The Rittenhouse Review

A Philadelphia Journal of Politics, Finance, Ethics, and Culture


Monday, April 29, 2002  

CASTRO INTERMINABLE
Isolated and Irrelevant

We had pretty much forgotten about Fidel Castro. Apparently, quite a number of others have, too.

Kevin G. Hall, writing for the Knight Ridder News Service, puts it in perspective: "Twenty years ago, Fidel Castro was sending troops to Africa, funneling arms to rebels in Central America, and charming socialists the world over. If there was a battle between capitalism and communism, the charismatic Cuban in the green fatigues was somehow involved.

"Castro's place as an icon of a failed 20th-century revolutionary ideology is secure. But in the 21st century, he is fast becoming history.

"Isolated and increasingly irrelevant, Castro is more a pop phenomenon, receiving giddy actors and singers in Havana but playing an ever-smaller role on the world stage and in Latin America."

Unfortunately, Hall doesn't elaborate on the "giddy actors and singers" that have made Havana the latest destination of choice for the hopelessly hip, a phenomenon as revolting as it is predictable.

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