Alan
Robock's trip to Cuba, September 14-16, 2010
On
August 23, 2010, I received an email from my former student Juan Carlos Antuña,
that the head of the Cuban Weather Service wanted to invite me to Cuba for a
meeting. He knew nothing more than that. On August 26, 2010, I received an
invitation from Dr. Tomás Gutiérrez, Director General of the Instituto de
Meteorología in Cuba, to attend an internal workshop to discuss "environmental
consequences of climate change." It turned out that Fidel Castro had
become interested in my work on nuclear winter, and wanted me to come give a
talk he could attend to get out the message of the dangers of nuclear weapons.
I did not find out that I would meet the Comandante until an hour before my
talk. But the fact that the Cubans would pay all the expenses of my trip
gave me a hint that it was important. I also did not know where I would
stay until I arrived. I flew to
Havana from Toronto. At the
José Martí International Airport, I was taken
through the VIP lounge and to a van on the tarmac to leave the airport.
When I found out on the ride into the city that I would stay at the
Hotel Nacional, the
nicest hotel in Havana, when five people were lined up to meet me upon arrival,
including the hotel manager, when I was given a 2-bedroom, 1-living room suite (view
from one room) on the executive floor, and then
taken to lunch in their fanciest restaurant, I began to have my suspicions.
The one-day meeting of about 30 meteorologists to which I was invited was
scheduled in the old casino of the Hotel Nacional,
but to have enough room and to make it easier for the Comandante, we were taken
to the Palacio de Convenciones several miles away. The others went in a
bus, but I went in a black Mercedes with Tomás. When I got there, we were
taken to
a room in which 170 top scientists from Havana were
gathered, with many TV cameras set to record the event.
I met Fidel's son, Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart (Fidelito). Then
Fidel Castro Ruz (the Comandante) came in and
I was introduced to him.
Tomás gave an introduction and then
I talked for an hour about nuclear winter.
I started in Spanish, explaining that I learned it a long time ago in high
school, but it was easier to give my talk in English.
Fidel was surprised that I knew Spanish and asked
if I could read it. I said a little, and he said good. (Later he
gave me his memoirs and told me it would be good practice for me to read them in
Spanish.) Betty Muñoz translated. Fidel
sat at the front and took notes as he watched the presentation.
Here Fidel was introduced to my co-authors of the recent work. At the
end, he asked if there were any questions.
Fidelito, who has a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and is
the science advisor to the President (the equivalent of John Holdren in the
U.S.), asked one, as others (except for one
journalist) seemed too shy to ask questions in that setting. Then
Fidel presented me with his signed memoirs.
Here is the inscription to me.
I signed one of my papers for him. I told Fidel
that I had a Cuban student, and brought Juan Carlos up to
meet him and
shake his hand. He was nervous, but thrilled.
Because the talk was being translated, I had to skip over a number of slides I
normally show, but it all went much better than I could have imagined. Then, as the other meteorologists went back to the Hotel
Nacional, I went to a private meeting with Fidel and his family, including
his wife, Fidelito, and his other son, who is the medical doctor for the Cuban
baseball team. As we were talking, his wife was handed an envelope, which
contained 6"x8" color prints of the talk I had just given. Fidel signed
them and gave them to me. Then we had
a photo taken together. When we were done,
Fidelito, who speaks excellent English, took me back to the Hotel, in an even
fancier Mercedes.
Needless to say, this was all very surreal. When I had first arrived at
the Hotel Nacional, they asked if I wanted a mojito. I told them I would
have it later, as I had to give a talk. When I got back, I bought some
postcards and went to the veranda of the Hotel Nacional. Within a minute,
my mojito showed up, without me having to say
anything. There was a nice sunset. That
night at the Hotel Nacional, Fidelito returned. First we had a mojito and
then dinner with me, Tomás, Juan Carlos, and two others. The others left,
and Juan Carlos and I went to the Cabaret Parisién
night club show at the Hotel, with lots of dancers.
The next morning I attended the rest of the conference.
Roger Rivero presented a very interesting analysis of
the effects of climate change on Cuban agriculture, and we discussed continued
collaboration.
Juan Carlos and his students René and Boris watched.
Then I was asked to meet Fidelito in the Galeria Historical, the hotel bar which
is decorated with photos of famous guests over the entire 80-year history,
mostly entertainment celebrities and politicians. After discussing future
collaboration, including using their national super-computer center (two linux
clusters, one 48-node and one 64-node), the hotel told me that I was so
distinguished that they would add my photo to the gallery. They took
pictures and presented me with a
certificate ("huesped ilustre" means "distinguished guest") and
a cane with my name engraved on it ("premio a la
fidelidad" means "loyalty award"). Here is
a photo of the gallery during my last trip there three years ago. They
told me my photo would be there next time I come. I'll believe it when I
see it.
