14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 9 August 2024 — “Fidel has done many things for Cuba, but the most important has been to save us.” This phrase – closer to religious catechism than to historiography – was expressed this Friday by one of the 39 children that the Fidel Castro Center has chosen for a special summer course. The objective of the program, for which the Spanish left-wing organization Alkaria, based in Catalonia, has contributed money, is for children to “immerse themselves” in the life and miracles of the caudillo. Since last July 8, the children have been instructed to serve as guides for the museum that houses the center. In images published by Televisión Cubana they are seen offering explanations about the type of weapons, military vehicles and historical episodes in which Castro was involved.
A girl under the age of ten explains to visitors that they are in the Room of the Word, where multiple screens – surrounded by verses of Castro’s speeches – show “Our Commander” haranguing a crowd. Another infant explains who “Fidel’s journalists” are and how they contributed to spreading his image around the world.
One child has the job of showing the K-69 jeep, the dictator’s favorite, and another gives details about the Granma yacht. In addition, they have to stop at images that border on the disturbing, such as the one that shows Castro lying in a blood donation chamber, with doctors and devices around him.
The head of the “squad” is Elianet Espinosa Chávez, a specialist from the center who is the group’s instructor
The head of the “squad” is Elianet Espinosa Chávez, a specialist from the center who is the instructor of the group, comprised of children between 6 and 14 years old. “They are very small, some have not even been given the History of Cuba,” she admits. Their mission has been to help them discover “how they feel Fidel” in every aspect of their lives.
A craft workshop – also impregnated with Fidelismo – is funded by Alkaria as an adjunct project. In addition to the 39 “guides,” there are 50 children each day. Xavier Barreda, director of Alkaria, personally supervises the development of the workshops, for which he dedicates – he says – “at least 20% of his annual budget.”
Alkaria defines itself as an organization of “developmental cooperation.” It belongs to the myriad of foreign institutions that “help” the Havana regime, not always in a transparent way. In fact, on the Alkaria website there is not a single word about the indoctrination of Cuban children, and the only project they admit to having destined for Havana is