cuban President Fidel Castro gives a speech in front of the U.S. Interest Section May 14, 2004 in Havana. (Getty)
“The Double Life of Fidel Castro,” by Juan Reinaldo Sanchez, reported that Castro cheated on both of his wives. The book was excerpted in The New York Post.
“He cheated on the first with the very beautiful Havanan Natalia Revuelta and on the second with ‘comrade’ Celia Sanchez, his private secretary, confidante and guard dog for 30 or so years,” said The Post.
Castro had a string of mistresses who were kept from the Cuban public, The Post said.
Read more about Fidel Castro in Spanish at AhoraMismo.com:
