Santa Cruz Sentinel

Local News

Subscribe

SANTA CRUZ — Congressman Sam Farr thinks it may have been a moment of personal connection that led Fidel Castro to a gesture he normally reserves for presidents.

The Cuban leader was finishing up a private tour of his office last spring when he asked Farr to take a painting hanging in his hallway. The Carmel Democrat said he couldn’t because of federal laws prohibiting gifts to congressmen.

"So he asked, ‘Can you give it to a university?’ and I said, ‘Yes.’ He asked which university and I said, ‘UC Santa Cruz,’ " Farr said.

The painting, by renowned Cuban artist Aguedo Alonso, was three-quarters the size of a door. Farr personally lugged it back with him on his flight home.

"All my colleagues thought I was nuts," he said.

The painting was received by UCSC at a private ceremony Tuesday.

Farr had been visiting Cuba as part of a congressional teanty delegation.

Farr thinks Castro was moved by a story the congressman told about his youngest sister, who died at age 16 in Colombia. In 1965 she was visiting Farr, then a Peace Corps volunteer, when she was thrown from a horse, hitting her head on the ground. The local hospital was unable to fly doctors in soon enough to save her.

Farr, who speaks Spanish, recounted the story after Castro took congress members to a medical school that trains doctors to work in underserved areas throughout the world.

"I said if we had some of those doctors like the ones he’s training, she might have survived," Farr said. "I think he stopped and really thought about that. He turned to his aides and said, ‘Isn’t that an incredible story?’ "

The private tour, granted to few, was a version of "Cuba’s West Wing," Farr said. Castro’s office — which the leader calls his "cell" due to an absence of windows — was sparsely decorated. In fact, a picture of Earnest Hemingway holding a marlin and another of Castro’s father were the only adornments, Farr said.

"Hemingway wrote on his picture, ‘I hope you catch one this big too,’ " Farr said.

The dictator had an inordinate amount of energy for a 75-year-old, and kept the congress members awake through the night with round-table discussions at his palace, Farr said. He also peppered politicians with data in an attempt to prove he has improved conditions for his people, Farr said.

"When you’re with him, he does all the talking," Farr said.

As Farr left the palace at 5 a.m. the next morning, Castro slung his arm around the congressman and asked a question: "So tell me. Are the Democrats going to win back the House in November?"

"I said, ‘Well I don’t know, Mr. President, that depends on the economy,’ " Farr said.

"I’m meeting with some economists tomorrow," Castro said. "I’ll let you know."

Cuba has a link to UCSC in its interest in developing environmentally sensitive alternative farming methods, Farr said. Much of the work done in the university’s agro-ecology program could help Cuban farmers, he said.

Liz Irwin, UC Santa Cruz spokeswoman, said the painting will be a "great asset" to the university’s special collection.

"It’s a privilege for us to include the work of such a distinguished artist," she said.

Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood had high expectations for the work at the dedication ceremony Tuesday.

"I think over time this painting will be one of the most important in our collection, not only because of the artist but the history behind it and the sentiment with which it was given," she said.

Alonso, a ceramist and metal-worker in addition to being a painter, is considered a leader in the school of landscape painting developed in Pinar del Rio, his native province. He was called "one of the indispensables" of contemporary Cuban painting by historian Eusebio Leal.

His paintings depict a personal rather than naturalistic representation of nature and emphasize the need to preserve it. His work is housed in museums and galleries worldwide.

The painting features a dark forest of royal palms, a tree which appears frequently in Alonso’s work. Streaks of white paint dot the work Jackson Pollock-style.

"It’s kind of wild," Farr said. "It’s sort of modern art with a traditional background."

Contact Jeanene Harlick at jharlick@santa-cruz.com.

Subscribe