Castro is a Romance (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Galician) word originally derived from Latin "Castrum", a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: kastron; Proto-Celtic: *Kassrik; Breton: kaer, *kastro).

It may refer to:

People[link]

• Castro (surname)
• Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, Head of the Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies of Naples
• Fidel Castro, former political leader of Cuba
• Raúl Castro, current political leader of Cuba
• House of Castro, Spanish noble family

Places[link]

Chile

• Castro, Chile

Italy

• Castro, Apulia, a comune in the province of Lecce
• Castro, Lazio, a destroyed town in the province of Viterbo
• Castro, Lombardy, a comune in the province of Bergamo
• Castel di Castro, 13th century fortified city at the site of modern Cagliari, Sardinia

Switzerland

• Castro, Ticino

United States

• Castro County, Texas
• Castro Cove, an embayment of the San Pablo Bay in Richmond, California
• Castro Creek, a creek in Richmond, California
• Castro Street Station, a Metro station in San Francisco, California
• Castro Theatre, a movie theater in San Francisco, California
• The Castro, San Francisco, a neighborhood in San Francisco, California
• Castro Valley, California, a census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County

Other[link]

• Castro culture, Iron-Age, Bronze-Age and Celtic culture in the Northern Iberian Peninsula
  • Castros in Spain
  • Castro (village), types of settlements of the Castro culture
• Castro (clothing), an Israel-based clothing company
• Wars of Castro, conflict between the Papacy and the Farnese dukes of Parma
• Castro FC, Spanish football team

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Asamoah Gyan

Personal information
Date of birth	(1985-11-22) 22 November 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth	Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Sunderland
Number	3
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003	Liberty Professionals	16	(11)
2003–2008	Udinese	39	(12)
2004–2006	→ Modena (loan)	53	(15)
2008–2010	Rennes	48	(14)
2010–	Sunderland	34	(10)
2011–2012	→ Al Ain (loan)	18	(22)
National team‡
2003–	Ghana	59	(28)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:15, 28 May 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:31, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

Asamoah Gyan (born 22 November 1985 in Accra) is a Ghanaian professional footballer and a part-time rapper, who plays as a striker for Sunderland of the Premier League.

Gyan shot to prominence after scoring three goals at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and also missing a crucial penalty kick in the last minute of extra-time in Ghana's quarter-final defeat by Uruguay.

Club career[link]

Udinese[link]

Having signed for Udinese in 2003 from Ghanaian club Liberty Professionals located in his hometown of Accra, Gyan spent two years on loan at Serie B club Modena to gain match experience. Following some excellent displays during the 2006 World Cup, he attracted interest from Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow. Gyan returned to Udinese at the start of 2006, but on 17 February 2007, Udinese pulled out of a deal to sell him in the January transfer window. The striker was on the verge of signing a 3-year deal with Russian Club Lokomotiv Moscow for US$10.5m, the fourth largest transfer fee in Russian football history. "The striker Udinese targeted to replace me did not sign for them," Gyan told BBC Sport. "I've been told I will now have to stay in Italy for the rest of the season."^[2]

On 10 August 2007, along with Fabio Quagliarella, Gyan signed an improved 5-year contract extension to stay at Udinese until 30 June 2012 as a reward for his fine form^[3] in the 2007–08 pre-season.^[4] "I have decided to stay here because it is one of the top leagues in the world," Asamoah said, "There is the possibility of me playing regular football here to make me a better player. "I am comfortable with the new deal and I know I can help Udinese achieve great things for the future".^[5] Gyan and Quagliarella marked their contract extensions with a brace each in Udinese's 7–0 friendly win later that evening.^[6]

.^[7] On 29 July 2007 following his impressive pre-season form, including a hat-trick^[8] in a friendly against Serie B outfit Spezia on 25 July, before Udinese sealed the long term deal.^[9][10] Gyan scored 10 goals in 2006–07 to help the Stadio Friuli club finish in 10th place in Serie A.

Gyan was dogged by injury during the 2007–08 season and never appeared for Udinese again after January 2008, having played only 13 Serie A matches and scored 4 times that season.

Rennes[link]

On 11 July 2008, Gyan was signed by French Ligue 1 Club Stade Rennais for 4 years on an €8 million transfer fee.^[11][12] Gyan played 48 times for Rennes, scoring 14 goals. By the end of his stay at Rennes, he became a well known goal scoring figure, scoring 13 league goals in the 2009-10 season. However, Gyan only played two games in Ligue 1 the following season, taking his total appearances to 50, before he departed for Sunderland.