After lunch and a brief rest, as I came down for my tour of Old Havana,
Fidelito was waiting in the lobby and told me he had something for me from the
Comandante. I opened the envelope, and inside
was
a signed photo of him and me that had been taken the
day before. We had
our picture taken on the lawn of the Hotel Nacional.
That's Juan Carlos, me, Fidelito, and Tomás, with the entrance to the Havana
harbor in the back. Fidelito told me he would take me to the Tropicana
nightclub that night, which is the fanciest in town, attended by rich tourists
to see the show.
Then Douglas (Fidelito's right-hand man), Tomás, Juan Carlos, and I took a
private, guided tour of Old Havana. The tour
soon came to
a brew-pub where
they and I sampled the beer
and had
oysters. Later in the tour, as we went into one
of the many restored nice hotels downtown, I asked to
see a TV, as my entire 90-minute presentation was being broadcast nationwide and
I wanted to see it on TV. The hotel bar had a Julia Roberts film, and I
asked them to change the channel. Sure enough,
there I was, with Fidel watching my presentation.
This reinforced my understanding that if we really want to get the word out on
the climatic consequences of nuclear weapons, it has to be in a dramatic film
with big stars like Julia Roberts to get people to pay attention. We then
went to one of the fanciest restaurants in town, the Cafe
Oriente, where the end of
my televised talk was still
being broadcast. Again, we had to ask them to change the channel so we
could see it.
At the Tropicana, we drank
15-year-old rum, the best in the house. It was
very smooth. The dancers were similar to
those the night before.
Fidelito did not dance with them, but
Tomás did.
On Thursday morning, I was driven to the airport, to the VIP lounge again.
As we were sitting there, Tomás's cell phone rang. As he answered his jaw
dropped as he said, "Sí, Comandante." Fidel had called to ask me to
explain in more detail the atmosphere of Mars. I had shown an
example of a dust storm on Mars when the dust was lofted by winds, and then
heated by the Sun and blown to cover the entire planet in a couple weeks.
This is the same phenomenon illustrated in our models, but since we cannot test
nuclear winter theory on Earth, we use analogs to give examples that validate
part of the theory. I explained what happened on Mars to Tomás, who
explained it to Fidel. Fidel asked where he could learn more about this,
and I promised to send more info. Then he asked how many words the New
York Times allowed for Op-Eds, and I told him it was all on their web site.
Fidel then repeated that I was welcome to come back any time to Cuba.
After Tomás hung up, we both just stared in amazement at each other that we had
received the call.
I really hope that this experience draws more attention to the dangers of
nuclear weapons to the planet and hastens their elimination. I also hope
to continue my contacts with scientists in Cuba to expand scientific cooperation
between them and US scientists.
Everyone was so nice to me, particularly Tomás and Fidelito, who went out of
their way to make my trip comfortable and to show me a good time.
Fidelito left me a present with his card.
The hotel staff was always coming up to me, asking me if they could do anything
for me. And Fidel was very polite and friendly, with a great sense of
humor.
One of the joys of going to Cuba is seeing the old American cars. Here
are one, two, and
three I saw on this trip.
A note on how I made the trip: I flew on Continental to Toronto, and
then from Toronto to Havana on Air Canada. I came back the same way.
And I got Continental OnePass miles from the flights to Havana and back.
There is no prohition on Americans travelling to Cuba. There is only an
economic embargo enforced by the
Office of Foreign Assetts Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Americans cannot spend money in Cuba without a license from OFAC. But
there is a
general license that covers several categories of travellers, including
academics who are travelling there for research. When I come home, I just
tell U.S. immigration that I am covered under the general license, and they
stamp my passport and say, "Welcome, home." This was my third trip to
Cuba.
A note on the photos: All those beginning with IMG were taken by me or
if I am in them, by someone with my camera. Those beginning with DSC were
taken by René Estevan. And those beginning with RMG were sent to me by
Roberto Manuel Morejón Guerra.
There was a lot of publicity about this event in Cuba. I appeared on
the front page of both Granma and
Juventud Rebelde, the main newspapers in Cuba,
the next day, and each had two page articles inside describing the event.
Here are page 2 and
page 3 of the Sept. 15, 2010,
Granma, and page 4 and
page 5 of the Sept. 15, 2010, Juventud Rebelde.
You can see the
Granma article online here, including color photos. The
English
version does not have the pictures, but includes a quote at the end, "With
Fidel’s words of optimism and adopting a more cheerful tone, the conference came
to an end. 'We are very grateful for what you have taught us and we are going to
circulate that information,' confirmed the leader of the Revolution and
presented Robock with copies of his most recent books
La victoria estratégica and La contraofensiva estratégica.
'Professor, for your Spanish revision. It’s not propaganda,' he laughed and
repeated: 'Practice your Spanish.' To which, Robock responded, 'Comandante, I
don’t have any books but I’ll give you one of my articles.' Whilst the scientist
searched in his folder, Fidel said mischievously: 'That’s for me to practice my
English.' And he laughed." The digital version of Juventud Rebelde
is
here (in Spanish with pictures). The event was also described a number
of places online (see below).
