Castro in Marquez’s eyes： What he wants to do most is to ＂hide in the corner＂

Fidel Castro (left) and Garcia Marquez

On April 17th, 2014, Nobel Prize in Literature Prize winner and Colombian writer Garcí a Má rquez passed away. On November 25, 2016, Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro passed away. One was a great writer in the 20th century, and the other was a great revolutionary in the 20th century. Their friendship lasted for a lifetime.

The friendship between Castro and Marquez can be traced back to 1948. At that time, Marquez was studying at the University of Bogota, and Castro went to attend international conferences as a representative of Cuban students. The riots broke out in Colombia because of the assassination of the left-wing presidential candidate. Although Marquez and Castro only passed by in the parade, they all regarded this historical moment as the basis of friendship.

The close relationship between Marquez and Castro has caused dissatisfaction among many writers and friends, but Marquez did not agree. He once said: "It is far more important for Latin America to maintain my relationship with Castro than to break with him."

In 2002, Castro wrote an article in Colombia’s Change magazine, saying that he hoped to be a writer like Marquez in the afterlife. Marquez also talked about the Castro he knew on many occasions.

Fidel Castro and Garcia Marquez

Colombian Times once published an article by Garcí a Má rquez entitled Fidel I Know:

He has extraordinary ability to control language and writing, attractive personality charm, and generate inspiration at any time is his unique style. Reading all kinds of books reflects that he has a wide range of interests. In order to warn people that smoking is harmful to health, he set an example and gave up his hobby for many years. He likes to make recipes with a scientific attitude. He keeps exercising and swimming for hours every day to keep in good health. He is patient, disciplined and imaginative. He said that learning to rest is as important as learning to work.

He was tired of talking, but took it as a rest. He is good at writing and likes writing. The greatest thrill of his life is adventure. The impromptu forum seems to be his best place to play. His opening voice is always very small, and the direction he faces is always uncertain, but he can use the flashing lights to win his attention bit by bit until he catches the audience with a firm and powerful voice. He has an irresistible and overwhelming manner. He is an absolute anti-dogmatist.

It is his unique political ability to foresee the development of a thing and its consequences. However, this rare ability of others is not expressed by imagination, but the result of his mature reason and decisive judgment. His best assistant is his own memory, and his extraordinary memory has been fully demonstrated in his wonderful speeches and even private conversations.

He is a frugal man, a man with greedy dreams and an old-fashioned formal education. He is cautious in his words and decisive in his actions, and is good at catching any novel ideas. I think this is the Fidel I know.　

He dreamed that Cuban scientists could finally find anti-cancer drugs. He created a foreign policy with world power in a country far smaller than his biggest enemy. He firmly believes that the greatest success of mankind is to form a good consensus, and only morality can change the world and push the wheel of history forward, not matter. (March 29, 2007, Xinhuanet)

Fidel Castro and Garcia Marquez

Marquez once published an article in the Cuban newspaper Granma, talking about Castro he knew:

He (Castro) is a man with extraordinary patience, superior opinions and a passion for fantasy, and at the same time he pursues iron discipline. His vision is global. He has attractive power. He always gets to the bottom of problems. He can always inspire generate at any time. He reads books extensively, which reflects his taste in life. In order to quit smoking, he never touched tobacco again. Even when cooking, he strictly follows the scientific spirit. In order to keep in good health, he keeps exercising for several hours every day and often goes swimming in the water. Invincible patience, iron discipline and superman’s imagination let him swim in a world invisible to the naked eye.

Castro’s attitude towards failure (even small things in daily life) seems to follow this logic: he will never admit failure and will never stop until he wins.

He has a super memory, and he is also very good at using it (even to the point of abuse). Whether in public speech or private conversation, he shows his super argument ability, and his quick and accurate response is unbelievable. He greedily obtained information and chewed and digested it. Even during breakfast, he can watch at least 200 pages of news. He will find the slightest contradiction in other people’s casual wording. He is a greedy reader. He is willing to read any newspaper at any time.

In 1960, Marquez, Castro and ernesto guevara.

He never refuses to answer any questions, no matter how provocative, and he never loses patience. Someone tried to hide some facts in order not to worry him too much, but in fact he couldn’t hide them. He once said to an official who tried to do this: "You are hiding the truth from me in order to make me worry less, but once I find out, I will die because they accumulate too much to handle and face." The most serious thing is to lie to cover up the shortcomings, because behind the success of the revolution in politics, science, sports and culture, there is a huge bureaucratic force, which always affects people’s daily life, especially the happiness of the domestic people.

I know that if he lives in a different way, then his life will be more time. When I saw him under heavy pressure for all kinds of things that seemed to have nothing to do with him, I asked him what he wanted to do most in this world. He immediately replied, "hide in the corner." (Oriental Morning Post, April 18, 2014)