Fidel Castro’s son apparent target of newspaper column

Fidel Castro's son apparent target of newspaper column

A text titled "The travels of Gulliver, Jr." have given more than one
Cuban something to think about.
On Cuban social media, many have expressed that they believe "Gulliver,
Jr." is really a reference to Antonio Castro Soto del Valle.
Fidel Castro's youngest son was photographed while on summer vacation in
Turkey.
BY NORA GAMEZ TORRES
ngameztorres@elnuevoherald.com

It was entitled "The travels of Gulliver, Jr." and published in the
Tribuna de la Havana (Havana Tribune) weekly, also known as the
"Periodical of Cuba's capital."

An opinion column written by Alexander Alvarez Ricardo and published
Oct. 24 has provoked Cuban journalists and social media users to
speculate over the text's significance, which many believe is in reality
a piece criticizing Antonio Castro Soto del Valle, Fidel Castro's
youngest son.

Turkish magazine Gala photographed Castro Soto del Valle in June as he
spent his summer vacation in the famous tourist enclave of Bodrum.

"Thanks to his father, Gulliver, Jr. travels quite frequently. He
appears as a giant enjoying himself on the Mediterranean coast, or as a
dwarf adventuring through life without any problem, thanks to his visa.
He sets sail to compare whether the skies of other lands are as
intensely blue as those of his own. Sailing on his father's fleet is a
hereditary privilege," reads the text's opening paragraph. The article
has sparked a debate on social media despite the fact that no names are
mentioned and the writing has a cryptic tone.

In another excerpt, the journalist compares and contrasts the luxury and
freedom Gulliver enjoys with that of his peers: "While he sails through
calm seas, in his land, other sailors can only watch the seagulls fly
by… Thousands of scrolls narrate the experiences of the chosen one.
Tranquil nights in the margins of the Aomori. Barrels of wine opened in
Hawaiian beaches. Afternoons spent fishing in the Sidney Bay."

Turkish news agency Dogan also reported that Fidel Castro's son, who
studied Medicine and is currently Global Ambassador of the World
Baseball Softball Confederation, arrived in the Greek isle of Mykonos in
a 50-meter yacht and reserved five suites in a luxurious Bodrum hotel.

Dogan posted a video showing one of Antonio Castro's bodyguards
attacking a reporter, Yasar Anter, who was trying to photograph Castro
while he was having dinner with a group of friends in a restaurant.

In late September, while his uncle Raúl Castro attended United Nations
activities, he was also captured on camera trying to evade a Univision
23 news team.

None of this was published in Cuba's official press outlets, which are
under the control of the Ideological Department of the Communist Party.
Only social media users and those who watch American television through
illegal satellites learned about the case.

To all this, is what the journalist who wrote the "Travels of Gulliver
Jr." column could be alluding to in his piece.

He also takes a jab at the double standards of Cuban leaders and the
media, often transmitting an overly negative image of what happens
outside the island.

"Once at home, he says nothing. He lies to his fellow countrymen with
anecdotes of shipwrecks. He describes enormous waves, endless
thunderstorms, marine monsters and singing mermaids; later he grabs the
sack and puts away the loot," writes Alvarez Ricardo.

But precisely, the Party's staunch censorship to the Cuban media has
increased speculations over the future of the journalist and even the
future of the current director of the newspaper, Marta Jimenez Sanchez.
Tribuna's website doesn't display readers' comments for this article but
on the blog of journalist Fernando Rasverg, who lives in Cuba and
reposted the text, a reader asked in jest, "When does Tribuna debut its
new director?"

Another praised the "intelligence" of the journalist: "Who wishes to
judge the author and punish him commits the first "sin" because his
subconscious betrays him...Alexander only had to respond to his
inquisitor: 'I didn't say any of that, that's what you're thinking.'"

Rasverg declined to comment for this article. The author of the article
also declined to comment.

It wouldn't be the first time that a journalist who trespasses the
boundaries set by the Communist Party pays for his audacity with his job
— or that of his superiors — but this case happens when even the
country's leaders have made a call for allowing more criticism in the
press. Moreover, in official events, journalists have aired their
frustration for the lack of access to government sources, the poor
qualification of many media directors (many just party cadres without
journalistic experience), the high level of secrecy and the limited
media independence on the island.

For Baruch College Sociology professor and long-term observer of Cuban
politics, Ted Henken, the article demonstrates in fact "that within
state media there are journalists (typically young with little to lose)
who are making an effort to create a different type of journalism, one
that reflects what state media hides."

Articles of this type, which illustrate "the diversity of opinions and
experiences" existing in Cuba today, also respond "to the pressure" of
independent digital media sources, points out Henken, who believes "Now,
the state media feels pressure toward creating a better type of
journalism because independent journalism is winning the race."

On Oct. 7, when Tribuna celebrated its 35th anniversary, Alvarez Ricardo
shared with Radio Ciudad Habana his predilection for "opinion genres. In
a weekly newspaper like Tribuna, in which news loses its immediacy, it's
good to carry out works that ask in-depth on the how and why of things."

Among readers of the article in Cuba, there are many who point to the
fact that a chronicle about "Gulliver, Jr." could cause so much
controversy which, in their view, is merely the result of the limited
space for debate and the questioning of those in power on the island.

"In a normal country, this 'text' has names and last names, with a
profile photo or a caricature included. Here, all we have is to become
overjoyed at the knowledge of 'such a daring feat,'", writes one user
identified as "Alabao." The next comment stated: "Without further ado,
down to the blockade."

Follow Nora Gamez Torres on Twitter: @ngameztorres

Source: Fidel Castro's son apparent target of newspaper column | Miami
Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article43872561.html