Sunderland[link]

On 31 August 2010, Gyan signed for Premier League club Sunderland on a four-year deal.^[13] Gyan was later given the number 33 shirt at Sunderland. He scored on his Sunderland debut against Wigan Athletic on 11 September after coming on as a substitute for Danny Welbeck. The match ended in a 1–1 draw with Antolín Alcaraz scoring Wigan's equaliser.^[14] He marked his first start for Sunderland by netting their only goal in their League Cup exit at the hands of West Ham United.^[15] Gyan scored twice on his first Premier League start for the club in a 2–0 win against Stoke City on 6 November. His first goal came in the 9th minute when a Nedum Onuoha shot was parried by goalkeeper Asmir Begović, with Gyan on hand to tap home the rebound and his second came in the 86th minute, to secure a 2–0 victory for the Black Cats.^[16] Three days later, he followed this up by scoring the equaliser against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in a 1–1 draw as Sunderland moved up to seventh in the table.^[17] He also scored a goal in Sunderland's 3–0 victory at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.^[18] Gyan scored Sunderland's third goal in their 3–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers on 1 January 2011.^[19] On 16 January 2011, he started against local rivals Newcastle United, scoring a 94th minute equaliser, preventing Newcastle gaining their second win of the season against Sunderland.^[20] Gyan added to his impressive goalscoring tally with a goal away at Stoke City on 5 February 2011. He scored an 11th minute goal against Tottenham on 12 February 2011. Gyan's next goal came on 23 April as Sunderland beat Wigan Athletic 4-2, a match which ended prematurely for the forward as he was substituted following a hamstring injury which is expected to see him miss the remainder of the season.^[21] Gyan did recover in time to feature in Sunderland's last game of the season at West Ham but didn't add to his tally finishing his first season in English football with 10 league goals. Gyan took the number 3 shirt for the 2011/12 season, the same number he wears for Ghana.

Al Ain (loan)[link]

On 10 September 2011, it was confirmed on the Sunderland website that Gyan would leave on a season long loan to club Al Ain FC.^[22] Amid speculation of a fee of up to £6m being paid for the loan period, with Gyan receiving up to four times his previous salary,^[23] Chairman Niall Quinn emphasised the financial benefits of the deal for both Sunderland and the player. He also did claim that he left Sunderland for money, quoting that the offer he received was "too good to refuse". The Ghanaian finished the season with Al Ain by helping them capture their tenth league success. As well as being the top goalscorer in the season with twenty two league goals.

When Martin O'Neill became manager of Sunderland on 8 December he considered the possibility of recalling Asamoah from his loan spell away from the club.^[24] But on 13 April 2012, O'Neill claimed that Gyan returning to the Stadium Of Light could be unlikely.

International career[link]

Gyan made his international debut at the age of 17. Gyan scored on his senior International debut^[25] for Ghana against Somalia on 19 November 2003 in the 90th minute, he came on for Isaac Boakye in the 62nd minute in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier, three days before he turned 18 years; helping Ghana to win that game, and making him the youngest ever player to score for Ghana. He scored four times in seven matches during that successful World Cup qualifying campaign.

He was part of the 2004 Ghana Olympic squad, who exited in the first round, having finished in third place in Group B.

Asamoah Gyan playing for Ghana at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final victory match against Nigeria.

He also scored the fastest goal of the 2006 World Cup after 68 seconds. The strike was also Ghana's first ever goal in the World Cup, coming in the game against the Czech Republic on 17 June at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany, which set the Black Stars on their way to a 2–0 victory. He missed a penalty later in the game, and received a yellow card ruling him out of the final group game for trying to take the penalty too early. In Ghana's defeat^[26] to Brazil in the Round of 16, he was sent off in the 81st minute after collecting his second booking of the match (for diving).

On 24 January 2008 during the Africa Cup of Nations Gyan and his brother Baffour decided to walk out on the Black Stars following criticism after their unconvincing 1–0 win^[27] over Namibia. The media learnt the brothers had packed their bags and were ready to leave the team hotel but were persuaded to stay by team-mates.^[28] In the 2010 African Cup of Nations, Asamoah Gyan helped a Ghana team, ravaged by injuries to the finals. Gyan scored three out of the four Ghana goals during the tournament.

Gyan scored with a penalty in the 85th minute of Ghana's first match of the 2010 World Cup against Serbia, in a 1–0 win. He hit the post in the 92nd minute before being substituted to a standing ovation just before the final whistle.^[29] In Ghana's second game, he scored a penalty in the 26th minute to level the scores and earn his team a 1–1 draw against Australia.^[30]

In the round of 16 match against the USA, he scored a goal in extra time allowing Ghana to win by a score of 2 to 1 and hence become the third African team in history to qualify to the tournament's quarter final, after Cameroon and Senegal.^[31] In the quarter final tie against Uruguay, following Luis Suárez's handling of the ball on the goal-line, he missed a penalty kick with no time remaining at end of extra time, hitting the crossbar and necessitating a penalty shootout to decide the game. He converted his penalty in the subsequent penalty shootout, but Uruguay went on to win the shootout 4–2.^[32] Gyan scored Ghana's equaliser against England at Wembley in the international friendly on 29 March 2011.

