Fidel's Phone Call That Revealed the Man Behind the Leader

In the year marking the centenary of Fidel Castro’s birth, his figure is remembered from the diverse perspectives of Cubans who knew him. This is the testimony of a father who recalls the leader’s most human side. That of the man who, amidst a busy state agenda, stopped to inquire about a little girl battling cancer.

The story begins on the day Fidel inaugurated the Celia Sánchez Manduley School for Social Workers. Now one of the campuses of the University of Holguin. At the same time, in a Havana hospital, Lauren, the young daughter of journalist Aroldo García Fombellida. She was undergoing surgery for cancer that had left her “between life and death.” During the procedure, on October 23rd, 2001, the Commander noticed an absence.

“Fidel asked Jorge Luis Sierra, who was the secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in the province: ‘Where is Aroldo?’ I’m not important, I’m just popular,” the renowned journalist from Holguin recounted. “They explained: his daughter is having a problem; she has cancer and is being operated on in Havana. He didn’t ask anything else.”

At 5:25 a.m. the following day, the phone rang at the residence where Aroldo was staying in the capital. On the other part, a friendly voice at first—Dr. Chomi, who told him that his own grandson had overcome a similar situation. And then a silence heavy with anticipation. Then, the unmistakable voice.

“He didn’t say ‘good morning.’ He said, ‘We missed you yesterday. We know what you’re going through. We’re on our way to Santiago to inaugurate the School of Social Workers. But we’ve asked our colleagues to find everything we need to save your daughter. And if we don’t have it, we’ll find it. But your daughter is going to live.’” And she did. “Today my daughter is a mother,” Aroldo recounts, his emotion still raw.

Fidel’s Phone Call That Revealed the Man Behind the Leader 1 — Aroldo García’s daughter, Lauren, with her young son Hansel. Photo: Courtesy of Aroldo García

Hours after that call, Aroldo arrived at the hospital. Dr. Céspedes, then director of the National Cancer Institute. He was waiting for him with a gesture he will never forget.

“He told me, ‘Look, I’ve treated some important people at this hospital, but something happened to me today. Put on your gown, let’s go see your daughter.’” The Leader of the Revolution called me to ask what was needed for your daughter to live and to improve pediatric oncology services at this hospital.’ I dreamed of that. And today I was able to tell Fidel.”

That is the Fidel that Aroldo wants to be remembered in the year of his centennial. The one who stepped down from a platform to shake a driver’s hand, the one who said, “We are going to save that life.” Also the one who repeated that gesture “a thousand times” without the cameras recording it.

On the centennial of his birth, Fidel’s image is multiplied in stories like Aroldo’s—who had the privilege of being part of Fidel’s press team—. Which reveal the essence of a leader who found time to make a call at 5:25 in the morning. And to ensure, with actions, that a little girl would have a future. His legacy remains alive in the voices, memories, and ideas that continue to inspire generations of Cubans.