Page 79 - MDOS2_Final

REMINISCING CUBA

in the f esh. It was like witnessing pages from a history book come to life.
I remember before this event, I spent months preparing and reading up
on him. I remember specif cally the biography by Robert E. Quirk that
I read from cover to cover, trying to f nd out more about the President’s
background and life, and what I should expect to see. Until now, I am
still not sure what I expected. But I still remember that moment during
the function that evening, when Castro asked me whether I had been to
T e Tropicana – a huge open-air cabaret show of music, lights, glitter, and
dazzling performances, similar to the cabarets Ricky Ricardo hosted on old
reruns of I Love Lucy. I recall replying that I had intended to do so but the
evening drizzle and cold temperatures over the past few days had dampened
my plans. He quipped, without skipping a beat, “Just get a bottle of rum and
you will be f ne”. I remember his spontaneous response until today.

On another occasion, during the formal meeting between Castro and
Mahathir, I remember how the aide-cum-interpreter seemed to mimic
exactly what Castro was saying – her facial expressions and hand gestures,
the emphasis. It was a joy to watch her interpret in long, clear sentences,
as if Castro himself was speaking in English. It was apparent that she had
been working with him for quite a while. One could only wonder about the
stories she could tell.

President Castro speaks English reasonably well. Speaking Spanish would
certainly benef t his delegation, who were taking notes during the meeting.

I left New York in 1998 after having completed my assignment for almost
f ve years. As such, my Havana days were over. Or so, I thought.

T ere were two major related events. One, my daughter, Amirah, had
completed her A-Levels and wanted to do a gap year to break away from
her books and routine. She was only about 17 years old at the time and we
were a bit reluctant at f rst. However, after a bit of back and forth, and after
she had voiced her desire to pursue a Spanish language programme in Latin
America, I approached a few embassies in Kuala Lumpur – Chile, Cuba,
Mexico, Spain and Venezuela. But unfortunately, it was the height of the

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