For the second time in his career, Gyan missed a crucial penalty kick in a major tournament when he missed a penalty kick in the 2012 African Cup of Nations semi-final. Ghana went on to lose 1-0. After missing that penalty kick, Gyan decided to take an "indefinite break" from International football.^[33][34]

International goals[link]

Gyan – goals for Ghana
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 November 2003	Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra	Somalia	2–0	2–0	2006 World Cup qualifier
2.	25 June 2004	Estádio da Machava, Maputo	Mozambique	1–0	1–0	Friendly
3.	3 July 2004	National Stadium, Kampala	Uganda	1–1	1–1	2006 World Cup qualifier
4.	23 March 2005	Nairobi	Kenya	1–0	2–2	Friendly
5.	27 March 2005	Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa	Congo DR	1–0	1–1	2006 World Cup qualifier
6.	8 October 2005	Estádio da Várzea, Praia	Cape Verde	3–0	4–0	2006 World Cup qualifier
7.	14 November 2005	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	2–1	3–1	Friendly
8.				3–1
9.	4 June 2006	Easter Road, Edinburgh	South Korea	1–0	3–1	Friendly
10.	17 June 2006	RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne	Czech Republic	1–0	2–0	2006 World Cup
11.	8 October 2006	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul	South Korea	1–0	3–1	Friendly
12.				3–1
13.	21 August 2007	The Den, London	Senegal	1–0	1–1	Friendly
14.	20 January 2008	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra	Guinea	1–0	2–1	2008 Africa Cup of Nations
15.	9 September 2009	Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht	Japan	1–0	3–4	Friendly
16.				2–0
17.	15 January 2010	Estádio Nacional do Chiazi, Cabinda	Côte d'Ivoire	1–3	1–3	2010 Africa Cup of Nations
18.	24 January 2010	Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda	Angola	1–0	1–0	2010 Africa Cup of Nations
19.	28 January 2010	Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda	Nigeria	1–0	1–0	2010 Africa Cup of Nations
20.	1 June 2010	De Kuip, Rotterdam	Netherlands	1–2	1–4	Friendly
21.	13 June 2010	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria	Serbia	1–0	1–0	2010 World Cup
22.	19 June 2010	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg	Australia	1–1	1–1	2010 World Cup
23.	26 June 2010	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg	United States	2–1	2–1	2010 World Cup
24.	29 March 2011	Wembley Stadium, London	England	1–1	1–1	Friendly
25.	7 June 2011	Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju	South Korea	1–1	1–2	Friendly
26.	2 September 2011	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra	Swaziland	1–0	2–0	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
27.	8 October 2011	Al-Hilal Stadium, Khartoum	Sudan	1–0	2–0	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
28.	28 January 2012	Stade de Franceville, Franceville	Mali	1–0	2–0	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
Correct as of 11 February 2012

Personal life[link]

Gyan's brother, Baffour Gyan, currently plays in Ghana for Asante Kotoko.

Off the field[link]

In summer 2010, Gyan recorded and released a Ghanaian Hiplife song with Castro The Destroyer, where he features under the alias 'Baby Jet'. The song is entitled "African Girls" and was launched unto the Ghanaian screens. The video shows his famous 'Asamoah Gyan Dance' celebration which he demonstrated at the 2010 World Cup and at Sunderland. The song won an award at the Ghana Music awards in 2011.

He also joined Castro for another duo "Do Da Dance".

Career Statistics[link]

Titles and honours[link]

Club[link]

Al Ain

• UAE Pro-League (1): 2011–12

• Top scorer in UAE Pro-League (1):2011–12

International[link]

Africa Cup of Nations

• Runners-up: 2010
• Third place: 2008
• Fourth place: 2012

Individual[link]

• 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Best XI
• Man of the Match in 2010 World Cup (2): vs. Australia, vs. Serbia
• FIFA Ballon d'Or: Shortlist Nominee (Top 23 players in the World)
• BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2010^[35]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Asamoah Gyan career stats Soccerbase
• Asamoah Gyan at National-Football-Teams.com
• Serie A 2006/07 – Gyan ASAMOAH Gazzetta dello Sport
• Asamoah Gyan profile ESPN Soccernet
• Premier League profile

