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Inside late Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s palatial ancestral home

The late dictator's childhood home near Havana is now a museum

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The Cuban leader grew up on his father Ángel Castro’s 25,000-acre sugar plantation (called Las Manacas farm) in the small town of Birán, Cuba—about 500 miles from Havana

Fidel Castro (1926-2016), Cuban revolutionary and politician, grew up on his father, Ángel Castro's 25,000-acre sugar plantation in Cuba, which is now a museum. To say that the late Cuban dictator led a well-heeled life would be an understatement. Castro may not have lived in a palace, but he still managed to lead an extravagant lifestyle. Almost a decade ago, Forbes estimated Fidel Castro's personal net worth at $900 million. Castro's luxurious living arrangements were well known, but for security reasons, his personal life and residences were kept top secret. Even Cuban citizens were not in the know about where he resided.

Fidel Castro's love for the good life

Fidel Castro's childhood home in Cuba

Castro's ancestral home, called Las Manacas, lies in the small town of Birán, Cuba—about 500 miles from Havana. The property has since been converted into a museum, which opened to the public in 2002. It is pertinent to note that Fidel Castro and his younger brother Raul Castro's childhood home in Birán burnt down in 1954. However, a replica of the ancestral property was constructed in its place in 1974. Near the entrance of the massive property are several small thatched huts that were inhabited mainly by the Haitian labourers. The estate also came with a cockfighting ring and several brightly coloured wooden buildings that housed a post office, a guest house and a market store. Visitors are allowed to sneak into the primary school that Castro and other local children attended, and see the cemetery where his parents were buried.

A building that served as a guest house on the Birán sugar plantation

A peek into Fidel Castro's life

The yellow mansion's spacious interior includes original furnishings, a slew of bedrooms, a living room, and a dining room, said to be an authentic representation of a Cuban campesino (farm worker). Fidel Castro's ancestral home still has a few family photographs, a chair made of cowhide that doubled as a drum at local festivities, Fidel's crib and the Cuban leader's bedroom where a sports shirt with his name embossed on the back is displayed in the wardrobe.

An interesting thing to note is that Fidel Castro's parents occupied separate bedrooms. His father's room contains a bed, a mahogany wardrobe, a dominos set on a table and a photo of him on his first trip to Cuba as a 20-year-old Spanish soldier. When he was alive, Castro preferred not to publicise the homestead. Most visitors found out about the home/museum through word-of-mouth. According to reports, 500,000 visitors visited the property since it opened in 2002. Of the total visitors, 400,000 have been Cubans and only 100,000 have been foreigners. The legacy surely does live on.

Fidel Castro examines photos of his relatives when he visited his home in Birán, Cuba