one of the world's most famous, almost legendary political leaders. he was born August 13, 1926 in Oriente province, in eastern cuba, to a prosperous landowning family. Showing independence early, he was educated in private Catholic schools, where he was greatly influenced by Spanish priests who instilled in him a sense of discipline, dedication and assertiveness. The Jesuits, under whom he studied from sixth to twelfth grade, preached a conservative, Counter-Reformation type critique of capitalism. As a student his best subjects were history and geography. In 1943 he became the best secondary school athlete in the country.

Castro arrived at the University of Havana in 1945 when the campus was run by armed thugs (another sign of the corruption and gang warfare that then had a marked influence on Havana). He has often noted that attending the university was more dangerous than waging guerrilla war. He kept busy. Though he studied little, he excelled due to a remarkable memory. His major academic interests were politics, sociology, history, and agriculture, but he received a law degree, which would later aid his political career. His main intellectual influences were the works of 19th century Independence leader and philosopher José Martí, whose speeches he memorized. Immersed in the polemical climate of Cuban politics, nationalism, anti-imperialism, and socialism became his standard themes.

Soon after entering college, Castro's political activism took shape. In 1947 he participated in a failed expeditionary force against the dictator of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. In 1948 he was elected president of the Law Students Association, which he represented at a Latin American University Students Congress in Colombia; the congress, openly anti-imperialist, coincided with a major civil war breaking out in Bogotá, in which Castro participated in skirmishes before leaving the country.

By the late 1940's Castro knew the methods, images, and stakes of Cuban politics. In 1951 he was a leader in the growing populist political movement led by the Partido del Pueblo Cubano (known in Cuba as Ortodoxos), an anti-Communist nationalist group promising major social, economic and political reforms, and expecting to gain the presidency through electoral politics. Castro planned to run for Congress, but on March 10, 1952, Fulgencio Batista, military strongman in Cuba since 1933, overthrew the constitutional government.

Fidel Castro, and many Ortodoxos who had expected to win in the thwarted elections, began to organize an insurrection. Castro led a civilian armed attack of mostly young Ortodoxos against the Moncada military barracks on July 26, 1953. The attack failed and Castro landed in prison; but the movement he organized captured the opposition's imagination. While imprisoned from 1953 to 1955, Castro's time was used to write, study, and further organize.

Granted political amnesty in May, 1955, Castro went into exile in Mexico and began to train an expeditionary force. In late 1956 he landed with 82 in southern Oriente to initiate guerrilla war. The movement grew, and from the Sierra Maestra mountains Fidel organized a parallel government, carried out a mini-agrarian reform, established controlled territories with agricultural and manufacturing production, set up a radio station, and even created a small air force.

Castro's was the first guerrilla movement in Latin America to defeat the military. Castro proved to be a skillful political and military strategist. On January 1, 1959, the Cuban revolution began under his leadership with the largest popular support of any political movement in the history of the country.

With a multi-class base, the populist nature of the revolution meant that the Cuban bourgeoisie identified Fidel Castro with a return to constitutional rule, and the reaffirmation of civil and political rights. But for the majority, who envisioned a major re-structuring of the society, the issue was social justice.

Once in power, Castro proved to be a persuasive and moving speaker, and a man who had the affection and support of the population. He was the critical factor in defining the future direction of the revolution. The very popularity of the revolutionary regime unleashed a process of social radicalization, of which Castro became the major spokesman.

For the last 33 years he has remained in the limelight. Scholars, analysts, supporters and enemies agree on at least one feature of the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro has been the unquestioned political and ideological leader. It is true that important policies usually depend on what he decides. He appears to be at the center of politics and economy but he has to work within a certain context.

The line 'went to cuba to meet castro' in let robeson sing does not only apply to paul robeson, but also to msp themselves. In february 2001, they gave a concert in Havana, the highest-profile gig by a Western group in Cuba since 1979, when Billy Joel played there. Castro surprised the Manics' audience by turning up as the guest of honour at their show in the Karl Marx Theatre. The night before he had already had a short chat with the msp.