Ghana squads v t e Ghana squad – 2004 Summer Olympics 1 Owu 2 Lamine 3 B. Gyan 4 Osei 5 Mensah 6 Pappoe 7 Yahuza 8 Taylor 9 Poku 10 Appiah 11 Villars 12 A. Gyan 13 Pimpong 14 Paintsil 15 Coleman 16 Tiero 17 Chibsah 18 Alhassan Coach: Barreto v t e Ghana squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Adjei 2 Sarpei 3 Gyan 4 Kuffour 5 Mensah 6 Pappoe 7 Shilla 8 Essien 9 Boateng 10 Appiah (c) 11 Muntari 12 Tachie-Mensah 13 Mohamed 14 Amoah 15 Paintsil 16 Owu 17 Quaye 18 E. Addo 19 Pimpong 20 O. Addo 21 Issah 22 Kingson 23 Dramani Coach: Dujković v t e Ghana squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Third Place 1 Adjei 2 Sarpei 3 A. Gyan 4 Paintsil 5 Mensah 6 Annan 7 Kingston 8 Essien 9 Agogo 10 K. Asamoah 11 Muntari 12 Ayew 13 B. Gyan 14 Kumordzi 15 Barusso 16 Fatawu Dauda 17 Asare 18 Addo 19 Shilla 20 Quincy 21 Afful 22 Kingson 23 Dramani Coach: Le Roy v t e Ghana squad – 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Runners-up 1 McCarthy 2 Sarpei 3 Gyan 4 Osei 5 Jonathan 6 Annan 7 Inkoom 8 Essien 9 Opuku 10 Asamoah 11 Narry 12 Addy 13 André Ayew 14 Amoah 15 Vorsah 16 Agyei 17 Abdul Rahim Ayew 18 Addo 19 Agyemang-Badu 20 Adiyiah 21 Afful 22 Kingson 23 Dramani Coach: Rajevac v t e Ghana squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Agyei 2 Sarpei 3 A. Gyan 4 Pantsil 5 Mensah (c) 6 Annan 7 Inkoom 8 Jonathan 9 D. Boateng 10 S. Appiah 11 Muntari 12 Tagoe 13 A. Ayew 14 Amoah 15 Vorsah 16 Ahorlu 17 I. Ayew 18 Adiyiah 19 Addy 20 Quincy 21 K. Asamoah 22 Kingson 23 Prince Coach: Rajevac v t e Ghana squad – 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Fourth Place 1 Adjei 2 Opare 3 Gyan 4 Paintsil 5 Mensah 6 Annan 7 Inkoom 8 Badu 9 Boateng 10 A. Ayew 11 Muntari 12 Tagoe 13 J. Ayew 14 Alhassan 15 Vorsah 16 Kwarasey 17 Addy 18 Jonathan 19 Takyi 20 Asamoah 21 Boye 22 Sowah 23 Abu Coach: Stevanović

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Asamoah Gyan

Fidel Castro
Castro in 2003
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba
In office October 3, 1965 – April 19, 2011
Deputy	Raúl Castro
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Raúl Castro
15th President of Cuba
In office December 2, 1976 – February 24, 2008*
Prime Minister	Himself
Vice President	Raúl Castro
Preceded by	Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado
Succeeded by	Raúl Castro
16th Prime Minister of Cuba
In office February 16, 1959 – February 24, 2008
President	Manuel Urrutia Lleó Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado Himself
Preceded by	José Miró Cardona
Succeeded by	Raúl Castro
7th and 23rd Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement
In office September 16, 2006 – February 24, 2008
Preceded by	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Succeeded by	Raúl Castro
In office September 10, 1979 – March 6, 1983
Preceded by	Junius Richard Jayawardene
Succeeded by	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Personal details
Born	Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (1926-08-13) August 13, 1926 (age 85) Birán, Cuba
Political party	Communist Party of Cuba
Spouse(s)	Mirta Diaz-Balart (1948–1955) Dalia Soto del Valle (1980–present)
Relations	(siblings) Raúl Castro Enma Castro Agustina Castro Ramon Castro Ruz Angelita Castro
Children	Fidel Ángel Castro Diaz-Balart Alina Fernández-Revuelta Alexis Castro-Soto Alejandro Castro-Soto Antonio Castro-Soto Angel Castro-Soto Alex Castro-Soto Jorge Angel Castro Francisca Pupo
Alma mater	University of Havana
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Deist[1]
Signature
*Acting presidential powers were transferred to Raúl Castro from July 31, 2006.

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (Spanish: [fiˈðel ˈkastro]; born August 13, 1926) is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011. Politically a Marxist-Leninist, under his administration the Republic of Cuba was converted into a one-party socialist state, with industry and business being nationalized under state ownership and socialist reforms implemented in all areas of society. On the international stage, he also served as the Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and 2006 to 2008.

