The University of Havana inaugurated this week the photographic exhibition "Aurora de futuro," by Álex Castro Soto del Valle, son of the dictator Fidel Castro, as part of the official agenda of tributes for the centenary of the birth of the late leader, celebrated on August 13, 1926.
The exhibition, consisting of 20 photographs taken by Álex Castro during the final stage of his father's life, was presented in the Aula Magna of the institution. The inaugural event was led by Dr. C. José Antonio Baujín, who took the opportunity to deliver a speech of epic proportions —or epically ridiculous, depending on one's perspective— in honor of the man who ruled Cuba with an iron fist for nearly five decades.
Baujín began with textbook philosophy: "Every authentic leader is accompanied by an iconography that, representing them, also constructs them. [...] Fidel is both one and many." However, the speaker escalated his rhetoric. He described the dictator as "the accused accuser of '53," "the bearded insurgent from the Sierra, triumphant in his final entry into the capital, with a white dove on his shoulder like a laurel crown," and, to leave no doubt, proclaimed him "one of the most important figures in Contemporary History."
He also did not overlook the concept of natural law. He acknowledged that "the life cycle of a leader tends to follow natural law: emergence, peak, and decline," but he hurried to clarify that Fidel was not subject to such earthly limitations: "Defiant against the nullifying norm, old age and illness also failed to bring about his downfall." A man above time, biology, and apparently, reality itself.
The speaker described the images as an intimate portrait: "Free from marble pedestal, distant from a divine halo, the images humanize the subject, perhaps from a more intimate perspective, and if it’s possible to talk about Fidel, even closer and more honest." The unintentional irony of humanizing someone while denying them the possibility of decline is undoubtedly one of the great rhetorical achievements of the event.
The photographs show Fidel Castro alongside students, scientists, and intellectuals, "happy with Chávez, complicit with Raúl," according to Baujín himself, who also emphasized that "Fidel never just sees; Fidel looks, devours the world with the depth of his gaze." Supernatural powers, it seems.
The climax came at the end, with a phrase that blends revolutionary epic and equestrian metaphor: "Like in the grateful song, in front of the caravan we all make up, ready for the charge, Fidel, the horse is waiting for you."
It is not the first time that Álex Castro has showcased his work as part of the tributes to the dictator. In August 2025, he inaugurated at the José Martí Memorial the exhibition "All the Glory of the World," featuring 50 photographs of Fidel Castro. The photographer is also known for referring to the demonstrators of July 11 as "criminals" on Facebook in January 2022, when the Prosecutor's Office acknowledged 790 people being prosecuted.
The exhibition is part of a series of tributes organized by the regime throughout 2026, declared the "Year of the Centennial of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz," which included the I International Colloquium "Fidel: Legacy and Future" with more than 1,500 delegates from 63 countries. This is happening while electrical disruptions frequently exceed 2,000 MW, with blackouts lasting over 20 hours daily in Havana and reaching a record of more than 80 hours in Matanzas.
This Sunday, the government announced a maximum anticipated impact of 2,193 MW. The horse waits. The Cuban people do too, but without light.
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