Mirta Francisca de la Caridad Díaz-Balart y Gutiérrez (30 September 1928 – 6 July 2024) was a Cuban woman who was the first wife of Fidel Castro. They married in 1948, had one son together, and divorced in 1955.
Mirta Díaz-Balart | |
|---|---|
Díaz-Balart in 1953 | |
| Born | Mirta Francisca de la Caridad Díaz-Balart y Gutiérrez 30 September 1928 |
| Died | 6 July 2024 (aged 95) Madrid, Spain |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, including Fidelito and Mirta Núñez |
| Parent(s) | Rafael José Díaz-Balart (father) América Gutiérrez (mother) |
| Relatives | Rafael Díaz-Balart (brother) Waldo Díaz-Balart (brother) Mario Díaz-Balart (nephew) Lincoln Díaz-Balart (nephew) José Díaz-Balart (nephew) |
Biography
editDíaz-Balart was the daughter of América Gutiérrez and Rafael José Díaz-Balart, a prominent politician and mayor of the town of Banes in eastern Cuba. She was a philosophy student at the University of Havana, when she met and married Fidel.[1]
Castro and Díaz-Balart married on 11 October 1948, honeymooned in New York City, and divorced seven years later in 1955 (while Castro was in prison following a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks).[2][3] They had one child, a son, Fidel Ángel "Fidelito" Castro Díaz-Balart (1949–2018). After the divorce, Castro was not granted custody of their son. Instead, Fidel Jr. was estranged from his father until he stayed with him after a visit in Mexico, prior to his father's return to lead the Cuban Revolution.
In 1956, Díaz-Balart married Emilio Núñez Blanco (1925–2006), the son of a former Cuban Ambassador to the UN, Emilio Núñez Portuondo. They had two daughters, including Mirta Núñez. The family lived at Havana's Tarará beach resort when in Cuba.[4]
Díaz-Balart lived in Madrid with her family after 1959, the year in which Castro's revolution succeeded. She was deprived of the company of her son for many years as he studied in Cuba and the Soviet Union.[5] The Miami Herald claimed in 2000 that she was still living in Spain, and that occasional visits to Cuba were arranged by Raúl Castro, her former brother-in-law.[6] By 2018, the year in which her son Fidelito committed suicide, she was reportedly once again living in Cuba at age 90.[4][7]
Díaz-Balart was the aunt of anti-Castro U.S. Republican politicians Mario Díaz-Balart and his brother Lincoln Díaz-Balart, as well as TV anchor José Díaz-Balart. She was the sister of the painter Waldo Díaz-Balart and politician Rafael Díaz-Balart.
Díaz-Balart died in Madrid on 6 July 2024, at the age of 95.[8]
References
edit- ^ Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro, Georgie Anne Geyer, 2011. p. 63. "Fidel's courting of Mirta Díaz-Balart, the lovely green-eyed girl with the dark blond hair and the wistful smile, from one of Cuba's wealthiest families, marked the period in his life that was closest to a time when he lived like a relatively normal man, one who felt and acted on simple and even pure and uncalculated feelings."
- ^ On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture, page 434, Louis A. Pérez, Jr. "The twenty-two-year-old Fidel Castro and his bride Mirta Díaz Balart were among the many thousands of Cuban newlyweds to honeymoon in New York city. Cuban travel was both cause and effect of changes overtaking the Florida tourist industry. "
- ^ Frank País: Architect of Cuba's Betrayed Revolution, page 322, José Alvarez, 2009. "Fidel Castro and Mirta Díaz-Balart, members of families who were political enemies, married on 10 October 1948. They were divorced while Castro was in prison."
- ^ a b Martínez Barraqué, Carlos (2 February 2018). "Former correspondent remembers Fidel Castro's son as a 'virtual prisoner' in Cuba". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ Ann Louise Bardach: Cuba Confidential. p. 67. "One knowledgeable source claims that Mirta returned to Cuba in early 2002 and is now living with Fidelito and his family."
- ^ "Fidel Castro's Family". Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2006.
- ^ Gámez Torres, Nora (2 February 2018). "Fidel Castro's firstborn joined a long list of suicides in Cuba". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ "Fallece a los 95 años la primera esposa de Fidel Castro, Mirta Díaz-Balart". 14ymedio.com. 14ymedio. 6 July 2024. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
Mirta Díaz-Balart, ex esposa de Fidel Castro y madre de su primer hijo, murió este sábado en Madrid a sus 95 años.
Sources
edit- Castro, Juanita (2009). Collins, María Antonieta (ed.). Fidel y Raúl, mis hermanos. La historia secreta [Fidel and Raúl, my brothers. The secret history.] (in Spanish). Doral, FL: Santillana USA Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-60396-701-3.