Born the illegitimate son of a wealthy farmer, Castro became involved in leftist anti-imperialist politics while studying law at the University of Havana. Involving himself in armed rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he concluded that the U.S.-backed Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, who was widely seen as a dictator, had to be overthrown; to this end he led a failed armed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953. Imprisoned for a year, he traveled to Mexico, and with the aid of his brother Raúl Castro and friend Che Guevara, assembled a group of revolutionaries, the July 26 Movement. Returning with them to Cuba, he took a key role in the Cuban Revolution, leading a successful guerrilla war against Batista's forces, overthrowing him in 1959. Castro subsequently became Commander in Chief of the armed forces and shortly thereafter became Prime Minister. The United States was alarmed by his involvement in the overthrow of Batista and relationship with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, implementing an economic blockade of the island. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower also ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to overthrow him, which they unsuccessfully tried through multiple assassination attempts and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961. To counter this threat, Castro forged an economic and military alliance with the Soviet Union and allowed them to place nuclear weapons on the island, leading to the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Adopting Marxism-Leninism as his guiding ideology, in 1961 Castro proclaimed the socialist nature of the Cuban revolution, and in 1965 became First Secretary of the newly founded Communist Party, with all other parties being abolished. He then led the transformation of Cuba into a socialist republic, nationalizing industry, introducing free healthcare and education, and suppressing internal opposition. A keen internationalist, Castro introduced Cuban medical brigades who worked throughout the developing world, and aided foreign revolutionary socialist groups in the hope of toppling world capitalism, thereby involving Cuba in the Angolan Civil War and the Ogaden War between Ethiopia and Somalia. In 1976 he stepped down as Prime Minister to become President of both the Council of State and Council of Ministers. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Castro led Cuba into its economic "Special Period", before taking the country into the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas in 2006 and forging alliances with other nations in the Latin American "Pink Tide". Amidst failing health, in 2006 Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice-President Raúl Castro, who was then elected President when Fidel stepped down in 2008.

Castro is a controversial and highly divisive world figure, being lauded as a champion of anti-imperialism, humanitarianism, socialism and environmentalism by his supporters, but his critics have accused him of being a dictator whose authoritarian administration has overseen multiple human rights abuses both at home and abroad. A prolific author on various topics, he has had a significant influence on the politics of various individuals and groups across the world, including senior leaders like Nelson Mandela, Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales.

Early life[link]

Childhood and education: 1926–1945[link]

A letter written by the 14-year-old Castro, learning English, to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt — "My good friend Roosevelt." In the letter Castro expresses his joy at Roosevelt's re-election, states his age as "twelve years old" and writes, "If you like, give me a ten dollar bill green American, because never, I have not seen a ten dollar bill", signing the letter, "Thank you very much. Good by [sic]. Your friend, Fidel Castro."^[2]

Fidel's father, Ángel Castro y Argiz (1875–1956) was a Spaniard born to a poor peasant family in rural Galicia, Northwest Spain. Working as a manual laborer on local farms, in 1895 he was conscripted into the Spanish Army to fight in the Cuban War of Independence against the Cuban revolutionaries who wished to secede from the Spanish Empire. Wishing to gain greater influence in the Caribbean, the United States subsequently declared war on Spain, leading to the Spanish-American War of 1898, in which the U.S. seized control of Cuba, setting up their own government on the island. In 1902, the Republic of Cuba was proclaimed, however it remained only partially independent of the U.S., which retained economic and political dominance over it. For a time, Cuba enjoyed economic growth, and Ángel Castro decided to migrate there permanently in search of employment.^[3][4][5] Doing so, he undertook various jobs, eventually earning enough money to set up his own business growing sugar cane on a farm in Birán, near Mayarí in Oriente Province.^[4][5][6]

Ángel took a wife, María Luisa Argota, with whom he had two daughters, but they separated after several years and he began a relationship with a household servant who was thirty years his junior.^[7][8] This woman, Lina Ruz González (September 23, 1903 – August 6, 1963),^[9] came from an impoverished Cuban family of Canarian descent, but became Ángel's domestic partner, bearing him three sons and four daughters.^[7][10][11]

Fidel was Lina's third child, being born at his father's farm on August 13, 1926,^[7][12][13] and was given his mother's surname of Ruz rather than his father's because he had been born out of wedlock, something that carried a particular social stigma at the time.^[14][15] Although he was from a prosperous background, with his father's business proving ever more profitable, his father ensured that he grew up alongside the children of the farm's workforce, many of whom were Haitian economic migrants of African descent,^[8][16] something that Fidel would later relate prevented him from absorbing "bourgeois culture" at an early age.^[17] Aged six, Fidel, along with his elder siblings Ramón and Angela, was sent to live with their teacher in Santiago de Cuba, and it was here that the children dwelt in cramped conditions and in relative poverty, often failing to have enough to eat because of their tutor's poor economic situation.^[18][19] Aged eight, Fidel was then baptized into the Roman Catholic Church, although later gave up his faith in Christianity, becoming an atheist.^[18][20][21] Being baptized enabled Fidel to begin attending the La Salle boarding school in Santiago, but here he often got into trouble with the school authorities for misbehavior, and so he was instead sent to the privately-funded, Jesuit-run Dolores School in Santiago.^[22][23]

In 1945 he transferred to the more prestigious Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana.^[24] Although Fidel took an interest in history and debating at Belén, he did not excel academically, instead devoting much of his time to playing sport, including swimming, mountain climbing, table tennis, athletics, basketball and baseball.^[25][26] Meanwhile, Ángel Castro finally dissolved his first marriage when Fidel was fifteen, allowing him to marry Fidel's mother; Fidel was formally recognized by his father when he was seventeen, when his surname was legally changed from Ruz to Castro.^[14][15]

University and early political activism: 1945–1947[link]

Grau and Prío, two Cuban presidents whose administrations were marked by corruption, political repression and obedience to U.S. interests. Castro protested against both of them whilst a student.