If you want to watch the entire lecture and Fidel's response,
as shown on Cuban TV on September 14 and 15,
you can watch
it here.
Here are the news articles, but most of the links
do not work anymore:
Castro discusses 'nuclear winter' with US academic, Huffington Post,
Sept. 14, 2010, an
Associated Press story also published in many places, including
Yahoo News,
CBS News, and the
Bergen Record.
Fidel attends lecture by US scientist, ACN Cuban News Agency, Sept. 14, 2010.
[in English]
Radio Cadena Agramonte, including a 3 minute video on the presentation, Sept.
15, 2010. [in English]
Periódico 26, Sept. 15, 2010. [in English]
Radio Libertad, Sept. 15, 2010. [in imperfect English, and with interesting
quotes, such as, "Now eyes turn to the podium, which is close to the prestigious
speaker Alan Robock , a professor at the University of New Jersey Rotger , who
in fluent Spanish thanks to present their theories compared with this special
group . The Commander smiled and with a gallant gesture invites him to
continue." and "Fidel noted in a small notebook and carefully observed each
graph, each image or comparison that exposes Robock." and "Then, as promised at
the beginning of the presentation, delivery Fidel Robock copies of their latest
books. 'This is not advertising,' he says, only I dedicate these two books for
you to enjoy from time to time, review the Spanish. By his part, Robock
confesses he has no books that present him, but also has a special deference to
him and gives him one of his works. Fidel then browse to read a few lines of the
document in fluent English: 'So I review English,' he says."]
Juventud Rebelde, Sept. 16, 2010. [in English]
"Wall man lectures Fidel Castro on nuclear peril," Asbury Park Press and other newspapers in New Jersey, Sept. 20, 2010.
Fidel's Reflexiones, "Nuclear Winter and Peace," Sept. 22, 2010 [in Spanish and
in English], in
which he says, "The nuclear winter theory, developed and brought to its current stage by the eminent researcher and professor from Rutgers University, New Jersey, Dr. Alan Robock
(a modest scientist who prefers to recognize the merits of his colleagues rather than his own), has proven its veracity. ...
We promised the professor that we would spread the information he had provided
us about the nuclear winter theory —a topic we know a little about due to our
concern over the possible outbreak of a global nuclear war, a concern that drew
us to his lecture— in a language that even eight-year old Cuban children could
understand."
Article in Granma about Fidel meeting with people on the Peace Boat, Sept.
22, 2010 [in Spanish and
in
English], which says, "After the questions, Fidel informed the members of the Peace Boat, on its fourteenth visit to Cuba, of the recent visit by Alan Robock,
the highly regarded researcher from Rutgers University, who gave a lecture on the nuclear winter theory, based on the danger signified by a regional nuclear war. ...
The Comandante said that he would give them a copy of the conference because it contains information of great value. He recalled the fact that
'the power of existing weapons is 45,000 times greater than that of either of the two bombs dropped on Japan.'
Then it occurred to him that Robock, 'a generous, splendid man,' could give a lecture on the dimensions of the danger to the members of the Japanese organization."
Fidel's Reflexiones, "We Will Never Forget (Part Two)", Sept. 25, 2010 [in Spanish and
in English],
in which he says in part, "What I want to tell you is that we recently had a visit from a very prestigious researcher,
a professor emeritus [distinguished] at Rutgers University, New Jersey, and he is the author of the theory of nuclear winter.
This, in my opinion, is of utmost importance because it relates to the current dangers facing humanity,
...
This professor visited our country and at a meeting of scientists gave an excellent exposition of his theory, a theory with much prestige; it seems to me indisputable,
and is related to the consequences of nuclear war. ... I had brought a letter that Robock sent me, the scientist already referred to,
in reply to a question I asked him when he was at the airport ready to return to his country.
In his lecture, he had given some data about the Planet Mars; I called him on the phone and asked him where I could get more information on that planet.
..."
Fidel's Reflexiones, "Nuclear
Weapons and the Survival of Homo Sapiens," October 8, 2010 [in
Spanish and
in English], in which he says in part, “Within our limited relations, we
have had the opportunity, in less than three weeks, to receive two eminent
figures. The first one was Alan Robock, an emeritus [distinguished] researcher
and professor at Rutgers University, New Jersey. While working with a group of
courageous colleagues, the US scientist proved the Nuclear Winter theory and
advanced it to its current level. ... My reply to the noble scientist was: ‘It
makes no difference if we know about this, what is needed is for the world to
know.’”
“Fidel’s New Message: Hey, Comrades, Nukes Are Bad!” by Nicholas Casey on front page of the
Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2010.
Prepared by
Alan Robock (robock@envsci.rutgers.edu)
- Last updated on March 10, 2023
Alan Robock and Fidel Castro, September 2010 by Alan Robock is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