In late 1945, Castro began studying law at the University of Havana.^[27][28][29] Here he became immediately embroiled in the student protest movement, which in Cuba at that time was particularly volatile: under the regimes of center-left Cuban Presidents Gerardo Machado (1925–1933), Fulgencio Batista (1933–1944) and Ramón Grau (1944–1948) there had been a government crackdown on student protesters, with student leaders being killed or terrorized by violent gangs.^[30][31][32] This led to a form of gangsterismo culture within the university that was dominated by a variety of violent and often armed student groups who spent much of their time fighting one another and running criminal enterprises rather than opposing the government.^[33][34] Becoming surrounded by this gang culture, Castro focused on political objectives, unsuccessfully campaigning for the position of President of the Federation of University Students (FEU). To do so he put forward a platform of "honesty, decency and justice" and emphasized his opposition to political corruption, something that he increasingly associated with the involvement of the U.S. government in Cuban politics.^[35][36] He became passionate about anti-imperialism and opposing U.S. intervention in the Caribbean, joining the University Committee for the Independence of Puerto Rico and the Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic.^[37]

He was in contact with members of several student leftist groups at the time, including the Popular Socialist Party (Partido Socialista Popular – PSP), the Socialist Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Socialista Revolucionaria – MSR) and the Insurrectional Revolutionary Union (Unión Insurrecional Revolucionaria – UIR), although did not adopt the Marxist ideas of the former and mistrusted some of MSR's connections to the Grau government. Castro had become critical of the corruption and violence of Grau's regime, delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that earned him a place on the front page of several newspapers. Instead, it was to the UIR that he grew closest to, although whether he ever became a member or not has remained unknown.^[38][39] In 1947, Castro joined a newly founded socialist group, the Party of the Cuban People (Partido Ortodoxo), which had been formed by veteran politician Eduardo Chibás (1907–1951). A charismatic figure, Chibás attracted many Cubans with his message of social justice, honest government, and political freedom. The Partido Ortodoxo publicly exposed corruption and demanded governmental and social reform. Though Chibás lost the election, Castro, considering Chibás his mentor, remained committed to his cause, working fervently on his behalf.^{[40][41][42][43]}

Meanwhile, the student gang violence had escalated after Grau employed several prominent gang leaders, including members of the MSR, as officers in the police force, and Castro soon received a threat urging him to either leave the university and its political arena or be killed. He did not give in to the threat, instead carrying a gun and surrounding himself with friends who were similarly armed.^[44][45] Various accusations would arise in later years alleging that Castro carried out gang-related assassination attempts at this time, including of prominent UIR member Lionel Gómez, MSR leader Manolo Castro and university policeman Oscar Fernandez, but these are supported by "scant evidence" and remain unproven.^[46][47][48]

Latin American rebellions: 1947–1948[link]

In June 1947, Castro learned of a planned international expedition to invade the Dominican Republic and overthrow its right-wing president, Rafael Trujillo, a military general widely seen as a dictator who had overseen a system of "repressive brutality" through the use of a violent secret police which routinely murdered and tortured opponents.^[49] An ally of the United States, Trujillo angered many across the world when he ordered the Parsley Massacre that killed 20,000–30,000 impoverished Haitian migrants.^[50] Castro had become a heavy critic of Trujillo's regime, rising to the presidency of the University Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic, and decided to join the military expedition, which was led by General Juan Rodríguez, a Dominican exile, and supported by Grau's Cuban government which feared Trujillo's militaristic behavior.^[46][51][52] The invasion was carried out on July 29, 1947, by around 1,200 men, most of whom were exiled Dominicans or Cubans, although other volunteers came from across Latin America. However, both Dominican and U.S. intelligence had gained foreknowledge of the event, and it was soon quashed by the Dominican army and the Cuban government, who had been pressured by the U.S. to cease their support for it. Whilst Grau's government immediately arrested many of those involved, Castro managed to escape the police by jumping off of the naval frigate he was aboard and swimming to shore in the dark of night.^[53][54]

The botched mission only served to further Castro's opposition to the Grau administration, and returning to Havana, he took a leading role in the student protests that were centered against the killing of a high school pupil by government bodyguards.^[56][57] The protests, accompanied by a U.S.-imposed crackdown on those considered to be communists, led to violent clashes between protesters and police in February 1948, in which Castro was badly beaten.^[58] It was at this point that his public speeches took on a distinctively leftist slant, condemning the social and economic inequalities of Cuba under the Grau government, something that was in contrast to his former public criticisms, which had centered around condemning corruption and U.S. imperialism. Castro's biographer Leycester Coltman would later remark that "Castro was not yet expressing a Marxist viewpoint, but he was moving in that direction."^[59]

After a quick visit to Venezuela and Panama, in April 1948 Castro traveled to the city of Bogotá in Colombia with a number of other Cuban students on a trip sponsored by the government of Argentine President Juan Perón, whose anti-imperialist politics impressed Castro. Once there, the assassination of popular leftist leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala led to widespread rioting that came to be known as the Bogotazo. Leaving three thousand dead, the riots revolved around clashes between rightist Conservatives, who then controlled the country's government and who were backed by the army, and leftist Liberals who were supported by a number of Colombian socialist groups. Castro, along with his fellow Cuban visitors, joined in in support of the Liberal cause by stealing guns from a police station, but subsequent police investigations came to the conclusion that neither Castro nor any of the other Cubans had been involved in the killings.^{[60][61][62][63]}

Marriage and Marxism: 1948–1950[link]

Returning to Cuba, Castro became a prominent figure in the widespread protests against the government's attempts to raise bus fares, with buses being the only form of transport available to most students and workers.^[64][65] It was also in 1948 that Castro married Mirta Díaz Balart, a student from a wealthy Cuban family through whom he was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite. The relationship was a love match and was disapproved of by both of their families. Mirta's father gave them tens of thousands of dollars to spend in a three-month honeymoon in New York City, and the couple also received a U.S. $1,000 wedding gift from the military general and former president Fulgencio Batista, a friend of Mirta's family.^[66][67][68] That same year, Grau decided not to stand for re-election, and his party instead nominated Carlos Prío Socarrás as their presidential candidate. Prío would go on to win the election, becoming President of Cuba.^[69][70] However, he faced widespread protests when members of the MSR, which by this time was allied to the police force, assassinated Justo Fuentes, a "self-taught black man" and prominent member of the UIR who was a friend and ally of Castro's. In response, Prío agreed to try to quell the gangs, but found them to be too powerful to control.^[71]

Castro had begun to move further to the left in his political views, being influenced by the writings of prominent Marxists like Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Lenin. He came to interpret the problems facing Cuba as being an integral part of capitalist society, or the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie", rather than the failings of corrupt politicians. Coming to believe the Marxist idea that meaningful political change could only be brought about by a revolution led by the working class, Castro set about visiting Havana's poorest neighborhoods, witnessing the nation's huge social and racial inequalities, and became active in the University Committee for the Struggle against Racial Discrimination.^[73][74]

In September 1949, Mirta gave birth to a son, Fidelito, and so the couple moved to a larger flat in Havana.^[73] Despite the need to care for his family, Castro continued to put himself at risk, staying active in the city's political arena and joining a new organization, the September 30 Movement, which contained within it both communists and members of the Partido Ortodoxo. The group's purpose was to oppose the influence of the violent gangs within the university; despite his promises, President Prío had failed to control the situation, instead offering many of their senior members jobs in government ministries.^[75][76] Castro volunteered to deliver a speech for the Movement on November 13, in which he exposed the government's secret deals with the gangs and identified many of their key members. Attracting the attention of the national press, the speech angered the gangs, and Castro was forced to go into hiding, first in various rural areas and then in the U.S.^[75] Returning to Havana several weeks later, Castro lay low and focused on his university studies, graduating from university as a Doctor of Law in September 1950.^[74][75][77]

Career in law and politics: 1950–1952[link]

Now a Doctor of Law, Castro became a professional lawyer, founding his own legal partnership with two fellow leftist students, Jorge Azpiazu and Rafael Resende, whose intention was to focus on helping poor Cubans in asserting their rights. It was a financial failure, with its main client being a timber merchant who paid them in timber to furnish their office.^[78][79] Castro cared little for money or material goods, something his wife found difficult, particularly when their furniture was reposessed and their electricity cut off, in both instances because Castro had failed to pay his bills.^[80]

General Fulgencio Batista seized power in a military coup, postponed elections indefinitely and implemented right wing policies; he would widely be labelled a dictator and Castro would believe it necessary to oust him.

Castro remained active in politics, taking part in a high-school protest in Cienfuegos in November 1950 that involved students fighting a four-hour battle with police in protest at the Education Ministry's ban on the founding of student associations in schools. He was arrested and charged with using violence against police officers, but the magistrate later dismissed the charges.^[81] He also became an active member of the Cuban Peace Committee, a part of the international campaign led by British intellectual Betrand Russell to oppose western involvement in the Korean War.^[81] His hopes for Cuba still largely centered around Eduardo Chibás and his left wing Partido Ortodoxo; however Chibás had made a mistake when he accused Education Minister Aureliano Sánchez of purchasing a Guatemalan ranch with misappropriated funds, but was unable to substantiate his allegations. The government used this as an opportunity to go on the offensive against Chibás, accusing him of being a liar and a troublemaker. In 1951, while running for president again, Chibás shot himself in the stomach during a radio broadcast in an attempt to issue a "last wake-up call" to the Cuban people. Castro was present and accompanied him to the hospital where he died of his injuries.^{[82][83][84][85]}

Although his political views were further left than the Partido Ortodoxo, Castro believed that those parties on the far left, namely the PSP, were too unpopular to achieve a revolutionary leftist movement in Cuba, and for this reason remained in the Ortodoxo. Seeing himself as the heir to Chibás, Castro wanted to run for Congress in the June 1952 elections, but senior party members feared his radical reputation and refused to nominate him. Instead he gained the support of enough Ortodoxo members in Havana's poorest districts to be nominated as a candidate for the House of Representatives, and put all his energies into campaigning.^[86][87] It was at the time that Castro held a meeting with General Fulgencio Batista, the former president who had recently returned to politics by winning a seat in the Senate and founding the Unitary Action Party; although they both opposed the Prío administration, their meeting never got beyond "polite generalities" with no indication that they would later become bitter enemies.^[86]

The Ortodoxo had gained a considerable level of support, and there was a "fair chance that the Ortodoxos and Castro would both have succeeded in the election."^[88] However, this was quashed in March 1952 when General Batista seized power in a military coup, removing the widely discredited President Prío from office, who then fled to Mexico. Subsequently declaring himself president, Batista cancelled the planned presidential elections, describing his new system as "disciplined democracy": Castro, like many others, instead saw it as the establishment of a one-man dictatorship with no benefit to the Cuban populace.^[82][89][90] Although in his earlier democratic terms as president Batista had taken a center-left stance, he now moved to the right and went on to solidify his ties with the United States, severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, suppressing trade unions and persecuting socialist groups in Cuba.^[82][91] Intent on opposing the Batista administration, Castro brought several legal cases against them, arguing that Batista had committed sufficient criminal acts to warrant at least 100 years imprisonment and accusing various ministers of breaching labor laws. These came to nothing, leading Castro to begin thinking of alternative ways to oust the new government.^[92]

Cuban Revolution[link]

The Movement and the Moncada Barracks attack: 1952–1953[link]

Dissatisfied with the Ortodoxo's policy of non-violent opposition to Batista's regime, Castro formed a group known simply as "The Movement". Consisting of both a civil and a military committee, the former conducted political agitation through an underground newspaper, El Acusador (The Accuser), while the latter armed and trained recruits to take violent action against Batista. With Castro as the Movement's head, the organization was based upon a clandestine cell system, with each cell containing ten members, none of whom knew the whereabouts or activities of the other cells.^[94][95] A dozen individuals formed the nucleus of the movement, many of whom were also dissatisfied Ortodoxo members, although from July 1952 the Movement went on a recruitment drive, and within a year it had around 1,200 members, organized into over a hundred cells, with the majority of members coming from the poorer districts of Havana.^[96][97][98] Although Castro's political ideology was that of revolutionary socialism, he avoided an alliance with the communist PSP, fearing that this would frighten away the political moderates who were members of the Movement,^[99] but did keep in contact with some of the PSP's members, who included his brother and fellow conspirator Raúl.^[100] He would later relate that the members of the Movement were on the whole simply anti-Batista, and few had strong socialist or anti-imperialist views, something which Castro attributed to "the overwhelming weight of the Yankees' ideological and advertising machinery" which he felt had suppressed class consciousness amongst Cuba's working class.^[98]

Castro's Movement was not the only militant group that wanted to oust Batista. One of the Orthodoxo's founding members, the Professor of Philosophy Rafael García Bárcena, had founded the National Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Nacional Revolucionaria – MNR). Consisting largely of middle-class members, it contrasted with Castro's predominantly working class support base. In March 1953, the MNR had planned to attack and seize control of the barracks at Camp Colombia, but police had been alerted to the plot, with the conspirators being rounded up and tortured. In all, fourteen people were sentenced to imprisonment for the attack.^{[101][102][103]} Meanwhile, Castro had been having similar ideas, stockpiling weapons in order to lead the armed wing of the Movement in an attack on the Moncada Barracks, a military garrison just outside Santiago de Cuba in Oriente. The plan was for Castro's members to dress in army uniforms and arrive at the base in cars on July 25, the festival of St James, when many of the officers would be on leave or celebrating in the nearby town. The rebels would then seize control of the barracks before the alarm could be raised, raid the armory and then escape before the army could bring in reinforcements.^[104] Supplied with a wealth of new weaponry, Castro believed that the Movement could arm local supporters and spark a revolution in Oriente, which was dominated by a population of impoverished cane-cutters. The plan was to then seize control of a radio station in Santiago, from which the Movement could broadcast their manifesto and promote widespread uprisings against Batista.^[105] In doing so, Castro's plan was directly emulating those of the 19th century Cuban independence fighters who had raided Spanish barracks, and in keeping with this Castro saw himself as the heir to independence leader and national hero José Martí, both leading national liberation struggles against foreign dominance.^[106][107]